Veronica Ewers‘ hopes of competing for a top place in the general classification at the Tour de France Femmes were cut short due to a crash on stage 6 into Blagnac.
The EF Education-TIBCO-SVB leader finished the stage but was then taken to a nearby hospital for further medical evaluation, where doctors confirmed she had a broken collarbone.
“Veronica Ewers will not start stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes due to a broken collarbone sustained during her crash on stage 6. She will travel home tomorrow to rest and recover. Heal up,” EF Education-TIBCO-SVB confirmed.
Ewers was sitting in 15th overall at 2:17 behind overall leader Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) at the start of stage 6, a 122km race from Albi to Blagnac.
She was the team’s main contender for the GC-deciding stage 7 to the summit of the Col du Tourmalet.
At roughly 50km to go, however, Ewers was caught up in a crash caused by a touch of wheels in the peloton.
Three other riders crashed including Ewers’ teammate Kathrin Hammes, Yara Kastelijn and Julie van de Velde (Fenix-Deceuninck).
Ewers received the brunt of the crash, flying off her bike and into a ditch.
“It was just one of those crashes, a touch of wheels, she came down and ended up in the ditch. When we got there, it looked pretty bad. The doctors were there, and she decided to keep riding,” said Tim Harris, director at EF Education-TIBCO-SVB.
Harris said there was no sign of a concussion and that Ewers’ main complaint after crashing was experiencing pain in her shoulder.
“We sent a rider back to look after her, and we will assess the situation,” Harris said after the race.
Ewers crossed the finish line at 9:56 down with support from her teammate Magdeleine Vallieres.
“It’s disappointing because she was in a good position, ready for tomorrow,” Harris said. “We’ve been waiting all week for this day, and she is in good form. For us, it is super disappointing.”
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