I am extremely happy for Niewiadoma finally won, like for her it must have been a relief + what a monumental effort today to keep that lead. I thought this was Vollering's tour to win but I'm happy it was close. I wish she finds a better team. I know it's unlikely because she will command a massive amounts of money, but apart of me she goes to someplace like Alpecin fenix. Good uprising team, they don't have a touring racer in the male side - so having it femme side might be good. They already have great riders including rising stars Puck and they have their touring rider Rooijakkers, and at least this team is all about the team vs whatever SD Worx is. I know Why would they go for Vollering with Rooijakkers, but having multiple strong rider can give them more chance to win different tours.
I cannot believe the SD Worx left the yellow jersey on the floor bleeding. Demi was the all out favorite when in the yellow; not like a domestique that got the yellow in a break. That said a huge and deserving win for Kasia. And an incredible personality and ambassador for the sport.
I’m happy Niewiadoma won she’s always been one of my favorite riders. I’m glad SD Worx got what they deserved for not dropping back the team when she crashed and for once not winning off of just strength. I’m sad for Vollering though because she was the best rider in the race and really screwed by her team. I’m glad she is leaving
@@dolophonic I think there's everyone's fed up with SD Worx' dominance within the peloton that some riders will do anything to help the rider put a stop to it including the pacing the rider who is in yellow from anyone from Demi in the case. That and I think Kasia's well liked within the peloton so they'd move mountains for her in an almost literal sense.
I think that saying Kasia recieved meaningful help on the final climb is too much to tell... I remember that every time Kasia was reducing the gap by 10, 15 sec... and then was the change and the gap went back again... I think she really won the Tour with her own hard work on the final climb. Great race! Respect for Demi.
love the wording in the intro: how niewiadoma won and how SD worx lost - not how vollering lost, how *SD worx* lost, because that's exactly what happened.
@@dolophonic They worked for themselves which put Gaia Realini into top 5 and L. Brand also finishing in the top 10. Kasia was just lucky that there were two Lidl Trek riders, so one could do the chasing.
No problem with the attack after Vollering crashed, it's part of the deal. SD Worx should have dropped back everyone except Vas as she was in the lead group going for the Stage. It's not my remark but I've read somewhere that SD Worx have the talent of UAE and the tactics of Movistar.
The trouble was, 'everyone except Vas' was effectively only Wiebes. Fisher-Black initially continued after the crash but found she'd punctured and needed a bike change so couldn't help (and Niamh wouldn't be much use to Demi anyway - she's tiny, a pure climber, and takes next to no air off anyone). Bredewold waited as soon as she got the call and tried to help, although she was cooked and couldn't for long so Demi had to go on alone. And Majerus and Guarischi, the team's two domestiques, had worked long and hard earlier on (other teams won't work for SD Worx so they often have to do most of the pulling or chasing themselves) and were by then minutes behind.
@@kyle_c936that is true, but if you're racing for GC you can't know the importance of timegaps in advance, so you have to take the best result every day. Surely Wiebes would've been more help for Vollering after that crash than not having her at all. And with the final difference being 4 seconds, that difference ended up deciding the race. BTW, Wiebes didn't even have a chance to win green after losing her chain on day 1. So she lost Vollering the yellow in order to chase some pipe dream against a far more versatile rider in Vos who already had a headstart on her.
The mistake was for Demi to attack one climb early. If they would all reach Alpe d'Huez together, Demi would have it. As a Kasia Niewiadoma fan I must say Great Job Kasia! Well deserved victory!!! 🤩🤩🤩
Very happy for Kasia Niewiadoma as she earned the win and the yellow jersey. Can't blame Canyon//SRAM for doing the right thing and racing as this is a race after all. Vollering took her time getting back up on her bike for sure and the best women won.
The TDFF was absolutely superb to follow, so much going on every stage and to finish like it did was amazing. I'm a huge Puck Pieterse fan and for her first stage race, and after the disappointment of that puncture robbing her of a certain silver MTB medal in Paris, her performance over the week was out of this world. It was only Glandon that got the better of her but she thoroughly deserved her white jersey and I look forward to seeing what she can do over the next few years as she gets stronger and gains more experience. I just hope she retains the pure joy that she seems to race with.
Other teams taking advantage of a crash is fair play. But your own team not helping is shameful. I wonder how much energy was wasted by Demi being frustrated on this last stage that could have translated to the seconds she needed to win. Like if she had just said F it I'll do it alone since that other rider wasn't interested in helping.
IDK, potentially a small amount, and probably a lot of mental impact, but if she had taken that stance she would maybe have pushed Kasia into 3rd but Rooijakkers would potentially have taken her in the sprint. Don't forget that she couldn't risk losing to the person on her wheel either. An attack to go solo would have ended the whole thing and landed her in third if it didn't work out, and riding hard on the front wasn't dropping her through attrition.
Huge respect to Kasia, her final climb made her worthy of that jersey. Vollering lost her marbles during the climb, not the first time this happens that she worries about others more than about her own performance
I only got in to cycling again last year and don't watch a huge amount of racing (mens or womens). I did watch the last stage of the TDfF this weekend though, delighted that Kasia won. First knew of her when Alex interviewed her at Big Sugar last year and she seems a genuinely lovely person, very cheerful and down to earth. Also the descent before Alp d'Huez was insane, watching the riders coming down at ~90km/h and waving the motorbikes out the way. Having watched a little of the men's tour earlier this year though, it did strike me how little team support both Kasia and Demi Vollering had on the last stages.
TDF Femmes avec Zwift was arguably the most exciting stage race I have ever seen. With 1km remaining in the final stage, any of three women could have won GC. That's crazy and great drama.
@@atsr_ You mean like the 2020 Tour? Or maybe 2022? 😂😂😂 Careful with these things as Demi is much more dominant than Pog is in the real Tour. Pog at least has Jonas to push him, Demi is head and shoulders above everyone else and had the women’s race been 3 weeks she would have put 10-15 minutes on the second best without a problem. Maybe more.
@@tonyg3091 we are talking about this year’s edition of the Tour. It was one of the most exciting cycling races ever and you were saying it wasn’t. No point bringing up anything you just said as it’s completely irrelevant to the discussion
@@atsr_ No we don't. We are talking about the supposedly most interesting stage race the OP has ever seen. So i guessed he/she started watching this year. Read more carefully or don't bother to reply at all.
Whatever else you might think of the Tour de France Femmes, the racing was closer and more exciting than most, or even all, of the men’s races this season. Strategic mistakes to one side, it was a massive shot in the arm for proof of the entertainment that the women’s races can provide.
You can't compare TdF to TDFF. They're completely different races. Anyone that uses the term closes TdF ever has no idea. 1 week race vs 3 week race. 200 world class riders vs half a peleton, at best of good riders. Short stages, tiny TT. It was great to watch yes. But it's the height of ridiculous to compare the male tours to female tours
Best and most nail-biting stage of the Tour ever in my opinion. Congratulations to Kasia. The Women's Tour has proven to be more entertaining than the Men's for me. Looking forward to parity of coverage.
It made sense at the time for Demi to wait a bit on the descent in order to have Paulina's help in the valley. Paulina had every reason to help: she was ahead of Demi on time and the virtual Yellow jersey on the road. The fact that she did absolutely nothing still baffles me, and that, along with Brand having the climbing day of her life, saved Kasia's race.
Doing nothing and saving her energy - in the hope that both Vollering and Niewiadoma would tire - was the only way she had even a small chance of winning. It didn't work but anything else could have tried would have been even more certain to fail. For example if she had pulled with Vollering then Vollering would have been stronger in the final sprint and she would have been weaker - she might have ended up second but she wanted the win.
@@Paulfarr1964 yeah I get that she was worried with having to try to drop Demi before a sprint finish, but that could only become a concern if they could get a gap of at least 1:05 over Kasia, and her refusing to do a lick of work pretty much ensured that they would have a very hard time getting that. The DS would have been in her ear saying that Brand was tt-ing the chase group along the valley...
