The biggest topic of conversation from the fifth and longest stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift on Thursday was the spectacular crash that saw 50 riders hit the deck in a massive pile-up.
Legs stuck in wheels, riders trapped under bikes, frames broken in half, dangling handlebars and so much lost skin. The carnage was substantial but amazingly, the riders untangled themselves and got back on the bike. Only one rider, Emma Norsgaard (Movistar) suffered injuries severe enough to be carted off to the hospital at the time.
Once the race was won and team and medical staff started tending to their riders, it was the mechanics who set to work assessing and repairing the costly material consequences. And there was a lot of it. Cycling Weekly went around visiting the team mechanics to get an idea of just how bad the damage was.
EF Education - Tibco-SVB
- 4 wheels
- 1 fork
- 1 frame that had some scuffs and therefore was replaced for safety
The team mechanic also told Cycling Weekly that the special edition Tour de France frames will be going back to Cannondale to be put up for auction and benefit a charity.
Arkéa–Samsic
- 1 bike frame
FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope
- 1 bike suffered stem and fork damage
UAE
- No damage on fifth stage, but they did have to replace Mavi Garcia bike after a nightmare of a day on stage 4, the gravel stage.
Human Powered Health
- After an absolutely gutting stage that saw their climber disqualified and another injured, Human Powered Health was at least fortunate to not have broken any bikes. They did need to replace one rider's shoes mid-race.
Le Col - Wahoo
- 2 bike frames sustained a broken rear seat stay
- 1 wheel
Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling
In addition to two broken bike frames earlier in the tour, the fifth stage produced:
- 2 broken frames
- 2 sets of wheels
- 2 shifters
- 2 derailleur hangers
The collective material damage sustained thus far in the Tour was so severe that the team mechanics spent the evening post-race driving to the Germany to pick up replacements from their service course.
Liv Racing Xstra
- 3 bike frames
- 2 wheels
- 2 shifters
- 1 derailleur hanger
- 2 handlebars
- 2 saddles
- 1 computer
- Two tires
“Yeah, we were busy,” the mechanic said
Parkhotel Valkenburg
None!
Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad
- 1 wheel
- 1 derailleur hanger
Team BikeExchange
- 1 bike
- 1 handlebar
- 2 broken levers
Uno-X:
- No damage
- 2 punctures
AG Insurance - Nxtg Team
The Belgian team suffered a broken frameset on Monday but came out of the fifth stage pile-up with just:
- 1 bent derailleur hanger
- 1 broken chain
- 2 bent disc brakes
St Michel:
- Just 1 rear derailleur
Jumbo-Visma:
- 1 bike, Anna Henderson’s. There was a broken spoke and fork
Canyon SRAM:
- Just one flat tire all Tour long, and that was the gravel stage, not the fifth stage
Trek-Segafredo
- Nothing broken all Tour. They only suffered some punctures on the gravel.
Movistar:
- No damage
SD Worx:
Chantal van den Broek-Blaak came to a hard fall and had to visit the on-the-road doctor to get her elbow bleeding under control. Yet despite the crash, the bike seemed ok. Just:
- 1 Derailleur hanger
- 1 back wheel needed truing
