Tour de France women's overall leader Demi Vollering (SD Works-Protime) crashed hard with 6.3km remaining in stage 5, completely overturning her 22-second lead on the day and leaving her 1:19 behind heading into the final third stage.

The incident unfolded at the exit of a roundabout, where wheel contact caused a high-speed, mass pile-up that left Vollering clinging to the back of her left leg, which appeared to have injured her hip, and unable to re-mount her bike for 49 seconds.

She began her chase more than a minute behind the lead group, which included Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) in third overall by 34 seconds and Kristen Faulkner (EF-Autley-Easy Post) in fourth. But there was a grimace on her face as she tried to defend her jersey in pain.

Volering fought mainly on her own to limit her losses until Misha Bredewald came to her rescue, eventually finishing the stage 1:46 behind stage winner and teammate Blanca Vas, as Niwiy Adoma took the maillot jaune, She dropped down the overall Tour de France women's standings.

“Everything seemed under control until the last 6km. We were responsible for the chase as we prepared to sprint for Lorena. Then at 6km there was a big crash and unfortunately Demi was there too, completely splitting the bunch.

Stamm was unaware of Vollering's condition and had not yet spoken to her, but his first priority was the safety of his riders rather than regaining time in Niewiadoma.

“I think the most important thing is to find out what is happening to Demi, how she is feeling, and how the rest of the team is feeling. I think we need to first see how much damage is done to her body and then figure out where we can find the time to get her back,” Stamm said.

“Tomorrow is not the day for us, but I think we still have two really hard days left.”

Most affected by the crash were Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM-Filmenig-Postnil) and Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv-Alura-Jayco). Georgi was one of two riders who had to go to the hospital after the race, along with Magdalene Valliere of EF-Autrie-Cannondale.

Vos (SD Works-Protime), Vollering's teammate, took the stage win ahead of Niewiadoma and Liane Lippert (Movistar), while Puck Pieterse (Phoenix-Desseuninck), also wrecked, finished in the chase group This dropped him from second to third place overall.

While major crashes are not uncommon in Grand Tours, the yellow jersey slamming into the deck sent ripples through the SD Volks Pro Time team and everyone waiting at the finish line, who shared their shock at the time Volering lost and the severity of the accident.

She will be hungry to regain the time she lost, and the alpine terrain of Le Grand Bornand and Alpe d'Huez suits her better than anyone else. However, if the injury to her left leg turns out to be worse than initially expected, she may not be able to continue the race.

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