@@peterdobos1606 I don't think her "not doing a lick of work pretty much ensured" ANYTHING. Based on the prior mountain, Demi put massive time into Kasia on the climb and would likely do so again on AdH. *@Paulfarr1964 is absolutely correct, in line with what Paulina was thinking...alas, to no avail.*
@@georgehugh3455 not taking any turns the entire valley road while Kasia's GROUP had Brand TT-ing to her personal finish line at the base of AdH brought the gap down, predictably, to just over 40 seconds. Working in turns on a ~10kms flat road against 1 single rider sounds much easier than trying to put 25 seconds into fresher Kasia, Muzic, and Realini over a climb taking ~47 minutes. We can 2nd guess until the cows come home: it all comes down to how each rider is feeling on the road and what they're hearing in their ears from their DSs. And we got one of the most epic battles that stayed balanced on a knife edge for well over 1 hour to finish off the tour. Pretty sweet.
@@peterdobos1606 I don't disagree that Rooijakkers probably could have helped more (despite what she said in her interview about being "on the limit"), but I'm sure she wanted to WIN (the stage, possibly the Tour), not come in 2nd. *Plus, she was absolutely correct about Demi's strength,* as was seen when she ALMOST dropped her at 2.5k and then was beaten at the end. Working with Vollering would have sealed the deal against her chance at any kind of win.
@@donwinston nonsense! What is the single most important duty of a team in cycling? To protect their leader and tobring him/her into the position where he/she can finish the job! When Vollering crashed (caused by her own teammate!!!) NOBODY cared, not one single second, not even she who caused the crash - she rode on without even looking after her. And lied after the race she thought to have seen "something yellow" behind her... as if it would be possible to confuse the one in the yellow skinsuit with anyone else in a field where no other yellow shirts are. They simply didn't care for Vollering at all, they betrayed her - again!
Ending the Tour at Alpes d'Huez was the best thing ever. We've never had such an interesting ending in a Tour de France. Amazing! Ending at Champs Élisées is so boring!
From the SD Worx corporate website, 'SD Worx inspires results, matching people to the jobs they’re meant for, helping them learn and grow, rewarding them appropriately' The disrespect from the other riders and management for Demi would certainly not be good for SD Worx's brand
I'm a big fan of both Wiebes and Vollering, but after the crash, I'm wondering why Wiebes left Vollering. Other commentary and video footage show that she was right next to Vollering and might have been the rider who bumped her handlebars. I feel for Vollering, much like I did for Fignon in 1989, but I take solace in knowing that Vollering is still the best female GC rider in the world and that she will recover soon to continue her very impressive career.
@@rob-c. Women’s TdF is not exactly a Tour de France to be honest, it is a one week race part of which happens in France and given the level of competition I’d still say Kwiato’s achievements are more impressive.
7:12 -- I despise Vollering for this type of attitude! She had the exact same attitude last year with Marianne Vos at the tour 2023. I don't like her behavior. Congrats to Katarzyna NIEWIADOMA, Pauliena ROOIJAKKERS and of course Evita MUZIC 👍
To było chaniebne z jej strony bo Kasia cały czas ciągnęła ja pod gore jak ona nie chcjala wyjść do przodu a w momencie przed samą meta odżyła zabierając wyczerpane Kasi do cna trzecie miejsce i bonifikate 4 sekundowa
I wish there was an explainer for how crazy this was for non-cycling folk. I been trying and failing to explain how incredible this race and this stage is to regular people.
It was heartbreaking seeing Georgi writhing on the ground like that. I'm so thankful she'll be able to recover without surgery. Stage 8 will go down as one of the greatest tour finales I have ever witnessed. Chapeau Kasia on one of the hardest fought wins I've ever watched unfold!
These are two of the riders I admire most and while I am stoked for Kasia I am also sad for how it ended. Sure it is part of racing and Kasia did not attack the yellow jersey when she crashed but still, the question will remain forever - would Kasia have won if SD did not do what they did? Super exciting final stage and kudos to both Demi and Kasia for leaving everything out on that final climb.
What a superb critique and summary of the TdF Femme! Gutted for Vollering but I think it was her team that let her down rather than Niewiadoma et al not conforming to tradition and "waiting"
Well, Ayusso was kicked out of the Tour and was denied a shot at the Vuelta at the slightest hint of disobedience to the team orders, so you can imagine what would have happened.
Except in this case it was the team instructions that screwed up. They didn’t prepare riders for this situation, then when the radio fail, they can’t respond:
After??? Women racing has been exciting for a very long time. The only problem is that the coverage is still lacking (even eurosport show only a fraction of the woman races in comparison to the men's and mostly for paid subscriber only). And because the races are in general shorter, some races are an attack fest, one attack after the other in the last 30 KM.
@@tonyg3091 Annemiek will be loving this, mind you - it's her legacy. Funny thing is, though, you sometimes thought the crazy stuff only ever happened to Annemiek, but now she's gone it's happening to the rest of them!
SD Worx did not want to win it. They are happy not to see Demi at the top spot on the podium. They did everything within their powers to prevent Demi from winning. This is the worst display of lack of sportsmanship in the recent history, absolutely disgusting. They should lose all of their sponsors after this atrocity. Ah yes and Lorena Weasel should be fired of course.
Vollering has publicly said that Wiebes is not to blame for her going down or for continuing on. She asked people to stop attacking Wiebes for her actions that day. Make of it what you will.
@@YelCan Demi is a well mannered politically correct person. We on the other hand are free to tell it how we saw it, free to tell the truth. And the truth was not pretty.
Attacking when someone crashes or has a mechanical should never be something that is not an option. I understand if it’s a decision a team makes from time to time, but being organized as a team, having a plan for when things go wrong, and having riders willing/savy enough to know when to assist other team members is extremely important. Canyon-SRAM took advantage of another team’s misfortune/disorganization and used it to their advantage and it paid off by the slimmest of margins, which is as fair a way to win as any. Congrats to Niewiadoma.
Agreed. The onus is on the team to attack and the team to pick up the pieces and catch. No one should wait for anyone for race related issues. Trains. Yes. If a dog came onto the route and caused the yellow to come down, yes. But anything expected as part of cycling...is racing. It's the whole point of strategy and picking brand equipment less likely to cause an issue. To having food mechanics in car, on course etc. I get it's nice when it happens sometimes but it shouldn't be expected.
I didn't realize Vollering was leaving SD Workx at the end of the season. But my first impression, watching first hand, was that teams response to the crash is going to cost people their jobs. That could be management, mechanics, or rider demotion. For better or worse, I got to see every stage. This race was great! Chapeau to the women who made the race, and the organization who organized a challenging and diverse course.
I remember the uproar when Andy Schleck had a mechanical and Alberto Contador left him in the dust. That said, if your own team isn't going to help you, another team isn't going to wait for you. As long as Vollering looked invincible everyone fell in line, but a little crash and the rats left the ship, even though they could have easily helped her minimize the damage.
The biggest loveliest smile in women's cycling won the day and I was so chuffed for her. I watched every minute of the TdFaZ it was brilliant! Much better than the men's cycling that was going on! Apart from the racing it was fantastic to see the huge crowds that turned out to support the ladies. I feel sorry for Demi, I bet she's glad she's leaving that so called "team", I'm sure she'll be able to get some revenge on her ex-team mates next year while smiling with dollar signs in her eyes! It was disgusting what they did to her. Watching the yellow jersey having to drag her arse to the line shorts ripped, injured all alone, no excuses, it shouldn't have happened!
The elephant in the room that nobody addresses is how extremely unpopular Demi Vollering is, both inside and outside the peloton. Even the Dutch commentators showed little compassion during the coverage and post-race show. Rooijakkers and Lucinda Brand said that only Vollering herself is to blame for her loss, which is heartless even for Dutch standards. Many riders and fans - like myself - have a sweet spot for Kasia but I don't know where Vollering's unlikeability comes from. Anyone?
Haven’t got the answer, but I sense the same, Cesilie u Ludvig even said that everyone likes Kasia, implying…. And it was about time, a non 🇳🇱 rider won…. What I noticed is that the multi winning Dutch women, seem awkward and man like compared to the rest of the women….???🤷♂️
winners very rarely are universally popular, its lonely at the top, but for all the gossip and innuendo about it, no-ones ever actually provided any real evidence of things shes done or said that would explain any of it, and she has to a fault in public at least been completely generous to team mates, to sponsors, to people she's helped. Maybe thats why they dont like her, shes too perfect ?
