The place to watch the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is right here on SBS. Replays, mini stage recaps, highlights and live streaming can be found on the SBS On Demand Tour de France Hub and the SBS Skoda Tour Tracker, available for download on iOS and Android.
Demi Vollering (SD Worx) received a 20-second time penalty after drafting behind her team car following a puncture mid-way through the race. The Tour de France favourite pulled over with a puncture and had a wheel change rather than simply change her bike, then returned to the peloton while being drafted by the SD-Worx car.
The proper procedure is for the car to draft the rider to the back of the convoy in the event of a mechanical, and then the rider makes the rest of their way without the assistance of the car. However, in this case, the SD-Worx car, driven by Danny Stam with Anna van der Breggen as Sports Director, continued to have Vollering draft behind.
The car then dodged a vehicle filtering its way back down the convoy by leaving the road briefly, before being waved at angrily by a motorbike commissaire.
Vollering returned to the peloton soon after, and finished in the main group of favourites. She was informed after the stage of her 20-second penalty for drafting, the lost seconds seeing her drop from 2nd overall to 7th overall, now 12 seconds behind major rival Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar).
“I have no clue why I get this penalty,” Vollering said to Cyclingnews after the stage. “For the first part I went behind the car, then I assumed Danny was in his place in the caravan and I went directly around, also because there was no place at first.
“He was on the left side and I could not pass when there are two lines of cars next to each other. I dare not to pass because it’s so dangerous.
"I never knew that this was forbidden, to come after a mechanical. The last part I did all by myself so I don't understand, because later Danny came more to the front for a bottle and I took two bottles. Then I jumped together with Christine Majerus back to the bunch. I need to discuss this with Danny because I don’t see everything.”
The Tour de France Femmes continues with stage 6, a 122-kilometre stage from Albi to Blagnac. Watch on SBS and SBS On Demand from 11.00pm AEST.
