“Are these people capable of running the Tour de France?” Demi Vollering’s team slam “ridiculous, unjustified” time penalty for drafting; Team car scenes; Bike lane or car door lane?; ULEZ expansion legal, High Court rules + more on the live blog

The fallout from draftgate – the controversy which saw one of the big favourites for this year’s Tour de France Femmes, Demi Vollering, docked 20 seconds for spending a bit too long glued to the back bumper of her team car on the way back up from a wheel change – continues, as SD Worx launched arguably their most potent attack of the Tour so far last night… on the race organisers and commissaires.

In a scathing critique of the race jury, The Dutch team’s management claimed that the time penalty was “ridiculous” and unjustified” – and could even end up deciding the battle for yellow come Sunday evening – while DS Danny Stam, the man behind the wheel yesterday, even questioned whether those in charge “are capable of leading such a race”.

Strong words.

> Demi Vollering receives a 20 second time penalty for drafting as Ricarda Bauernfeind becomes youngest stage winner at Tour de France Femmes

Of course, you may be wondering what the big fuss is all about. During what was yet another chaotic, frenetic stage of this year’s Tour, won by the impressive Ricarda Bauernfeind, SD Worx made a meal of what should have been a routine bike change for team leader Vollering after she punctured with around 64km to go.

But, instead of just handing her a new bike, the mechanics opted for a wheel change (which, as all you rim brakes fanatics will know, isn’t so simple these days in the era of discs). In their haste to get their big GC contender back into the bunch, Stam provides Vollering with some handy drafting at the rear of the team car.

🚴🇫🇷 | Demi Vollering heeft een lekke band en moet even in de achtervolging. Dat doet ze vlak achter de auto van SD Worx en dat levert gevaarlijke taferelen op... #TDFF2023⁣

📺 Koers kijk je op discovery+ pic.twitter.com/TN5h2frs0s

— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) July 27, 2023

In most cases, commissaires would turn a blind eye to this, allowing the mechanically unfortunate rider to catch a draft until they get back into the race convoy (a situation that happens countless times during every single pro bike race in the world), at which point it’s then up to them to pick their way through the line of cars.

But Stam, however, decides to keep ploughing on, even indulging in some off-road action, as he flies up the grass verge, Vollering glued to the rear bumper. When he keeps towing the 26-year-old past the row of traffic, this is where the commissaires intervene, with one whistling and wagging their fingers at the DS for his attempt to bludgeon Vollering back to the pack.

🚨🗣️📢

The SD Worx team car gets the hairdryer treatment from a furious commissaire.#TDFF2023 pic.twitter.com/CUxikqSoFY

— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 27, 2023

But, despite that warning, and a brief spell where the Dutch rider was forced to ride in the wind, Stam then provides some additional assistance to enable Vollering to close that last gap. Cue a classic sticky bottle (despite Vollering already having two on her bike) and some more drafting, before teammate Christine Majerus takes up the slack to finally, around three kilometres, winch Vollering back up.

So, it’s all clear cut, really, isn’t it? There should have been very little surprise when the race jury last night slapped Vollering with a 20 second time penalty (relegating her from second on GC to seventh, and – most crucially – putting her now 12 seconds behind her big rival Annemiek van Vleuten), and fined the Dutch rider and Stam 100 and 200 Swiss Francs respectively.

Drafting Vollering was such a terrible call for the team car to make. Demi should have been wise enough to refuse, she’s lucky it’s only a 20s penalty.

— David Hunter (@cyclingmole) July 27, 2023

I believe that Vollering would not have received a time penalty if they stopped drafting when they reached the team car convoy.

But the SD Worx car kept going, arguably endangering other cars in the process, and that's what delivered the time penalty. #TDFF2023

— Benji Naesen (@BenjiNaesen) July 27, 2023

Case closed.

But not for SD Worx, who endured a bit of a miserable day after Lorena Wiebes’ abandon through sickness and Marlen Reusser missing out on the stage win, and who spent last night tearing apart the commissaires’ decision.

The first reaction came from Vollering herself, who appeared shocked when she was told the news that she’d been penalised 20 seconds.

“Huh? Oh wow... Okay”, the baffled Dutch rider said when told of her penalty by Sporza.

“That must have been when I had a puncture? I only hung behind the car a little bit? Then I immediately passed it. Hey, Danny! I have a 20 second time penalty!? Very strange!”

(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

When asked if her team crossed the line during her return to the bunch, she said: “I wouldn’t know what. I don’t think I did anything wrong. I think this is very special.