@@wonderwatch2239 but the same people will also tell tales that CUL is unliked as well, because shes too noisy and shouts alot in the peloton. must be ahard bunch of people to please is all Ill say.
@@awavey It seems to affect some winners more than others though. Merckx was detested outside Belgium in his day, Pogačar is universally liked. Van Vleuten didn't have many friends in the peloton, van der Breggen was the peloton's sweetheart, whilst they both cannibalised cycling. But with Vollering I sense there's another amplitude
I think Demi was suffering crash effects for the remainder of the Tour. If she hadn't been, Alpe d'Huez would have provided a larger cushion for Demi. Is anyone talking about that?
Yeah, the exit to that roundabout was a crash waiting to happen - it took a blind sharp left turn just after the exit where you'd have expected it to go straight. There could at least have been commissaires with flags and whistles warning the riders. Ok the teams should have known, but it just takes one rider to get it wrong and they all go down.
@@kyle_c936 Yeah for sure. There was no way for the riders to see that gutter coming out the other side of the roundabout. There was however another instance where there were barricades but funnelling the riders into one lane before another roundabout (stage 2 or 3) which they all crashed into and there were camera guys pulling the barricades away so the riders could get through. Some riders even had to jump the barricades! There just wasn't enough considerations for safety unfortunately.
It was Wiebes who bumped into Vollering causing Vollering to crash. So it would be weird for the other team to wait for a team who crashes within their own team...
Canyon were within their rights to pace on stage 5, but SD Worx have only themselves to blame for losing GC. Though tbh, I am not sure they care. They seem to be a team of individual riders who don't care for each other. Mischa Bredewold was the only one who actually sacrificed to help Demi
I like watching Faulkner, without much of a team behind her, hang in there until the mountains. I learned so much on tactics from her. Demi made the same mistake in the Olympic road race-riding in the pack and going down with accidents.
They forgot all about Gigante from the moment she crested the Glandon, even the live timings didn't show her. Luckily, there was nothing wrong with her and she finished in a great position. But they had me worried there for a long time!
A beautiful victory for Kasia.. Big congratulations, and to the whiners who can't deal with Vollering's defeat, learn that there's only one winner and it's Kasia
Congrats to Niewiadoma but the best rider in Vuelta was Vollering (and if you can't see it you're either Polish or crazy). No help from her team (or other teams), was behind 2 min. after the crash and still managed to be 2nd with only 4sec, and she got crashed by her own teammate (Lorena Wiebes) who left her there. It's nice to see Kasia win and she fight like a lion but the best rider was Demi Vollering.
@@nazgulzgnajleprzym jest ten co wygrywa końcowa linie mety jestem Polakiem i nie interesuje mnie jakie są rozgrywki między zawodniczka i gdzie jeździ Volering. Nikt Kasi niedal tego zwycenstwa za darmo i nikt w czasie decydującego etapu Kasi z drużyny nie pomagał. Jest to utalentowana polska zawodniczka o filigranowym wontlym wyglodzie ale o jakiej silnej woli ducha żeby zwycięży pojechała jak my to mowimy w Polsce w trupa i wygrała usłyszymy o niej jeszcze nie raz
Kinda reminded me of Gilberto Simoni in 2004 and 2005 Giro. His own team tactics and miscellaneous alliances of other riders meant he lost both races despite huge one day efforts to try and regain the overall.
Tour de France : you wait (sit up) for the yellow jersey if the race hasn’t begun yet. I.e., the peloton is 60K out. However, the race was on. They were 6K out and there was already a break away. Even her team didn’t sit up because they were looking at the finish, and not the yellow. It was a nail biting great race and a well earned victory by Kashia. Demi is strong enough to win in the near future.
If your leader in Yellow falls, of course the team should respond, that's was teams are for. But no, nobody else should get on the brakes and wait with the finish almost in sight. And let's face it, when two leaders are in a break and one falls, the other may as well wait so they can keep working together, plus it would look stupid for one to keep going and let the other get all mad and catch up. Still, it would probably be a good off-season conversation, clarifying roles now and deleting roles past.
Regarding Blanka - on paper she was the favourite out of that small group, and a stage win plus keeping bonus seconds away from Kasia was probably as good or better than what she could have contributed had she pulled over and waited.
but the point people miss is why was she up the road in the first place and not protecting her team leader giving her a wheel to follow ? Wiebes was the one they were setting up for the sprint, how did Vas end up where she was, she had to be out of position. Yes once the crash happens and it all works out then Vas sticking up there makes sense though I dont even think she or SD worx were considering the bonus second part, Vas just went for the win because she could.
@@awavey I don't think she was "up the road" when the crash happened - just a few wheels ahead of Demi and Lorena. The crash was very close to the front.
@@peterdobos1606 she was far enough ahead the sound of crashing carbon fibre bikes and riders screaming in agony behind her didnt reach her. Im being generous I feel saying she was "up the road", because the alternative is she carried on without even a glance back to see what had just happened. My issue is really there shouldnt have been any separation at all between the riders if they were protecting the GC rider, just like UAE do with Pogocar, instead they were using Vollering as final lead out for Wiebes to take the stage
@@awavey of course they were: they had the best GC rider, the best climber, and the best bunch sprinter. On paper this was always going to be a stage for Wiebes. As for keeping in tighter colour order, the breadth of ability in the women's peloton is much greater than in the men's: even on a relatively flat stage the back door was open and scores of riders had already been dropped. I'd like to get a clear view of where everyone was like 500 m before that roundabout.
Truly embarrassing TdFF performance by SD Worx, that their leader crashed in yellow with almost zero assistance, then had to ride herself with no help back into nearly winning the yellow jersey back. Glad Demi is leaving. Amazing to see such a dominant team the last few years became such a joke.
As for Lorena - she HAD to know that Demi had crashed and her fudging her post-race comments reeked of CYA. Had she stopped or waited and helped pull, it's almost a guarantee that Demi wins the tour, which has in hindsight made what Lorena did (or didn't) do even worse. We need to keep in mind that the DSs share a huge chunk of the blame here, and that at the end of the day it's just a bike race, so the amount of vitriol and abuse likely being heaped upon Wiebes is way out of line. Well, out of line for common sense and decency, but perfectly normal for the online "community".
@@tonyg3091 What do you mean "what am I on about"? What in my comment is so utterly senseless? I never said that she wasn't blameless. Unless you think Lorena deliberately ran into Demi. Then you're just nuts.
@@tonyg3091 come one, do you have any proof that a) Lorena caused the accident and b) that it was intentional? If you haven't noticed, people crashed before and after Demi. It was wrong for Lorena not to wait for the team leader, yes. People make mistakes in the heat of the battle. But people are going nuts right now implying that Lorena somehow deliberately caused this. I'd like to know how you would react in such situation. As such, the OP is 100% right.
@@realshaoran4514 Per Sporza via Outside Magazine: _"Speaking to Sporza, Vollering said that her teammate had collided with her. She initially thought she would stay upright as the riders in front of her crashed. “But then someone hit me full on the side and I fell anyway.” She confirmed that was Wiebes, something borne out by TV images which show the collision."_
Great video and overview of the TDFF and Vuelta! 👏👏👏 I am really hoping the TDFF moves to a greater number of stage format. These women riders are incredible and limiting them to 8 stages is disappointing (and insulting TBH). The TDFF is also so exciting and has tremendous entertainment value. Limiting that entertainment to 8 days seems to be bad business. Lastly, an 8 stage format means one crash that delays a rider for a relatively short amount of time, such as what happened to Demi, can cost that rider the championship. A small crash should not have such a catastrophic effect on the outcome of a prestigious event like the TDFF. Having said that, I am happy for Kasia and impressed by the grit she showed at the end of the AdH climb to save her Yellow Jersey.
