Simply after the flamme rouge, stage 5 of the Simac Women Tour ended abruptly for 5 riders as they had been vying for a great place going into the dash end when World champion Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) and Charlotte Kool (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) collided, sending each riders flying.
Driving subsequent to Kopecky, Marthe Truyen (Fenix-Deceuninck) was thrown off-balance, veering right into a automobile parked in a roadside parking bay earlier than crashing herself. Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Staff ADQ) managed to brake and steer to keep away from Kool however then discovered herself evenly impacting the bonnet of the identical automobile.
Anniina Ahtosalo (Uno-X Mobility) had her entrance wheel taken out by the Truyen’s rear wheel, making the Finnish champion go to the bottom as nicely. Truyen’s teammate Julie De Wilde needed to brake laborious to keep away from Kool’s flying bike, stayed upright, however then stepped off the bike to examine on Truyen and gather herself.
Silje Bader (DSM-Firmenich PostNL), Lonneke Uneken (SD Worx-Protime), and Susanne Andersen (Uno-X Mobility) additionally stopped to take care of their crashed teammates.
For the reason that crash occurred throughout the closing three kilometres, any time gaps had been nullified, and all riders obtained the identical time as stage winner Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime).
This was of no assist to Kool, although because the Dutch sprinter was too damage to complete and needed to abandon the race. “It isn’t how we wished the season to finish for Charlotte, however we are able to look again on some particular moments collectively. Heal up and we’ll be again subsequent yr,” DSM-Firmenich PostNL commented on Twitter following the race.
Kopecky managed to complete the stage after a short medical examine however sported giant abrasions on her left shoulder and hip and underwent a extra thorough examination after the race.
“A day with combined emotions. Lorena Wiebes sprinted to the 4th victory in a row for staff SD Worx-Protime in Simac Women Tour however Lotte Kopecky was concerned in a tough crash. She was capable of journey to the end line herself. We’ll include an replace later,” SD Worx-Protime posted to Twitter following the race.
Swinkels, Truyen and De Wilde had come off evenly, their groups confirming to Cyclingnews that they hadn’t suffered any accidents.
Ahtosalo suffered bruises on her hip however escaped severe accidents.
“We’ll monitor her in a single day and do a well being examine tomorrow earlier than the stage, however at this second it appears to be like constructive for her to race the ultimate stage tomorrow,” Uno-X Mobility sport director Alex Greenfield instructed Cyclingnews.