“I find it comical. I’ve had the feeling all year… It feels a little strange. But if they want to do it that way...”

Is Vollering’s cryptic “feeling” throughout 2023 anything to do with her controversial defeat at the Vuelta Femenina in March, when she controversially lost the overall thanks to an opportunistic move by Van Vleuten during a nature break?

Who knows…

> Van Vleuten wins Vuelta Femenina after pee-gate controversy as "hungry for revenge" Vollering wins last stage

Anyway, the disappointed Dutch rider continued: “I can’t do anything now. It’s a pity, but I don’t really know what to do with this. It’s very disappointing. I work hard to realise my dreams. When things like this happen, it’s not so much fun.”

Meanwhile, DS Stam certainly avoided any cryptic messaging and pulled few punches after the stage, describing the penalty as “ridiculous”.

“I got her back to car 11 or 12. According to the regulations I then went behind her. That was clearly visible. Then 20 seconds is a very heavy penalty,” he told Sporza.

“The jury member came up with the message that I had to ride behind my rider, what he is right about and what I did. Nothing was reported to me before.

“At the finish I hear that we have 20 seconds. This is a fight for seconds. If you lose 20 seconds because of something like that and the UCI supports that decision, then I wonder if those people are capable of running such a race.”

“If the decision is made by someone who sits in the car, probably never was on the bike, then I am disappointed in this kind of thing.”

He continued: “Look at the men, it is quite normal there that they are brought back like this. There are no clear regulations either.

“As chief commissaire at the UCI, you have to think about whether this can affect the classification. The gaps can be big on the Tourmalet, but they can also not be so big. Again, I think you can lose the Tour de France by five seconds. I hope they can look in the mirror with a satisfied face on Sunday and then not think: we screwed up the Tour with five seconds.

“There’s not much we can do about it. The worst thing is that you penalise an athlete. If they put me off the race, I don’t care. But you penalise someone who doesn’t do anything about it. If we follow the rules so well, do it than everyone else.

“Our official protest has been rejected. We can go even higher, but the small print says that the UCI is always right. One of the jury members spoke English, the rest were unable to do so. That says something about the level in such an important competition.”

Anna van der Breggen on her way to winning the 2018 worlds road race (Alex Broadway/SWpix.com)

The onslaught from SD Worx continued into the night, with team DS – and former double world champion – Anna van der Breggen releasing the following statement on the team’s website:

This time penalty falls raw on us. I cycled at the highest level for a long time. It used to be allowed to come back behind the car after equipment failure or a flat tyre. The penalty makes it seem that we are doing something totally unheard of, while in reality, riders return behind the car every day.

Not bringing your rider back after she was dropped herself is logical. But everyone understands that a sport director tries to help his rider after bad luck. So that is why bringing back behind the car a rider who has been knocked back for that reason is usually tolerated.

It is the first time I have experienced such a punishment. The moment the commissioner indicated we should stop, Demi rode from car to car herself back to the tail of the peloton. Therefore, for Demi, this punishment is unjustified.

What do you reckon? Is SD Worx right to claim that docking Vollering 20 seconds is “unjustified” for a manoeuvre committed – to varying degrees – during every race? Or is the Dutch team throwing their toys out of the pram after bending cycling’s team drafting policy to its very limit?

In any case, I don’t think this is the last we’ll hear of those 20 seconds… Especially if the battle between Vollering and Van Vleuten goes right down to the wire in Pau on Sunday…

Now, if you’d predicted at the start of the day that Movistar’s Danish sprinter Emma Norsgaard would battle for the win at the end of today’s mostly flat stage to Blagnac, nobody would be accusing you of being Nostradamus.

But it was the way the 24-year-old took her first Tour de France Femmes stage win – by infiltrating a seemingly doomed breakaway of three, and having enough power to hold off (just) the other big sprinters – that took everyone by surprise and continued the chaotic narrative of a Tour where the rule book (both the literal and metaphorical, tactical versions) has been firmly thrown out the window.

Emma Norsgaard holds on and wins Stage 6! What an effort! The peloton comes too late again 🥇🇩🇰 #TDFF2023 pic.twitter.com/6KXITnazXr

— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 28, 2023

On a day where the opening salvos were somewhat overshadowed by all the drama going on in the race jury’s office, Norsgaard, a stage winner at the 2021 Giro Donne, slipped up the road in a break alongside Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka and Sandra Alonso.

