“We cannot really change things, and we just need to stick together today and make it through,” was how Demi Vollering’s FDJ-SUEZ teammate Elise Chabbey assessed the task ahead on stage 4 at the Tour de France Femmes in Saumar. And that is exactly what the French team did.
There was no sign that either the team or rider was prepared to give up on the overall fight, after all the crash in stage 3 had occurred in the last 5km, so her time remained intact at just 19 seconds behind race leader Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike). The question instead was: was the rider herself equally intact?
Vollering’s team said on Monday immediately afterwards that she had knee pain as well as glute and back pain, plus was also being checked for concussion; however, the announcement came out on Tuesday morning that, after being cleared by the second round of concussion checks, she would continue.
It began with a short session on the trainer, one that the rider told the assembled media at the team bus had been uncomfortable due to neck pain and “I couldn’t keep my head up”.
But that changed as the 130.7km stage to Poitiers, which was made for the sprinters, got underway.
“It’s a big relief to feel good,” said Vollering. “That was a good ride. I was able to keep my head up. That was the biggest relief.”
The relief was visible at the team bus afterwards, where Vollering warmed down on the trainer alongside her teammates with the atmosphere feeling close to normal, a contrast to the clear tension and worry of the day before.
Still facing up to another sprint stage with sharp bends in the final kilometre had been enough, said Vollering, to cause tension.
“Again, no time loss, and now I think the shock is over,” she said at the team bus after coming over the line in 43rd and on the same time as winner and former teammate Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), who took out the bunch sprint ahead of the yellow-jersey clad Vos. “From now on, we will see day by day.”
This is the second year Vollering has had to fight back after a crash, with the stage 5 incident in 2024 seeing her plunge out of yellow and with a 1:19 deficit to eventual winner Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) to make up.
Though the lack of time loss this year is not the only difference. Even though she came down yesterday, she was surrounded by riders from her new FDJ-SUEZ squad, riding to the line between Juliette Labous and Elise Chabbey, both with a hand on her back to guide her to the finish. They were visibly present up front and all around her on stage 4 as well.
“I mean, my team did a really good job always keeping me safe in the front, so I’m really happy about that,” said Vollering.
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