Jos van Emden is not pleased with the commentary from FDJ-SUEZ team boss Stephen Delcourt after Demi Vollering’s crash in the Tour de France Femmes. The Visma-Lease a Bike team manager believes Delcourt is being carried away by Vollering’s “theatrical behavior.”
Vollering was involved in a crash in the peloton on Monday. The FDJ-SUEZ leader sustained bruises and abrasions in the incident. Delcourt was angry about the crash and said that colleagues “lack respect” and “play with lives.”
“The attitude of many teams and riders is not normal,” Delcourt told NU.nl, among others. “The riders themselves create the danger. Today we saw one rider taking too much risk in a corner. And perhaps that has ruined our Tour.”
Delcourt’s words grate on Van Emden. “Let me be very clear: it’s really ridiculous what he’s saying,” the former Dutch time trial champion told Het Nieuwsblad.
“I have no respect for those comments. He apparently wants a peloton of eight riders, with Demi in it, to continue riding in a golden cage. Hello, this is the sport, right? Nothing happens that can’t happen. He is simply influenced by Demi. By Demi’s theatrical behavior.”
‘Demi really thinks she’s in a golden cage’
Van Emden emphasizes that Vollering does not deserve special treatment. “Demi really thinks she’s in a golden cage. Yes, she is the best cyclist. But that doesn’t mean everyone has to step aside for her.”
“And for Delcourt to say that their lives are being played with is just not true. Then you’re not in reality. Then you should go do another sport. I’ll leave it at this, but my point is clear.”
Philip Roodhooft of Fenix-Deceuninck also disagrees with Delcourt, but is more nuanced than Van Emden. He points to the dropout of Jasper Philipsen during the Tour de France for men. The Belgian crashed in an intermediate sprint after a collision with Bryan Coquard.
“Then we could have put Coquard on the pyre as well. We didn’t do that and in hindsight that would have been very wrong,” says Roodhooft. “As far as we are concerned, what happened on Monday was a race incident. I can’t imagine anyone deliberately cutting someone off.”
Top favorite Vollering said on Tuesday that she had gotten through the fourth stage well. On Wednesday, a hilly ride awaits the peloton. The top of a third category climb (2.8 kilometers at 5.4 percent) is 7 kilometers from the finish.