Lorena Wiebes pulls out of Tour de France Femmes with illness

SD Worx were dealt a blow on Thursday afternoon in the form of the departure of Lorena Wiebes from the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, with the Dutch sprinter ruled out of the race through illness.

The team confirmed that Wiebes was suffering from stomach issues, and therefore would not take to the start of stage 5 in Onet-le-Château.

"Of course this is a loss for Team SD Worx, because there were still sprint opportunities for her. But health always prevails,” sports manager Danny Stam commented in a short statement from the team.

Wiebes had enjoyed a successful start to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, winning the bunch sprint on stage 3.

It will be additionally disappointing for the 24-year-old following her early exit from the inaugural edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in 2022, after she suffered a nasty crash on stage 7. The crash came after Wiebes had already won two stages and enjoyed a spell in the yellow jersey, but it robbed her of the opportunity to win the green jersey.

The green jersey had been a big ambition for Wiebes this time around and, sitting second in the standings following stage 4, she looked set to mount a charge at winning the jersey.

As the top sprinter in the Women’s WorldTour, Wiebes had already looked an unstoppable force in this year’s race. After sprinting to second place behind her teammate Lotte Kopecky’s solo victory on stage 1, Wiebes wasted little time in picking up her first win of the race, with the European champion powering to the day’s honours on stage 3.

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Lorena Wiebes produced a powerful acceleration to snatch her first opportunity at sprinting for the win on stage 3

It was touch-and-go whether or not the peloton would engage in their first bunch sprint on stage 3, with Julie Van De Velde (Fenix-Elegant) producing a miraculous solo breakaway that extended for over 50km and looked as though it might spring a surprise, as Wiebes’ SD Worx team initially refused to contribute to the chase.

Read more: The Conundrum Of SD Worx’s Peloton Duties At The Tour De France Femmes

Van De Velde was eventually mopped up by the peloton, though, after a last-minute effort from SD Worx. Wiebes’s teammate and yellow jersey, Kopecky, produced an exceptional lead-out which the Dutchwoman was able to capitalise upon and pip Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) to the stage victory, whilst Wiebes’ closest rival Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich) suffered after her lead-out riders were forced to chase before the sprint.

It will be the likes of Vos and Kool who will now see their chances of a stage victory increase, with the premature departure of Wiebes from the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The next opportunity for the sprinters may come on stage 5, but stage 6 certainly looks destined to end in a bunch sprint.

We’ll be showing live and on-demand coverage of all eight stages of this year’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift from Sunday, July 23 to Sunday, July 30. Head over to GCN+ now to check the start times of each broadcast so that you don’t miss out on a moment of the action! As always, territory restrictions will apply.