Next year will be 9 stages, but on TV the female pro rider said, who co-commentated, that 8 stages is already enough, because women have different physical abilities than men. Just look at the huge number of riders that abandoned the race. Also the teams are logistically not yet prepared to do a three week race, she said. And it is also better to grow slowly than suddenly doing a three week race, which could be disastrous (with probably more than half of the riders abandoning) and leading for the race to be canceled entirely for the future, which has happened in the past with races growing to quickly. And in the end it also comes down to money and there is just less funding in female racing, but it is growing slowly.
What's funny - when we talking about Volering we talking about SDWorx too. when we talking about Kasia we almost never talk about Canyon - SRAM. Maybe time switch Kasia to SD worx and Demi to Canyon. This should be interesting
Demi Vollering got screwed over by SD Worx. Yes, SD Worx is a terrible tactical team, but no team is that bad. You do not leave the Yellow jersey high and dry after a crash. Image UAE doing that to Pogačar. As for the radio not working, Olympic hangover?🙄 Finally, why was the fact not mentioned that Wiebes caused Vollering to crash? SD Worx's team car was right at the crash and saw everything. Unless the DS is blinded. 4 seconds is a Hell of a way to lose. Laurent Fignon lost his mind over 8 seconds.
the DS at the end of that stage said he didnt know Demi had crashed till only a few kms to go, to Manon actually in her new roving reporter for Eurosport job, and its claimed they only had one team car in the race. So you tell me what he was doing ? making coffees in the team bus ?
@@awavey The DS's in the men's TdF are watching the race via live coverage - it would be hard to miss YELLOW JERSEY Demi's struggles even if he didn't have that. I agree with you: What purpose did the SD Worx DS serve if he had such little Situational Awareness?
First of all: The Women's Tour was a cracker!! Incredibly fun to watch! Having seen Vollering only for the first time, but I got a very strong feeling that she might be extremely difficult to work with, which might have lead to the non-support of her teammates...
Having seen Vollering a number of times, such as working her ass off for Kopecky and then getting screwed by her in return, I think the fault lies in the team culture (and piss-poor tactics) that promotes personal egotism vs sacrifice for the team.
Agree SD Worx lost the femmes not Demi V. But Kasia won the race hands down. Etiquite yes if it was 100ks out or whatever . but KBV won the stage ,radio out ?? bit disappointed in L Wiebers who im a fan of.
Well with only what , 6k to go? the team could not have brought Demi back. As you said, it was just a matter of limiting the loss. And Vas was in position to win the stage, which has to count for something.
The Tour de France Femme was amazing to watch this year and if you have never watched a Womens Word Tour Race live, go for it the women are very nice, cool and approachable!!! And the hole crash thing I think Canyon Sram had every right to race, SD Worxs fucked up for Demi big time!!! She rode amazing as ever!!! Kasia rode amazing too though... Last year she lost over 2 minutes in 5kms so that was something to win it... And coming back to SD Worxs, just imagine Pogačar crashing 6km from the finish and Politt not waiting?... I don't think he'd be riding for UAE much longer...
"Radio didn't work" is about the same level of excuse as "dog ate my homework." Also, every other person in that break would've heard that Vollering was down AND they would've been talking, most likely telling Vas in hopes she would drop out of the break. There is no way Vas didn't know and SD should be ashamed of their tactics. My wife did notice that the women's teams seem to race differently than the men's teams. Just this week, you can see in the Vuelta how the teams are almost always together and working for the TEAM. In the TdF Femmes, it really seemed that there was no teamwork, little lead out on sprints, and a much more selfish mentality. It could be that there just isn't the depth of top talent in women's racing yet. In any case, SD blew it and it's best for Vollering that she is leaving.
As someone quite new to the sport, I don't feel like I know enough to understand why it was an issue with people overtaking, regardless of team. Cn anyone plz tell me how much of a team sport it is supposed to be, and why there's such a precident?
Indeed WTF! I think SD works took Demi for granted! She needed more support after the crash... And her team mate sprinting for 8th position?! The mental burden on Her being left alone and losing by only 4 seconds... Amazing stuff
Nobody is going to wait in the last 5km. Vollering could’ve still won in the last stage if she didn’t wait for Roy Eckerts in the final descent thinking RE would work with her on the Alpe d’Huez. As it was, RE was like an anchor around her neck as Vollering basically dragged her up the mountain until RE attacked.
What transfer rumours are you most excited or surprised about?
Lance Stroll moving to IndyCar
@@KeithFlint350 😅🤣😂
Wout to Bora. It is inevitable.
hirschi/allainallaphilippe to tudor
I am extremely happy for Niewiadoma finally won, like for her it must have been a relief + what a monumental effort today to keep that lead. I thought this was Vollering's tour to win but I'm happy it was close. I wish she finds a better team.
I know it's unlikely because she will command a massive amounts of money, but apart of me she goes to someplace like Alpecin fenix. Good uprising team, they don't have a touring racer in the male side - so having it femme side might be good. They already have great riders including rising stars Puck and they have their touring rider Rooijakkers, and at least this team is all about the team vs whatever SD Worx is. I know Why would they go for Vollering with Rooijakkers, but having multiple strong rider can give them more chance to win different tours.
I cannot believe the SD Worx left the yellow jersey on the floor bleeding. Demi was the all out favorite when in the yellow; not like a domestique that got the yellow in a break. That said a huge and deserving win for Kasia. And an incredible personality and ambassador for the sport.
Demi deserves a lot of the blame. Instead of getting back on her bike right away after the crash, she took her sweet time.
Had a lot of high speed crashes yourself have you?@@777NCM
@@777NCM Lol, so I take it you've never actually crashed HARD on a bike, eh? (if you ride at all...)
@@georgehugh3455 exactly! What a moron...
SD = 5hit Domestiques
I’m happy Niewiadoma won she’s always been one of my favorite riders. I’m glad SD Worx got what they deserved for not dropping back the team when she crashed and for once not winning off of just strength. I’m sad for Vollering though because she was the best rider in the race and really screwed by her team. I’m glad she is leaving
wondering why Lucinda Brandt did so much work for Cassia ? So many riders were helping her pace, something you would not see in the men's bunch
@@dolophonic I think there's everyone's fed up with SD Worx' dominance within the peloton that some riders will do anything to help the rider put a stop to it including the pacing the rider who is in yellow from anyone from Demi in the case. That and I think Kasia's well liked within the peloton so they'd move mountains for her in an almost literal sense.
@@Stefan_W. 100% projection 😉😆
Perfect summary, totally agree 💯
@@Stefan_W. I have a crush on Kasia, Demi, Puck, used to have one on Wiebes, but not anymore that moron.
I think that saying Kasia recieved meaningful help on the final climb is too much to tell... I remember that every time Kasia was reducing the gap by 10, 15 sec... and then was the change and the gap went back again... I think she really won the Tour with her own hard work on the final climb. Great race! Respect for Demi.
love the wording in the intro: how niewiadoma won and how SD worx lost - not how vollering lost, how *SD worx* lost, because that's exactly what happened.
Canyon Sram were perfectly entitled to carry on, no issue there but SD Worx a disgrace and left Vollering out to dry.
Exactly this.
yes but why were trek working for Canyon Sram on the last day ? that was weird
@@dolophonic They worked for themselves which put Gaia Realini into top 5 and L. Brand also finishing in the top 10. Kasia was just lucky that there were two Lidl Trek riders, so one could do the chasing.
@@dolophonic They weren't. Brand was working for Gia.
@@autorelight yes yes but for what ? She got dropped .. maybe if they made cassia work in the valley they could have got a better result ?
10/10 storytelling from that last TDFF stage - well done!
No problem with the attack after Vollering crashed, it's part of the deal. SD Worx should have dropped back everyone except Vas as she was in the lead group going for the Stage. It's not my remark but I've read somewhere that SD Worx have the talent of UAE and the tactics of Movistar.
That is correct, nobody blames Kasia for that, she took what she was given, it is alright. SD Worx on the other hand...
Great take, but if it were the tactics of Movistar there would've been three DS's or Asst DS's giving contradicting orders...
