Filmed from the helicopter, the scene looks like a contemporary art installation. However, it does not take place in an exhibition at the Center Pompidou, but the Vosges and its D32, between Moriville and Moyemont, 45 kilometers from the arrival of the 4e Women’s Tour de France stage, won in the sprint by Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM).
Already the fastest on the Champs-Elysée on Sunday, the Dutchwoman heard behind her back what ” big noise “, that of this fall which occurred in the middle of the peloton. “They say you fall when you’re in the wrong place, today it’s proof that not always”notes Sandra Lévénez.
Like a good third of the runners, the Frenchwoman from Cofidis training participated, despite herself, in the construction of a carbon cathedral of piled up bicycles. “I get up and it comes back to me. But no bobo, just the equipment to be repaired »continues the oldest of the race (43 years old).
???? Incredible images of the Tour de France Women with this XXL collective fall! Follow the Grande Boucle feminin… https://t.co/xnxkAqQDwY
No time to bid farewell to this fallen bike, there was a stage to continue, the longest of this edition with 175.6 km between Bar-le-Duc (Meuse) and Saint-Dié- of the Vosges.
Despite its pileup side, the accident only caused one retirement, that of Emma Norsgaard (Movistar). The Dane is likely to miss to support Annemiek van Vleuten, current 8e in the general classification, 1 min 18 s behind the yellow jersey Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma). Big favorite for the final victory, it had already experienced some misfortunes the day before on the stone (and dusty) paths of Champagnecolliding with another competitor before facing mechanical problems.
“The vagaries of the job”
Since the food bowl festival of the 2e stage between Meaux and Provins (Seine-et-Marne) – three falls in the last 30 kilometers – the idea of a more nervous race is essential, in which we play a little too much with our elbows and where we brake at the last moment to earn his place at the front of the peloton. ” I’ve never seen that in my entire career. There is no respect. It’s do or die”, lamented the champion of France, Audrey Cordon-Ragot, Monday after the arrival.
So we decided to investigate to understand the origin of this rather incomprehensible fall seen from the sky. Chance placed the Arkéa team bus in first position on our way. Left elbow well scratched, Amandine Fouquenet seems an ideal witness, pedaling on her home-trainer after the finish.
On target ! “The girl in front of me, a Ceratizit[-WNT], fell first. She must have taken a hole while she was drinking, she slipped and then…” And then the contact with the asphalt and the return to the emergency fetal position, the only one indicated in these specific cases, according to the Breton woman. “Once on the ground, I curled up and it fell on me. A little scared, but that’s okay. »
As a good cyclo-cross specialist, Fouquenet is not the clumsiest on her bike. “You have to be careful, but when you can’t do anything, it’s the vagaries of the job”continues the runner with the smile of the one who is happy to be in one piece.
The scoumoune of the Stade Rochelais
A hundred meters further, Séverine Eraud also pedals at a standstill. Since the start, his Stade Rochelais training has never stopped tasting the quality of the asphalt on the departmental roads, with already four retirements. “I thought I was placed in the right place, but maybe it was not the right place at the time”advances one of the two survivors of the Charente training, with India Grangier.
Despite a bright red left knee, the former world junior time trial champion seeks to retain the positive: “There are still two of us on the bike and we are very close with India and we will manage to get by. » Above all, she hopes to have to jostle less with the arrival of more uneven stages from Friday. “The placement may be less important because when there are only two of us, the other teams don’t give us too much room”, said the 57e in the general classification.
And will there be fewer falls? “We are not going to say that it is routine, but it’s the bike, puts Sandra Lévénez into perspective. There are some on the other races, but they are less publicized. » Whether for the public on the roadside, TV audiences or the media buzz, the Tour is a huge magnifying glass. But not enough to see the holes on the D32.