With the gap to the bunch never extending beyond two minutes due to the sprinters’ insistence on having one last day in the sun before this weekend’s Pyrenean denouement, the move may have appeared foolish for Norsgaard, an established and fast bunch galloper in her own right.

But at a Tour where the race has rarely adhered to the script, the Dane was intent on ensuring a third consecutive victory for the breakaway, powering away from Alonso first and then, on the final straight, Skalniak-Sójka to hold on for a memorable, dramatic, scintillating win.

As if to underline Norsgaard’s stage-winning nous and ability to upset the odds, the big three for the flat days (in Lorena Wiebes’ absence), Charlotte Kool, Lotte Kopecky, and Marianne Vos, filled the spaces behind her, a desperate, frustrating second adrift.

An emotional Emma Norsgaard reflects on her stage win after what's been a tough year for the Dane ❤️#TDFF pic.twitter.com/6tBCqbcRB3

— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 28, 2023

“I’m lost for words, really,” an emotional Norsgaard, whose spring classics campaign was derailed by a crash at Strade Bianche, said at the finish. “It’s the biggest victory ever, I’m so happy.

“I’m not a sprinter anymore, I have to realise it. I might be fast, but I can’t keep up with the real sprinters. So I took my chance today, and I reached out for the stars, and here we are.”

And now surely, with two stage wins in the bag for Movistar courtesy of Liane Lippert and Norsgaard, the Dane will immediately turn her attention to clinching the overall title for Annemiek van Vleuten this weekend?

“Yeah, but I’m going to celebrate, don’t worry!”

Just right…

🚴🇫🇷 | Ai, wat een nare valpartij! Veronica Ewers van EF is het grootste slachtoffer, maar ook Yara Kastelijn ligt erbij. De Nederlandse draagster van de bolletjestrui moet in de achtervolging. #TDFF2023⁣

📺 Koers kijk je op discovery+ pic.twitter.com/4GK4wH3qk0

— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) July 28, 2023

Terrible news for American Tour de France Femmes hopeful Veronica Ewers, whose GC hopes look to be in tatters after she crashed off the road, landing hard in a ditch.

The 28-year-old, who finished ninth at last year’s Tour and fourth overall at the Giro Donne earlier this month, initially appeared to have suffered a broken collarbone, with medics attempting to put her arm in a sling, but is now back on her bike (albeit tentatively). According to Iris Slappendel, reporting on the race from a motorbike for GCN-Eurosport, Ewers – despite clearly being in pain – looks set to try to make it to today’s finish in Blagnac.

#TDFF2023 - 🏁 51 km

🇺🇸 Veronica Ewers was involved in the crash as well.#DomestiqueLive pic.twitter.com/glIH2H6xFM

— Domestique (@Domestique___) July 28, 2023

Stage four winner Yara Kastelijn, now in the Queen of the Mountains jersey, also went down in the crash, though it’s EF Education-TIBCO-SVB’s Ewers, sitting 15th overall ahead of the race-defining weekend in the mountains, who came off worst, and even if she does make it to the finish today, her hopes of a top placing in Pau have almost certainly gone up in smoke.

Tour de France Femmes rider Kathrin Hammes’ close call with a race motorbike earlier this week has certainly divided opinion among current pros and ex-riders.

While Hammes and her EF team acknowledged that “these things happen in races”, and even actively argued in favour of the moto pilot to the race jury, riders’ union president Adam Hansen was scathing of the controversial manoeuvre and said that motorbike riders “need better education”.

For Hammes and Hansen, their admittedly differing views of the incident stem from their years racing in the pro peloton, navigating (and occasionally dodging) its plethora of motor vehicles.

> Motorbike riders slammed for pushing and clipping Tour de France Femmes rider, after Jumbo-Visma claim race-ending crash was caused by moto

But what about the view from the back of the moto?

Cycling photographer Drew Kaplan, who has spent quite a bit of time on the back of a motorbike during races, has claimed that some pros are becoming “very disrespectful” towards those using an engine to get to the finish.

“As a photographer sitting on the back of press bikes, I have to say that some cyclists have become very disrespectful towards letting motorcycles pass,” Kaplan wrote on Facebook, under our post on the incident involving Hammes.

“Not saying it’s all the riders fault but it takes two to tango. Motorcycles used to sound the horn and riders would take the left or right of the road – allowing for safe passage of the motorcycle.

“Nowadays you’d be happy to find riders allowing you to pass safely…

“With that said it should be within the motorist’s discretion not to pass and wait for a better spot.”