The trouble was, 'everyone except Vas' was effectively only Wiebes. Fisher-Black initially continued after the crash but found she'd punctured and needed a bike change so couldn't help (and Niamh wouldn't be much use to Demi anyway - she's tiny, a pure climber, and takes next to no air off anyone). Bredewold waited as soon as she got the call and tried to help, although she was cooked and couldn't for long so Demi had to go on alone. And Majerus and Guarischi, the team's two domestiques, had worked long and hard earlier on (other teams won't work for SD Worx so they often have to do most of the pulling or chasing themselves) and were by then minutes behind.
@@kyle_c936that is true, but if you're racing for GC you can't know the importance of timegaps in advance, so you have to take the best result every day.
Surely Wiebes would've been more help for Vollering after that crash than not having her at all.
And with the final difference being 4 seconds, that difference ended up deciding the race.
BTW, Wiebes didn't even have a chance to win green after losing her chain on day 1. So she lost Vollering the yellow in order to chase some pipe dream against a far more versatile rider in Vos who already had a headstart on her.
I don’t have a horse in this race, but the energy Wiebes spent sprinting for 8th on Stage 5 would’ve been enough to save Demi those 4 seconds.
Especially as she knocked her off in the first place. Full on treachery.
The mistake was for Demi to attack one climb early. If they would all reach Alpe d'Huez together, Demi would have it.
As a Kasia Niewiadoma fan I must say Great Job Kasia! Well deserved victory!!! 🤩🤩🤩
Very happy for Kasia Niewiadoma as she earned the win and the yellow jersey. Can't blame Canyon//SRAM for doing the right thing and racing as this is a race after all. Vollering took her time getting back up on her bike for sure and the best women won.
The TDFF was absolutely superb to follow, so much going on every stage and to finish like it did was amazing. I'm a huge Puck Pieterse fan and for her first stage race, and after the disappointment of that puncture robbing her of a certain silver MTB medal in Paris, her performance over the week was out of this world. It was only Glandon that got the better of her but she thoroughly deserved her white jersey and I look forward to seeing what she can do over the next few years as she gets stronger and gains more experience. I just hope she retains the pure joy that she seems to race with.
Gratulacje Kasia NIEWIADOMA # 1 🇵🇱 POLAND 🇵🇱 Zwycięstwo w Tour de France . Dziękujemy za zwycięstwo i emocje . Brawo NIEWIADOMA 🇵🇱🌹🚲❤️
A great presentation Dan! Thank you.
Kasia's final rally was amazing!🥰
Other teams taking advantage of a crash is fair play. But your own team not helping is shameful. I wonder how much energy was wasted by Demi being frustrated on this last stage that could have translated to the seconds she needed to win. Like if she had just said F it I'll do it alone since that other rider wasn't interested in helping.
IDK, potentially a small amount, and probably a lot of mental impact, but if she had taken that stance she would maybe have pushed Kasia into 3rd but Rooijakkers would potentially have taken her in the sprint. Don't forget that she couldn't risk losing to the person on her wheel either. An attack to go solo would have ended the whole thing and landed her in third if it didn't work out, and riding hard on the front wasn't dropping her through attrition.
Thank you for finally covering womens racing more fully!
Huge respect to Kasia, her final climb made her worthy of that jersey. Vollering lost her marbles during the climb, not the first time this happens that she worries about others more than about her own performance
Thrilled for Niewiadoma. Well deserved whatever way the dice fell.
I only got in to cycling again last year and don't watch a huge amount of racing (mens or womens). I did watch the last stage of the TDfF this weekend though, delighted that Kasia won. First knew of her when Alex interviewed her at Big Sugar last year and she seems a genuinely lovely person, very cheerful and down to earth. Also the descent before Alp d'Huez was insane, watching the riders coming down at ~90km/h and waving the motorbikes out the way.
Having watched a little of the men's tour earlier this year though, it did strike me how little team support both Kasia and Demi Vollering had on the last stages.
Outstanding tour. It looked to me like Wiebes crashed Vollering then left her behind. Shocking failure of SD Works to protect the yellow jersey.
No, they just didn't believe she needed much protection. She has never needed it in the last couple of years.
TDF Femmes avec Zwift was arguably the most exciting stage race I have ever seen. With 1km remaining in the final stage, any of three women could have won GC. That's crazy and great drama.
@@SecondPlaceInTheGeneticLottery 😂😂😂 so, it is the only stage race you have seen I take it?
@@tonyg3091So you prefer dopers winning by enormous margins by the first week of a grand tour then?
@@atsr_ You mean like the 2020 Tour? Or maybe 2022? 😂😂😂 Careful with these things as Demi is much more dominant than Pog is in the real Tour. Pog at least has Jonas to push him, Demi is head and shoulders above everyone else and had the women’s race been 3 weeks she would have put 10-15 minutes on the second best without a problem. Maybe more.
@@tonyg3091 we are talking about this year’s edition of the Tour. It was one of the most exciting cycling races ever and you were saying it wasn’t. No point bringing up anything you just said as it’s completely irrelevant to the discussion
@@atsr_ No we don't. We are talking about the supposedly most interesting stage race the OP has ever seen. So i guessed he/she started watching this year.
Read more carefully or don't bother to reply at all.
Whatever else you might think of the Tour de France Femmes, the racing was closer and more exciting than most, or even all, of the men’s races this season. Strategic mistakes to one side, it was a massive shot in the arm for proof of the entertainment that the women’s races can provide.
100% womens racing is great and better looking
You can't compare TdF to TDFF. They're completely different races. Anyone that uses the term closes TdF ever has no idea. 1 week race vs 3 week race. 200 world class riders vs half a peleton, at best of good riders. Short stages, tiny TT.
It was great to watch yes. But it's the height of ridiculous to compare the male tours to female tours
@@out_spocken The ‘height of ridiculous’ is your post, sir. Your opinions are your own, good luck with them.
Best and most nail-biting stage of the Tour ever in my opinion. Congratulations to Kasia. The Women's Tour has proven to be more entertaining than the Men's for me. Looking forward to parity of coverage.
It made sense at the time for Demi to wait a bit on the descent in order to have Paulina's help in the valley. Paulina had every reason to help: she was ahead of Demi on time and the virtual Yellow jersey on the road. The fact that she did absolutely nothing still baffles me, and that, along with Brand having the climbing day of her life, saved Kasia's race.
Doing nothing and saving her energy - in the hope that both Vollering and Niewiadoma would tire - was the only way she had even a small chance of winning. It didn't work but anything else could have tried would have been even more certain to fail. For example if she had pulled with Vollering then Vollering would have been stronger in the final sprint and she would have been weaker - she might have ended up second but she wanted the win.
@@Paulfarr1964 yeah I get that she was worried with having to try to drop Demi before a sprint finish, but that could only become a concern if they could get a gap of at least 1:05 over Kasia, and her refusing to do a lick of work pretty much ensured that they would have a very hard time getting that. The DS would have been in her ear saying that Brand was tt-ing the chase group along the valley...
@@peterdobos1606 I don't think her "not doing a lick of work pretty much ensured" ANYTHING. Based on the prior mountain, Demi put massive time into Kasia on the climb and would likely do so again on AdH. *@Paulfarr1964 is absolutely correct, in line with what Paulina was thinking...alas, to no avail.*
@@georgehugh3455 not taking any turns the entire valley road while Kasia's GROUP had Brand TT-ing to her personal finish line at the base of AdH brought the gap down, predictably, to just over 40 seconds. Working in turns on a ~10kms flat road against 1 single rider sounds much easier than trying to put 25 seconds into fresher Kasia, Muzic, and Realini over a climb taking ~47 minutes.
We can 2nd guess until the cows come home: it all comes down to how each rider is feeling on the road and what they're hearing in their ears from their DSs.
And we got one of the most epic battles that stayed balanced on a knife edge for well over 1 hour to finish off the tour. Pretty sweet.
@@peterdobos1606 I don't disagree that Rooijakkers probably could have helped more (despite what she said in her interview about being "on the limit"), but I'm sure she wanted to WIN (the stage, possibly the Tour), not come in 2nd.
