Wiebes' painful season continues: Tour hopes crushed by mechanical failure

Wiebes had been perfectly positioned for the sprint by the entire SD Worx-Protime team. All she needed to do was finish it off, but it didn’t come to that. Someone crashed into her from behind, which proved to be fatal. "Her entire derailleur was broken off, so she couldn’t sprint anymore, it was over. It’s frustrating to be left like that and unable to sprint because you can’t shift gears," said team director Danny Stam to NOS. "I spoke to her, and she’s understandably frustrated and disappointed. But this can happen in such a hectic sprint in the Tour de France; accidents are just around the corner."

Shortly after, IDLProCycling.com catches up with teammate Demi Vollering on the rollers by the bus, still together with NOS. The team leader was clearly distraught. "It’s incredibly disappointing because she was so determined to win here, so this hurts a lot. I just hugged Lorena for a moment, but she was in tears. This is not how you want to finish, it’s unbelievably sad. When it ends like this, with her not even able to show what she’s capable of… it’s really painful and tough."

After Stam and Vollering, we waited a bit longer for Wiebes. She emerged from the bus with red eyes and was comforted by her family at the barriers. No comment for now, the emotions were still too high. So Stam tried to look ahead. "We can look back on a really great last ten kilometers that we executed as a team. We need to draw confidence from that for the next sprint. It’s not Lorena’s fault; she’s already won enough sprints and has proven she’s the fastest."

Vollering also saw an excellent team performance; there was nothing wrong at all. "I think we did everything perfectly as a team. We were well-positioned and safe at the front all day, riding as one block, which kept us out of trouble. The girls kept us perfectly at the front, and everything went smoothly until the last 500 meters. Then someone hit Lorena’s rear wheel, causing her derailleur to break off. At that point, there’s nothing you can do, the chain then comes off both the front and rear."

The emotions ran high for Wiebes, and it’s easy to understand why. A Tour doesn't always start with a sprint for the yellow jersey, and she’s already faced more than her share of setbacks this season. Despite securing eighteen victories, there was also the heartbreak of the Amstel Gold Race in the spring, where Wiebes looked to have won, only for Marianne Vos to edge her out at the last second because she celebrated too early. At the Olympics, she was the team leader, but after Chloé Dygert’s crash, she was knocked out of contention and never made it back to the front. The sprint in the Tour, with the yellow jersey as the prize, was her ultimate goal.

"She’s just going through a tough time right now. At the Olympics, she had a similar mishap, and now this happens when she was in a winning position. It’s frustrating," said Stam. When asked how she plans to help her friend Wiebes bounce back from this, Vollering was at a loss for words. "I’m disappointed too because the team put in so much effort. Usually, with Lorena, you have a great chance, but you never expect something like this to happen. I feel for her, and I’m not sure how I’ll lift her spirits. It’s tough; all we can do is be there for her and share in her frustration. We’ll give her all the support we can, and tomorrow, we’ll give it our all for her."