I feel this could be a debate that will continue to rumble on…

The East City Way in Glasgow has seen changes recently from #SpacesForPeople to more permanent infrastructure changes which have made junctions a more accessible place for people to cycle with separation from motor vehicles. 💚🚲 pic.twitter.com/NdmHHZMhkA

— Thomas O. Cornwallis (@UrbanistTOC) July 27, 2023

A lot of interesting walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure changes happening in Stirling! 🚶👨‍🦽🚲💚 pic.twitter.com/I1CVeURwY9

— Thomas O. Cornwallis (@UrbanistTOC) July 27, 2023

The world cycling championships and some decent infrastructure changes? There’s a local authority in Greater Manchester that would be well advised to take some notes…

So @BBCLondonNews are using the analogy that if you drive to a pub inside #ULEZ you have to pay more to drink and drive, whereas outside #ULEZ you don't, as @SimonJonesNews struggles to talk over boy racers squaring off in a 20mph zone 🤷🤯@London_Cycling @AndyCoxDCS @MPSRTPC pic.twitter.com/5ArpmnNu5O

— Das_Pig (@Das_Pig) July 28, 2023

I’m not sure this BBC London News reporter considered that there might be somewhat more serious implications for someone driving their car to go “for a drink in a pub” than just having to pay the ULEZ charge…

The design of Team GB’s new Hope-Lotus Olympic track bike – set to make its debut at next week’s (next week!) Glasgow world championships – is certainly striking to say the least…

> Lotus and Hope reveal new British Olympic track bike: what’s going on with that seatpost?

What do you reckon? Is it the epitome of modern track cycling fashion, or all speed and no style?

> Council says green paint “will heighten drivers’ awareness”, as cyclists blast “dreadful” new contraflow cycle lane as “an accident waiting to happen”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Trafford Council’s latest attempt at cycling infrastructure in Altrincham (yes, apparently that is supposed to be a cycle lane. Can’t you tell from all the green paint?) hasn’t gone down too well in the comments section and on social media.

Here’s a selection of some of your thoughts on the brand spanking new slap of paint – sorry, I mean cycle lane…

“That’s not intended to be a cycle lane, it’s simply a path for passengers to exit the car surely? It might have been financed from the active travel funding though,” says road.cc reader Muddy Ford.

“Cyclists should not have to ‘proceed with increased caution’ along any marked cycle lane,” added brooksby. “If they do then the cycle lane is a failure.”

That's a bloody death trap. Time cycle lane planners were made to ride a bike before being let loose on something that can make the difference between life and death!

— Nature's Eye Music-Royalty Free Music & Downloads (@nature_royalty) July 28, 2023

Meanwhile, tootsie323 said: “Apparently, ‘there were no concerns raised relating to the risk of vehicles crossing the cycle lane’. Based on what I see, whoever drew that conclusion must have ‘audited’ this with their eyes closed and hands over their ears, shouting la la la la la la...”

That's not a cycle lane. It's a car-door lane: a traffic-free zone where drivers can safely get out of their cars.

No cyclist would use it unless they were tired of life & wanted to end it all.

The brief, firm whack of a car door then oblivion under wheels of oncoming traffic,

— Noel Darlow (@noeldarlow) July 27, 2023

Over on Twitter (or whatever), Eddy wrote: “For those at the back not concentrating (and I mean you Trafford Council) paint is not infrastructure. Paint is not protection. This is worse than nothing. Well paid ‘professionals’ designed and signed this off. They should be ashamed of themselves.”

While Mungecrundle reckons they have the insider info on how this particular lane in Altrincham came about:

Positioning parked vehicles so that passengers open their door into live traffic (but it’s only a cycle lane) - Check

Ensure restricted forward vision for drivers of RHD vehicles pulling away whilst having to simultaneously look backwards - Check

Ensure cyclists are going against the one-way motor traffic to ensure maximum combined impact speed when they are knocked into the oncoming traffic - Check

Paint it a nice green to show that everything is nice and safe - Check

It’s almost as though anyone involved in designing this cyclist trap, approved it, built it, signed it off or now tout it as good cycle infrastructure doesn’t have a shred of competence.

Maybe they will at least now get a pre-prepared press release together explaining how the inevitable KSI was completely unexpected.

It could be worse. But not much. pic.twitter.com/kqAydKZcTi

— Bram Fokke 🇺🇦 (@BramFokke) July 28, 2023

Everyone seems pretty pleased with the new bike lane, I reckon…