*Plus, she was absolutely correct about Demi's strength,* as was seen when she ALMOST dropped her at 2.5k and then was beaten at the end. Working with Vollering would have sealed the deal against her chance at any kind of win.
Vollering was betrayed of her own team - disgusting! I've NEVER seen such bad team tactics, it almost looked as if they wanted her to lose
No they just assumed she would win easily like she usually does.
@@donwinston nonsense! What is the single most important duty of a team in cycling? To protect their leader and tobring him/her into the position where he/she can finish the job! When Vollering crashed (caused by her own teammate!!!) NOBODY cared, not one single second, not even she who caused the crash - she rode on without even looking after her. And lied after the race she thought to have seen "something yellow" behind her... as if it would be possible to confuse the one in the yellow skinsuit with anyone else in a field where no other yellow shirts are. They simply didn't care for Vollering at all, they betrayed her - again!
Ending the Tour at Alpes d'Huez was the best thing ever. We've never had such an interesting ending in a Tour de France. Amazing! Ending at Champs Élisées is so boring!
What a stage!! Best one I've seen all year, maybe of the last few years. A beautiful win for Kasia!! The TdFF overdelivered.
From the SD Worx corporate website, 'SD Worx inspires results, matching people to the jobs they’re meant for, helping them learn and grow, rewarding them appropriately' The disrespect from the other riders and management for Demi would certainly not be good for SD Worx's brand
I'm a big fan of both Wiebes and Vollering, but after the crash, I'm wondering why Wiebes left Vollering. Other commentary and video footage show that she was right next to Vollering and might have been the rider who bumped her handlebars. I feel for Vollering, much like I did for Fignon in 1989, but I take solace in knowing that Vollering is still the best female GC rider in the world and that she will recover soon to continue her very impressive career.
Wiebes is a terrible team mate!!!
perhaps.... it was intentional. Women. You know.
@@FT__Bicycling_____-sc7yv
WTF?! “Women. You know”. No I don’t know. 🐂💩.
This is the biggest achivement in Polish cycling history
😂😂😂
Yup! Hands (on the drops) down!
@@jakubknurek3787 Not true. Kwiato’s stats are much more impressive.
@@tonyg3091 But would he swap them all for a TDF GC win?
@@rob-c. Women’s TdF is not exactly a Tour de France to be honest, it is a one week race part of which happens in France and given the level of competition I’d still say Kwiato’s achievements are more impressive.
Well done Kasia🎉
SD Works Clusterfuck, but great news that Niewiadoma won, well done Kasia!
There was absolutely no reason for the peloton to wait for Demi after her crash. I don’t even think tradition would call for that at 6km to go
7:12 -- I despise Vollering for this type of attitude! She had the exact same attitude last year with Marianne Vos at the tour 2023. I don't like her behavior.
Congrats to Katarzyna NIEWIADOMA, Pauliena ROOIJAKKERS and of course Evita MUZIC 👍
you could argue that vollering lost by a fraction of a second - when she finished 2nd in the sprint on that earlier stage - losing 4 bonus seconds
Niewiadoma did not give up and kept chugging. 👏
the fact the Vollering had just sold out her own chances the week before at the Olympics for Weibes is just... something else
Well you know she won't be working for her ever again. Or half her team. Time for her to be selfish
NIEWIADOMA GREATEST ❤❤❤🏆🏆🏆
I suspect Muzik may have denied Niewiadoma the 4 second bonus as an attempt to get the overrall win for Vollering, her future team mate
To było chaniebne z jej strony bo Kasia cały czas ciągnęła ja pod gore jak ona nie chcjala wyjść do przodu a w momencie przed samą meta odżyła zabierając wyczerpane Kasi do cna trzecie miejsce i bonifikate 4 sekundowa
I wish there was an explainer for how crazy this was for non-cycling folk. I been trying and failing to explain how incredible this race and this stage is to regular people.
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉tdf🎉🎉🎉🎉wowwww. Brawo kasia
It was heartbreaking seeing Georgi writhing on the ground like that. I'm so thankful she'll be able to recover without surgery. Stage 8 will go down as one of the greatest tour finales I have ever witnessed. Chapeau Kasia on one of the hardest fought wins I've ever watched unfold!
This Tour was so much better than the dopefest the men’s races have become. Truly fantastic
Women‘s racing really delivers in the last years. That last stage was on the same level as the Roubaix Alison Jackson won.
They can't match Alison's dance moves.
These are two of the riders I admire most and while I am stoked for Kasia I am also sad for how it ended. Sure it is part of racing and Kasia did not attack the yellow jersey when she crashed but still, the question will remain forever - would Kasia have won if SD did not do what they did? Super exciting final stage and kudos to both Demi and Kasia for leaving everything out on that final climb.
A proper presentation of this year's epic TDFF.
You nailed it, Dan!
What a superb critique and summary of the TdF Femme! Gutted for Vollering but I think it was her team that let her down rather than Niewiadoma et al not conforming to tradition and "waiting"
Thanks Dan and crew.
I wanted Kasia to win before. But now I’m a Demi fan. That was shameful. Can you imagine Adam Yates or Almieda leaving pog like that. Never!
Well, Ayusso was kicked out of the Tour and was denied a shot at the Vuelta at the slightest hint of disobedience to the team orders, so you can imagine what would have happened.
Except in this case it was the team instructions that screwed up. They didn’t prepare riders for this situation, then when the radio fail, they can’t respond:
@tonyg3091 Ayusso said he was not on top form and that is why he is not at the Vuelta.. who knows..
@@LadyBird-n2t Ah yes..of course 😂😂😂
@@LadyBird-n2t _So he's leaving it "to spend more time with the family," eh?_
With 5km to go the race was already on, it was SD Worx fault for not protecting Vollering after she crashed.
After the women's Olympic road race and the TOF Femmes, the women are certainly putting it to the men for exciting racing. Bravo ladies!!!
You never watched the great Annemiek then?
After??? Women racing has been exciting for a very long time. The only problem is that the coverage is still lacking (even eurosport show only a fraction of the woman races in comparison to the men's and mostly for paid subscriber only). And because the races are in general shorter, some races are an attack fest, one attack after the other in the last 30 KM.
@@tonyg3091 Annemiek will be loving this, mind you - it's her legacy.
Funny thing is, though, you sometimes thought the crazy stuff only ever happened to Annemiek, but now she's gone it's happening to the rest of them!
SD Worx did not want to win it. They are happy not to see Demi at the top spot on the podium. They did everything within their powers to prevent Demi from winning.
This is the worst display of lack of sportsmanship in the recent history, absolutely disgusting. They should lose all of their sponsors after this atrocity.
Ah yes and Lorena Weasel should be fired of course.
Lorena Weasel, lol!
That knocked me out even more since Demi and Lorena are old colleagues from Parkhotel Valkenburg and should know best for each other
Vollering has publicly said that Wiebes is not to blame for her going down or for continuing on. She asked people to stop attacking Wiebes for her actions that day.
Make of it what you will.
@@YelCan Demi is a well mannered politically correct person.
We on the other hand are free to tell it how we saw it, free to tell the truth. And the truth was not pretty.
Even more so since Demi actually participated in the lead-out train on the first two stages...
I just want to give a shout-out to Marianne Vos for winning the maillot vert. 🐐
Attacking when someone crashes or has a mechanical should never be something that is not an option. I understand if it’s a decision a team makes from time to time, but being organized as a team, having a plan for when things go wrong, and having riders willing/savy enough to know when to assist other team members is extremely important. Canyon-SRAM took advantage of another team’s misfortune/disorganization and used it to their advantage and it paid off by the slimmest of margins, which is as fair a way to win as any. Congrats to Niewiadoma.
Agreed. The onus is on the team to attack and the team to pick up the pieces and catch. No one should wait for anyone for race related issues. Trains. Yes. If a dog came onto the route and caused the yellow to come down, yes. But anything expected as part of cycling...is racing. It's the whole point of strategy and picking brand equipment less likely to cause an issue. To having food mechanics in car, on course etc.
I get it's nice when it happens sometimes but it shouldn't be expected.
