SD Worx has played their cards well in the opening six stages at the Tour de France Femmes, but the battle for the overall title is about to kick off between overwhelming favourites and rivals Demi Vollering and Annemiek van Vleuten as the race heads into the iconic ascent of the Tourmalet on Saturday.
Lotte Kopecky, who has led the race since her late-race attack that netted her the win on stage 1 in Clermont-Ferrand, will now turn her attention to supporting Vollering in the battle for the yellow jersey.
“[Me] taking the yellow jersey into the Tourmalet was, for sure, not the plan. But we had one goal, and that is to try to win the Tour de France with Demi,” Kopecky said in the post-race press conference after stage 6 in Blagnac.
Kopecky has had a remarkable Tour de France Femmes winning the opening stage and finishing second into Mauriac, third into Montignac-Lascaux, fourth into Albi and third into Blagnac.
“I’m happy to have two stage wins and spend the whole Tour de France, so far, in yellow. For the team, it’s been a nice Tour de France already,” Kopecky said.
“Hopefully, tomorrow, we can help Demi as much as possible, and hopefully, she has the legs to finish it off on the Tourmalet. I hope she gains a lot of time and that the stupid 20 seconds [penalty for drafting] from yesterday will not decide this Tour de France.”
Vollering heads into the Col du Tourmalet stage after a tumultuous few days at the Tour de France Femmes that saw her finish second on stage 4 into Rodez, where she thought she had won. But a gap on the uphill climb combined with her second-place time bonus meant she also gained a valuable eight-second on Van Vleuten.
However, she lost that advantage when the race jury docked her 20 seconds for drafting off the team car after a flat tire on stage 5 into Albi. SD Worx director Danny Stam was later removed from the race for dangerous driving and his inappropriate comments to the commissaires panel.
Kopecky said that she was surprised to learn that Stam had been removed from the race and that his absence in the team car could affect the team’s performance.
“I heard it this morning, and I was a bit surprised. Yesterday we already got the 20 seconds. For us, it feels like everyone is looking at us, and if they can try to punish us, they are doing it,” Kopecky said, noting that it’s not worth worrying about a final decision.
“It’s sad not to have Danny in the car anymore because he’s a really valuable member of the team. Neither I nor the other…
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