'Sorry to my team for failing them' – rider misses time cut on Tour de France Femmes opening stage
Alison Avoine finished less than two minutes outside the limit
Ma Petite Entreprise rider Alison Avoine lived out “one of the worst days of my career” on Saturday, when she missed the time cut on stage one of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
The Frenchwoman finished the stage in Lausanne alone at the back of the race, almost 27 minutes after the winner Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), and just one minute and 45 seconds adrift of the time cut – fixed at an extra 12% of the winner’s time.
The race communique left no room for sympathy: “The following rider finished outside of the stage’s time limit and is eliminated: Alison Avoine, Ma Petite Entreprise.”
Writing on Instagram after the stage, Avoine explained that she “cracked” but “fought until the very end”.
“Today I experienced what I think is one of the worst days of my career,” the 26-year-old wrote. “I’m sorry – sorry to myself for having been so tough on myself, sorry to my team for failing them, and sorry to my loved ones and the people who support me every day.
“It hurts a lot to write these words, especially since I’ve worked so hard this week to help my team-mates, but it didn’t happen. Sport is a human profession, and sometimes you just crack. Today, I cracked.”
Starting and finishing in Lausanne, stage one stretched 138km and counted four categorised climbs: three category-threes, and a category-four to finish.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
While Avoine wasn't involved in any of the handful of crashes that marred the day, she had to work hard to tow her fallen team-mates back into the peloton, and paid the price for her efforts.
“I fought until the very end with the determination I always have. It’s hard tonight. It hurts my head and my heart, but there will be better days,” she continued.
“Thank you again to my partners, my team, and my loved ones for their trust and support.”
Avoine, who works as a neuropsychiatrist alongside her cycling career, was racing her fourth edition of the Tour de France Femmes.
Stage one brought a mixed bag of results for her team, Ma Petite Entreprise; alongside the low of Avoine’s elimination, the French ProTeam had the joy of taking the polka dot jersey thanks to breakaway rider Océane Mahé.
The Tour de France Femmes peloton now goes into Sunday’s second stage three riders down. Victims of crashes on the opening day, Laura Tomasi (Uno-X Mobility) abandoned stage one with an elbow injury and possible concussion, while Christina Schweinberger (Fenix-Premier Tech) withdrew on Sunday morning due to a broken wrist.
Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer and been host of the TT Podcast. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and holds a master's degree in International Journalism.
An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill, and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides. His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition, albeit out of 40 entrants.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.