Seven riders abandon as crashes mar opening stage at Simac Ladies Tour

Simac Ladies Tour opening stage was marred by crosswinds and crashes causing seven riders to abandon
Simac Ladies Tour opening stage was marred by crosswinds and crashes causing seven riders to abandon (Image credit: Getty Images)

The first stage of the Simac Ladies Tour may have been almost completely flat, but that didn’t mean it was an easy day – on the contrary. The threat of crosswinds made for a nervous peloton which led to several crashes and seven riders being forced to abandon the race altogether.

The biggest crash at 80km from the finish split the race, and only 21 riders were not held up and increased their advantage in the crosswinds, laying the groundwork for staying away to the finish where Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) took the stage 1 victory.

“There was a bit of panic in the bunch, we hit the next wind section, and there was a huge crash. It was pretty awful actually, Teniel [Campbell] and Jessica [Allen] went down, and I think I was one of the first people to get through. Luckily, everyone in our team is ok, but it split because of that crash,” Team BikeExchange-Jayco’s Ruby Roseman-Gannon described what happened. The Australian finished sixth behind Wiebes on the day.

Hardest hit in the mass crash were 2019 overall winner Christine Majerus (Team SD Worx), Femke Markus (Parkhotel Valkenburg), Shari Bossuyt (Canyon-SRAM), and Léa Stern (Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad); all four had to abandon the race. 

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Lukas Knöfler started working in cycling communications in 2013 and has seen the inside of the scene from many angles. Having worked as press officer for teams and races and written for several online and print publications, he has been Cyclingnews’ Women’s WorldTour correspondent since 2018.