News Round-up: Breakaway heartbreak at Tour de France Femmes

There was another dramatic dose of racing from the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, with an unlikely long-range solo breakaway almost going all the way. There was plenty of racing elsewhere, including a particularly chaotic finale at the rainy Ordiziako Klasika, plus some criterium action featuring the stars of the Tour de France. Elsewhere, there’s a medical update after Eva Van Agt’s crash on stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes, a sobering update on Amy Pieters’ long recovery from traumatic brain injury, and news of a provisional doping suspension for Miguel Ángel López.

| Lorena Wiebes wins Tour de France Femmes sprint

Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) took the spoils on stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift, winning the sprint as the peloton heartbreakingly rushed past lone attacker Julie Van de Velde (Fenix-Deceuninck) in sight of the line.

Van de Velde had attacked alone some 60km out on the 147.2km route and remarkably stayed away until the final kilometre, setting up a nail-biting finish. She must have been able to taste the glory as she entered the home straight but the sprinters’ teams, despite cutting it so fine, had the last laugh.

Wiebes, winner of two stages last year, proved the fastest finisher, having been expertly led-out by the yellow jersey, Lotte Kopecky, so good in fact she took the final spot on the podium.

Wiebes’ main sprinting rival, Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich) found herself out of position, and so it was Vos the closest challenger, looking to get the jump one the right-hand side of the road but unable to prevent Wiebes’ advance on the left.

Thanks to another helping of bonus seconds, Kopecky extended her overall lead to 55 seconds over Lianne Lippert (Movistar), with Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep) third at 1:05.

| Hirschi wins Ordiziako Klasika amid rainy chaos

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Marc Hirschi beats Ben Healy to win the Ordiziako Klasika

There were chaotic scenes in the finale of the Prueba Vilafranca - Ordiziako Klasika, where Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) triumphed but not before the riders who’d led into the final kilometre both crashed out separately.

It was Hirschi’s teammate Juan Ayuso who looked set to contest the hilly one-day race alongside Spanish champion Oier Lazkano. However, amid rain-soaked conditions in the Basque Country, first Lazkano slipped out on a left-hand bend and then, with victory seemingly in the palm of his hands, Ayuso came down on the very next right-hander.

Hirschi was close at hand, marking chaser Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), and the pair bizarrely found themselves sprinting it out between them. On the uphill drag to the line, it was a one-sided contest, with Hirschi winning it by a comfortable margin.

Ayuso remounted to take the final spot on the podium, with Lazkano fourth. Ayuso, a favourite for the upcoming Vuelta a España, was seen holding his left arm awkwardly beyond the line but his team confirmed he had “no serious injuries”.

| Eva van Agt suffers concussion in Tour de France Femmes crash

Eva van Agt (Jumbo-Visma) suffered a concussion, as well as cuts and bruises, in her nasty crash on stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

There were worrying scenes on Tuesday as the Dutchwoman, who was part of a late breakaway on the hilly stage, was seen lying beneath a roadside guardrail, having crashed in the wet conditions.

Van Agt was placed in an ambulance and taken to hospital for examinations, with Jumbo-Visma confirming she had not lost consciousness but not outlining the nature of her injuries. On Tuesday morning, Van Agt issued a statement indicating she had suffered a head impact as well as a flesh wound, but was “pretty ok” given the circumstances.

“My life is like a dream, but for those who love me it turned for a little while into a nightmare yesterday - I’m sorry to have scared everyone,” Van Agt wrote on social media.

“Physically I’m pretty okay: I have a long contusion, concussion and some stitches, but of course I’m really disappointed to let the team down like this. Thanks to all the good care of the team I will head to the Netherlands today to recover there. Thank you for all your kind messages, it really cheers me up. Due to the concussion I try to limit my screen time, so I’ll reply later!”

| Filippo Ganna leads Ineos podium sweep in Tour de Wallonie TT

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Filippo Ganna en route to victory in the Tour de Wallonie time trial

It was a clean Ineos Grenadiers sweep of the podium on the stage 4 time trial at the Tour de Wallonie, with Filippo Ganna coming out on top and back in the overall lead.

The Hour Record holder blitzed the 32.7km course in 38 minutes and one second, removing his teammate Josh Tarling from the hot seat late in the day.

Tarling was just eight seconds slower in the latest episode of what has been a remarkable neo-pro campaign for the 19-year-old Welshman. Completing the Ineos podium was Conor Swift, who was 30 seconds down on the winning time, while the best rider not in an Ineos skinsuit was Lotto Dstny’s Brent Van Moer, fourth at 36 seconds.

