The Tour de France Femmes is the eight days of racing that so many riders have centered their season around, but there are plenty of variables over 956 kilometres with crashes, time cuts or illness quick to unravel the best laid plans.
In 2022, there were 35 of the 144 riders on the start line in Paris that did not make it across the final finish line on top of La Super Planche des Belles Filles and there are also plenty of obstacles on the way to Pau for the 154 riders taking on the race in 2023.
It wasn’t even thirty kilometres into the racing that the first rider was forced to leave, with Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep) suffering concussion after a nasty fall on stage 1. Others also joined the abandon list on stage 2, with both illness and the crashes on the challenging stage taking a toll.
Here is a regularly updated list of the riders who have to leave the 2023 edition of the Tour de France Femmes, running from Clermont-Ferrand on July 23 to Pau on July 30.
Stage 1
Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal Quick Step), DNF
It was a Tour de France Femmes debut that lasted just 27 kilometres for Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal Quick Step), with the Spanish rider tumbling into a roadside ditch. Benito received medical attention on the scene and was transported to hospital, with the team confirming in a medical update that Benito had suffered a concussion but no other serious injuries. The departure leaves Ashleigh Moolman Pasio one “strong teammate” down as she chases a top finish on the overall, starting with a strong fifth at the head of the GC contenders on stage 1.
Update on @mireiabenito: Mireia was brought to hospital after her crash today. Scans and further examination revealed a concussion, but no other serious injuries. She is in the care of the team now and will travel home for further recovery soon.We wish her a speedy recovery! pic.twitter.com/AGHvhRzbW1July 23, 2023
Stage 2
It was a stage that presented plenty of obstacles, with the climbs kicking in right from the beginning, and the tension was obvious when the falls had even started before the peloton was out of the neutral zone. Then the rain swept through later in the…
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