I didn't realize Vollering was leaving SD Workx at the end of the season. But my first impression, watching first hand, was that teams response to the crash is going to cost people their jobs. That could be management, mechanics, or rider demotion. For better or worse, I got to see every stage. This race was great! Chapeau to the women who made the race, and the organization who organized a challenging and diverse course.
I was on the edge of my seat! And I knew the result before I sat down to watch!
I remember the uproar when Andy Schleck had a mechanical and Alberto Contador left him in the dust. That said, if your own team isn't going to help you, another team isn't going to wait for you. As long as Vollering looked invincible everyone fell in line, but a little crash and the rats left the ship, even though they could have easily helped her minimize the damage.
The biggest loveliest smile in women's cycling won the day and I was so chuffed for her. I watched every minute of the TdFaZ it was brilliant! Much better than the men's cycling that was going on! Apart from the racing it was fantastic to see the huge crowds that turned out to support the ladies. I feel sorry for Demi, I bet she's glad she's leaving that so called "team", I'm sure she'll be able to get some revenge on her ex-team mates next year while smiling with dollar signs in her eyes! It was disgusting what they did to her. Watching the yellow jersey having to drag her arse to the line shorts ripped, injured all alone, no excuses, it shouldn't have happened!
Very informative analysis. Thanks!
Is Demi or SD Worx not liked in the women's cycling? I do not think without the help of Trek Kasia would have won the yellow.
Kasia admitted that and thanked them in her post race interview.
Trek earned a 5th AND Top 10 in the TdFF Overall _BECAUSE OF THAT WORK,_ so it wasn't like they were simply Kasia's domestiques....
The elephant in the room that nobody addresses is how extremely unpopular Demi Vollering is, both inside and outside the peloton. Even the Dutch commentators showed little compassion during the coverage and post-race show. Rooijakkers and Lucinda Brand said that only Vollering herself is to blame for her loss, which is heartless even for Dutch standards. Many riders and fans - like myself - have a sweet spot for Kasia but I don't know where Vollering's unlikeability comes from. Anyone?
Haven’t got the answer, but I sense the same, Cesilie u Ludvig even said that everyone likes Kasia, implying…. And it was about time, a non 🇳🇱 rider won…. What I noticed is that the multi winning Dutch women, seem awkward and man like compared to the rest of the women….???🤷♂️
@@wonderwatch2239 I guess some people are naturally likeable or unlikeable somehow. I feel real bad for Vollering though
winners very rarely are universally popular, its lonely at the top, but for all the gossip and innuendo about it, no-ones ever actually provided any real evidence of things shes done or said that would explain any of it, and she has to a fault in public at least been completely generous to team mates, to sponsors, to people she's helped. Maybe thats why they dont like her, shes too perfect ?
@@wonderwatch2239 but the same people will also tell tales that CUL is unliked as well, because shes too noisy and shouts alot in the peloton. must be ahard bunch of people to please is all Ill say.
@@awavey It seems to affect some winners more than others though. Merckx was detested outside Belgium in his day, Pogačar is universally liked. Van Vleuten didn't have many friends in the peloton, van der Breggen was the peloton's sweetheart, whilst they both cannibalised cycling. But with Vollering I sense there's another amplitude
I think Demi was suffering crash effects for the remainder of the Tour. If she hadn't been, Alpe d'Huez would have provided a larger cushion for Demi. Is anyone talking about that?
100%, she never looked right after the crash, I think it was a much harder fall than she wanted to let on.
I think there could've been more done by race organisers in preventing some of these crashes. Especially that one in stage 5.
The commentators on TV talked about this roundabout being difficult to navigate, before the riders even reached it.
Yeah, the exit to that roundabout was a crash waiting to happen - it took a blind sharp left turn just after the exit where you'd have expected it to go straight. There could at least have been commissaires with flags and whistles warning the riders. Ok the teams should have known, but it just takes one rider to get it wrong and they all go down.
@@kyle_c936 Yeah for sure. There was no way for the riders to see that gutter coming out the other side of the roundabout. There was however another instance where there were barricades but funnelling the riders into one lane before another roundabout (stage 2 or 3) which they all crashed into and there were camera guys pulling the barricades away so the riders could get through. Some riders even had to jump the barricades! There just wasn't enough considerations for safety unfortunately.
@@mikalinde6837 Exactly. They knew from experience but the organizers failed miserably with their inexperience.
“Staying upright is a big part of the skill set you need to have to win”…..quote of the year Dan…..This race isn’t happening on Zwift
It was Wiebes who bumped into Vollering causing Vollering to crash. So it would be weird for the other team to wait for a team who crashes within their own team...
Canyon were within their rights to pace on stage 5, but SD Worx have only themselves to blame for losing GC. Though tbh, I am not sure they care. They seem to be a team of individual riders who don't care for each other. Mischa Bredewold was the only one who actually sacrificed to help Demi
Hey Dan, if you could, what kind of watch are you wearing in this vid please?
I like watching Faulkner, without much of a team behind her, hang in there until the mountains. I learned so much on tactics from her. Demi made the same mistake in the Olympic road race-riding in the pack and going down with accidents.
Perfect summary of TdF femmes, thanks so much!
They forgot all about Gigante from the moment she crested the Glandon, even the live timings didn't show her. Luckily, there was nothing wrong with her and she finished in a great position. But they had me worried there for a long time!
A beautiful victory for Kasia.. Big congratulations, and to the whiners who can't deal with Vollering's defeat, learn that there's only one winner and it's Kasia
Congrats to Niewiadoma but the best rider in Vuelta was Vollering (and if you can't see it you're either Polish or crazy). No help from her team (or other teams), was behind 2 min. after the crash and still managed to be 2nd with only 4sec, and she got crashed by her own teammate (Lorena Wiebes) who left her there. It's nice to see Kasia win and she fight like a lion but the best rider was Demi Vollering.
@@nazgulzg the fastest sometimes is not the best. And her team spirit is also questionable.
@@nazgulzgnajleprzym jest ten co wygrywa końcowa linie mety jestem Polakiem i nie interesuje mnie jakie są rozgrywki między zawodniczka i gdzie jeździ Volering. Nikt Kasi niedal tego zwycenstwa za darmo i nikt w czasie decydującego etapu Kasi z drużyny nie pomagał. Jest to utalentowana polska zawodniczka o filigranowym wontlym wyglodzie ale o jakiej silnej woli ducha żeby zwycięży pojechała jak my to mowimy w Polsce w trupa i wygrała usłyszymy o niej jeszcze nie raz
Kinda reminded me of Gilberto Simoni in 2004 and 2005 Giro. His own team tactics and miscellaneous alliances of other riders meant he lost both races despite huge one day efforts to try and regain the overall.
I would love this kind of drama happens on the men side. It is just interesting and fun to watch.
Tour de France : you wait (sit up) for the yellow jersey if the race hasn’t begun yet. I.e., the peloton is 60K out. However, the race was on. They were 6K out and there was already a break away. Even her team didn’t sit up because they were looking at the finish, and not the yellow. It was a nail biting great race and a well earned victory by Kashia. Demi is strong enough to win in the near future.
If your leader in Yellow falls, of course the team should respond, that's was teams are for. But no, nobody else should get on the brakes and wait with the finish almost in sight. And let's face it, when two leaders are in a break and one falls, the other may as well wait so they can keep working together, plus it would look stupid for one to keep going and let the other get all mad and catch up. Still, it would probably be a good off-season conversation, clarifying roles now and deleting roles past.
Regarding Blanka - on paper she was the favourite out of that small group, and a stage win plus keeping bonus seconds away from Kasia was probably as good or better than what she could have contributed had she pulled over and waited.
but the point people miss is why was she up the road in the first place and not protecting her team leader giving her a wheel to follow ? Wiebes was the one they were setting up for the sprint, how did Vas end up where she was, she had to be out of position. Yes once the crash happens and it all works out then Vas sticking up there makes sense though I dont even think she or SD worx were considering the bonus second part, Vas just went for the win because she could.
@@awavey I don't think she was "up the road" when the crash happened - just a few wheels ahead of Demi and Lorena. The crash was very close to the front.