The previously tight general classification has been blown wide open, with Ganna, who also won the opening stage, leading by 18 seconds over Tarling, with Swift making it a full Ineos GC podium, too, at 40 seconds. The race concludes on Wednesday with a punchy stage from Banneux to Aubel.

| Jonas Vingegaard and Mathieu van der Poel victorious in post-Tour crits

Jonas Vingegaard raised his arms as he crossed the line in the yellow jersey on Monday. No, the Tour de France hasn’t somehow continued on beyond Paris, but the stars of the race have nevertheless dived into the post-Tour criterium scene, which is something of an unofficial fourth week.

The post-Tour crits, spread across Belgium and the Netherlands, are little more than exhibition events, but they do carry some surprising appearance fees, making them a tempting stop for those looking to capitalise on their Tour fame.

Vingegaard is limiting himself to one appearance, riding in Boxmeer in the Netherlands on Monday and, predictably, winning it. Meanwhile, Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel was over in Belgium, taking the title in a field that also contained his teammate and winner of four Tour stages, Jasper Philipsen, and the polka-dot jersey of Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek).

Tadej Pogačar had been set to make an appearance in Belgium but will now skip the criterium circuit entirely after his defeat to Vingegaard. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), who left the Tour early for the birth of his second child, will be in action in his home town of Herentals on Thursday.

There are criteriums all week in the Netherlands, and a more limited offering in Belgium, with Van der Poel and Philipsen in action again alongside the likes of Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-QuickStep), Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) and Dylan van Baarle (Jumbo-Visma).

| Mikel Landa: I need to find motivation

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Mikel Landa at the Tour de France

Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) has cut a downbeat tone after a disappointing Tour de France, suggesting that he needs to “find motivation” as he turns his attention to finalising his future plans.

Landa had a strong start to the season but was anonymous during the Tour, finishing down in 19th place, with a top stage placing of 5th in Saint Gervais. It was a successful Tour for his Bahrain Victorious team, who won stages through Pello Bilbao, Wout Poels, and Matej Mohoric, but Landa was something of a forgotten man amongst it all.

“The Tour didn’t turn out as I wanted. It wasn’t easy and everything sort of went wrong - the preparation, the fatigue from the first part of the season… everything combined so that I didn’t feel great.”

Landa will line up at the Clásica San Sebastián one-day race in his native Basque Country this weekend, but did not confirm whether or not he will head to the Vuelta a España in August.

“I prefer to think short-term and then work out how to finish the year,” he said, although one of the things he’ll have to think about is 2024, with his current contract expiring at the end of the year. “Evidently the future is something that’s on my mind. I parked it before the Tour to focus on the race, but I have to work some things out, and the next few weeks will be decisive.”

Landa, who previously rode for Astana and Team Sky, and has been involved with the Euskadi Foundation that houses the Euskaltel-Euskadi team, has been with Bahrain Victorious for four years but has been linked with a move away.

“I have to weigh it up,” he said of continuing with his current team. “It was a difficult Tour and I need to find motivation.”

| Amy Pieters update

The family of Amy Pieters have issued an update on the Dutchwoman’s condition, with a message of hope amid disheartening circumstances.

Pieters, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a crash in December 2021, is said to have made “great strides physically”, she has not shown the level of progress mentally that had been hoped for. The former European champion and SD Worx rider is still unable to talk and possesses only very short-term memory.

“She lives uninhibitedly in the present,” reads the update posted on her website. “Amy also struggles to realize where she is, where to go or which direction to choose. Amy needs help 24-7 because of this. She is not yet able to do anything independently.”

Pieters’ current cognitive condition means she will have to leave the Daan Theeuwes Center, where she has been based for nearly a year, and the family are finding it “extremely difficult” to find somewhere suitable for her to continue her rehabilitation. It is an incredibly tough time, but there is an unwavering hope that better times lie ahead.

“Amy is happy every day because of her character, her smile makes up for a lot. However, our sorrow, to miss the old Amy, remains. “Accepting this is almost impossible and you never get used to it,” reads the update. “At times we really do see some of the old Amy again, so we hold out hope. The course of brain injury cannot be predicted. However, experience can indicate what the expectations are. We keep hope and never give up. Amy has always amazed us more than once. As long as there is progress, Amy can still surprise us.”

| UCI provisionally suspends Miguel Ángel López

The sport’s governing body, the UCI, has provisionally suspended Colombian pro rider Miguel Ángel López (Team Medellin) after informing the rider of a potential anti-doping rule violation.

According to the UCI the investigation was conducted by the International Testing Agency (ITA) and included evidence supplied by anti-doping and law enforcement authorities in Spain that stemmed from an investigation into Dr Marcos Maynar.

“After review of the information and material provided by the ITA on 26 June and 7 July 2023, the Colombian rider has been notified of a potential ADRV for use and possession of a prohibited substance in the weeks prior to the Giro d’Italia 2022,” a UCI statement read. “The UCI has decided to provisionally suspend the rider pending the final decision,” the governing body added.