Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) was allowed to continue in the Tour de France women's avec Zwift after a major crash on stage 6, but abandoned the race after multiple attacks in the early kilometers of stage 7.

The Dutchwoman crashed on Friday's stage along with sprint rival Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx), finishing more than 7 minutes behind and sustaining injuries requiring stitches.

The decision on whether she would stay in the race was made Saturday morning, and she showed up for the start of stage 7 in Celeste.

"After consultation with the team's medical staff, Lorena Wiebes has been cleared to race today's stage," a statement from Team DSM said.

Wiebes, Kopecký, and Alena Amiariusik (Canyon-SRAM) crashed a little over 20 km from the end of the 128.6 km stage from Saint-Dier-des-Vosges to Rossheim. Kopecký and Amiariusik rejoined the bunch, with Kopecký finishing third in the group sprint behind Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) and Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ).

"Lorena Vives suffered an abrasion on her elbow and needed several stitches after crashing in today's Tour de France Femme stage.

"Despite this, she is doing well and will be closely monitored overnight before determining if she will have any problems starting tomorrow's stage.

After winning the first day and stage 5, Vives was visibly sore as she re-boarded her bike and attempted to return to the field. But the team quickly made the decision that she would ride easy to the finish.

"At some point, there was no point in trying to go back. She was way behind and in pain. She would just get dropped again. It was easier for her to just roll in. That was our decision. Team DSM director Albert Timmer said, "It doesn't make sense to try everything to get back in."

"We were not initially going to really go for a sprint today unless everything was good. It looked like it was going to work until the moment Lorena crashed, so I decided to try something else right away."

"I was not going to try anything else.

That "something" meant that German champion Riane Lippert attacked on a climb around 10km from the end of the race. However, she was unable to gain significant time before the sprint team final, which was won by overall leader Vos.

"It was too late in the race to make enough time," Timmer said.

Kopecky, who finished third, also fell hard with Vives with 22km to go. She was sitting on the pavement with her head in her hands and was not sure if she could continue to ride.

"It felt like I hit my head really hard. I was waiting and praying that no one would run into me. Anyway, the impact was strong," Kopecky said.

Kopecky rejoined the race and was ready to sprint as the race approached the last few kilometers.

"I think it was good to get the adrenaline going (for the finish). At the finish, I had the help of Plantur Pla's car. When I came back I knew there were only two short climbs, so I just had to use my head and legs to keep a good position."

Vives finished 7:34 behind, ran through the team parking lot, got off his bike, and went straight to the Team DSM bus. He was bleeding from his right elbow and his shorts were torn in several places. According to the medical staff, Wiebes had abrasions and bruises and needed stitches for the elbow wound.

Weaves' chances for a stage win, which would put him in second place behind Vos in the points standings, were in the rearview mirror now that the Tour de France femme had entered the mountains. With the Dutch sprinter's abandonment, Team DSM is left with only four riders (Charlotte Kool abandoned on stage 3) to support the overall and stage hopes of Juliette Labouce and Liane Lippert, who finished seventh overall.