@@peterdobos1606 she was far enough ahead the sound of crashing carbon fibre bikes and riders screaming in agony behind her didnt reach her. Im being generous I feel saying she was "up the road", because the alternative is she carried on without even a glance back to see what had just happened. My issue is really there shouldnt have been any separation at all between the riders if they were protecting the GC rider, just like UAE do with Pogocar, instead they were using Vollering as final lead out for Wiebes to take the stage
@@awavey of course they were: they had the best GC rider, the best climber, and the best bunch sprinter. On paper this was always going to be a stage for Wiebes. As for keeping in tighter colour order, the breadth of ability in the women's peloton is much greater than in the men's: even on a relatively flat stage the back door was open and scores of riders had already been dropped. I'd like to get a clear view of where everyone was like 500 m before that roundabout.
Wout van Aert looks sharp, finishing 3rd, 2nd and 1st on the first 3 stages.
Truly embarrassing TdFF performance by SD Worx, that their leader crashed in yellow with almost zero assistance, then had to ride herself with no help back into nearly winning the yellow jersey back. Glad Demi is leaving. Amazing to see such a dominant team the last few years became such a joke.
Vollering's was a courageous ride.
Give Demi a better team.
Top notch analysis
As for Lorena - she HAD to know that Demi had crashed and her fudging her post-race comments reeked of CYA. Had she stopped or waited and helped pull, it's almost a guarantee that Demi wins the tour, which has in hindsight made what Lorena did (or didn't) do even worse.
We need to keep in mind that the DSs share a huge chunk of the blame here, and that at the end of the day it's just a bike race, so the amount of vitriol and abuse likely being heaped upon Wiebes is way out of line. Well, out of line for common sense and decency, but perfectly normal for the online "community".
Dude, she was literally the one who caused Demi to crash, what are you on about?
@@tonyg3091 What do you mean "what am I on about"? What in my comment is so utterly senseless?
I never said that she wasn't blameless. Unless you think Lorena deliberately ran into Demi. Then you're just nuts.
@@tonyg3091 come one, do you have any proof that a) Lorena caused the accident and b) that it was intentional? If you haven't noticed, people crashed before and after Demi. It was wrong for Lorena not to wait for the team leader, yes. People make mistakes in the heat of the battle. But people are going nuts right now implying that Lorena somehow deliberately caused this. I'd like to know how you would react in such situation. As such, the OP is 100% right.
@@realshaoran4514 Proof? It was on TV lol and then she admitted to it, lol…proof…
@@realshaoran4514 Per Sporza via Outside Magazine: _"Speaking to Sporza, Vollering said that her teammate had collided with her. She initially thought she would stay upright as the riders in front of her crashed. “But then someone hit me full on the side and I fell anyway.” She confirmed that was Wiebes, something borne out by TV images which show the collision."_
Great video and overview of the TDFF and Vuelta! 👏👏👏 I am really hoping the TDFF moves to a greater number of stage format. These women riders are incredible and limiting them to 8 stages is disappointing (and insulting TBH). The TDFF is also so exciting and has tremendous entertainment value. Limiting that entertainment to 8 days seems to be bad business. Lastly, an 8 stage format means one crash that delays a rider for a relatively short amount of time, such as what happened to Demi, can cost that rider the championship. A small crash should not have such a catastrophic effect on the outcome of a prestigious event like the TDFF. Having said that, I am happy for Kasia and impressed by the grit she showed at the end of the AdH climb to save her Yellow Jersey.
Next year will be 9 stages, but on TV the female pro rider said, who co-commentated, that 8 stages is already enough, because women have different physical abilities than men. Just look at the huge number of riders that abandoned the race. Also the teams are logistically not yet prepared to do a three week race, she said. And it is also better to grow slowly than suddenly doing a three week race, which could be disastrous (with probably more than half of the riders abandoning) and leading for the race to be canceled entirely for the future, which has happened in the past with races growing to quickly. And in the end it also comes down to money and there is just less funding in female racing, but it is growing slowly.
What's funny - when we talking about Volering we talking about SDWorx too. when we talking about Kasia we almost never talk about Canyon - SRAM. Maybe time switch Kasia to SD worx and Demi to Canyon. This should be interesting
Hooray for Kasja
Lloydy channeling his inner Hatchy with those pronunciations!
Bravo Kasia.
Demi Vollering got screwed over by SD Worx. Yes, SD Worx is a terrible tactical team, but no team is that bad. You do not leave the Yellow jersey high and dry after a crash. Image UAE doing that to Pogačar. As for the radio not working, Olympic hangover?🙄 Finally, why was the fact not mentioned that Wiebes caused Vollering to crash? SD Worx's team car was right at the crash and saw everything. Unless the DS is blinded. 4 seconds is a Hell of a way to lose. Laurent Fignon lost his mind over 8 seconds.
the DS at the end of that stage said he didnt know Demi had crashed till only a few kms to go, to Manon actually in her new roving reporter for Eurosport job, and its claimed they only had one team car in the race. So you tell me what he was doing ? making coffees in the team bus ?
@@awavey The DS's in the men's TdF are watching the race via live coverage - it would be hard to miss YELLOW JERSEY Demi's struggles even if he didn't have that. I agree with you: What purpose did the SD Worx DS serve if he had such little Situational Awareness?
First of all: The Women's Tour was a cracker!! Incredibly fun to watch!
Having seen Vollering only for the first time, but I got a very strong feeling that she might be extremely difficult to work with, which might have lead to the non-support of her teammates...
Having seen Vollering a number of times, such as working her ass off for Kopecky and then getting screwed by her in return, I think the fault lies in the team culture (and piss-poor tactics) that promotes personal egotism vs sacrifice for the team.
Agree SD Worx lost the femmes not Demi V. But Kasia won the race hands down. Etiquite yes if it was 100ks out or whatever . but KBV won the stage ,radio out ?? bit disappointed in L Wiebers who im a fan of.
Well with only what , 6k to go? the team could not have brought Demi back. As you said, it was just a matter of limiting the loss. And Vas was in position to win the stage, which has to count for something.
best race ever
The Tour de France Femme was amazing to watch this year and if you have never watched a Womens Word Tour Race live, go for it the women are very nice, cool and approachable!!! And the hole crash thing I think Canyon Sram had every right to race, SD Worxs fucked up for Demi big time!!! She rode amazing as ever!!! Kasia rode amazing too though... Last year she lost over 2 minutes in 5kms so that was something to win it... And coming back to SD Worxs, just imagine Pogačar crashing 6km from the finish and Politt not waiting?... I don't think he'd be riding for UAE much longer...
"Radio didn't work" is about the same level of excuse as "dog ate my homework." Also, every other person in that break would've heard that Vollering was down AND they would've been talking, most likely telling Vas in hopes she would drop out of the break. There is no way Vas didn't know and SD should be ashamed of their tactics.
My wife did notice that the women's teams seem to race differently than the men's teams. Just this week, you can see in the Vuelta how the teams are almost always together and working for the TEAM. In the TdF Femmes, it really seemed that there was no teamwork, little lead out on sprints, and a much more selfish mentality. It could be that there just isn't the depth of top talent in women's racing yet.
In any case, SD blew it and it's best for Vollering that she is leaving.
As someone quite new to the sport, I don't feel like I know enough to understand why it was an issue with people overtaking, regardless of team. Cn anyone plz tell me how much of a team sport it is supposed to be, and why there's such a precident?
She will never beat Demi again. This time she was extremely lucky.
Indeed WTF! I think SD works took Demi for granted! She needed more support after the crash... And her team mate sprinting for 8th position?! The mental burden on Her being left alone and losing by only 4 seconds... Amazing stuff
Why only one presenter GCN?
Nobody is going to wait in the last 5km. Vollering could’ve still won in the last stage if she didn’t wait for Roy Eckerts in the final descent thinking RE would work with her on the Alpe d’Huez. As it was, RE was like an anchor around her neck as Vollering basically dragged her up the mountain until RE attacked.
"Roy Eckerts" lmao. Her name is (Pauliena) Rooijakkers.
if your entire team leaves their leader hanging like that, i think it says less about the team and more about the kind of leader they're not