Marta Cavalli (FDJ-SUEZ) questioned the tactics used by SD Worx among the chase group that formed behind solo winner Lotte Kopecky on the opening stage at the Tour de France Femmes. The Italian said she and her teammates attempted to chase, but their efforts were 'interrupted', making it difficult to hold a pace and stay organised.
"It's cycling. Sometimes it doesn't look fair, but it's cycling, and it's part of the game," said Cavalli, who didn't appear to be upset by SD Worx's strategy and said her team will now refocus on the stages to come with an eye on the Tourmalet on stage 7.
Kopecky was part of a select front group that emerged on the day's only categorised ascent of the Côte de Durtol when she launched a searing attack, showed she was the strongest of the day, opening a 41-second gap on the descent and run-in to Clermont-Ferrand to take the stage victory and the first leader's jersey at the eight-day race.
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In the small chase group include Kopecky's teammate Vollering along with Cavalli, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and Evita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ), defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten and Liane Lippert (Movistar), Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep), Kasia Niewiadoma and Ricarda Bauernfeind, Elise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM), Mavi Garcia (Liv Racing TeqFind), Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) and Ane Santesteban (Jayco AlUla).
A second chase group included SD Worx's Marlen Reusser and Lorena Wiebes, along with Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma), reconnected just outside 2km from the line where Wiebes won the reduced group sprint for second.
While some questioned why there wasn't a more organised chase among the other teams in the field to reduce the gap to Kopecky, Cavalli suggested that SD Worx disrupted the chase by blocking their efforts.
"Vollering and Reusser started to interrupt our job, and it was not easy to keep a pace and a good organisation. They did this to allow Kopecky to keep the gap and secure the first place, also because they wanted our pace to slow to allow Wiebes to come back," Cavalli explained her understanding of the tactics used by SD Worx in the final.
"It's cycling. Sometimes it doesn't look fair, but it's cycling, and it's part of the game. We can't do anything, just enjoy and try to do our job. It worked out well for them today, and I hope it is for us tomorrow and the next few days. We are a good team, and we try to improve our communication; we try to work together and I hope it will be paid off soon."
Cavalli returns to the Tour de France Femmes after a horrific crash last year that forced her to abandon and undergo a lengthy recovery. At this year's race, she is one of her team's three stated GC contenders, along with Uttrupt Ludwig and Grace Brown.
Kopecky now leads the race by 45 seconds ahead of her teammate Wiebes and 47 seconds to Charlotte Kool (Team dsm-firmenich).
"For the team, we have other climbs like the Tourmalet, and we have enough space to close this gap during the next stages," Cavalli said.
Despite questioning SD Worx's tactics in the final, Cavalli praised Kopecky for her winning attack on the Durtol, which she felt was an impressive display of strength.
"Lotte Kopecky was very strong, and no one could follow her. SD Worx is the biggest team here. They have such a good lineup, and we already knew that yesterday. But now they confirmed that it would be the peloton against SD Worx. I hope it will be fun, like today."
