Lorena Wiebes pulls out of Tour de France Femmes due to stomach problems, confirms SD Worx

Updated 27/07/2023 at 12:17 GMT

SD Worx's Dutch rider has Lorena Wiebes been forced to withdraw from the 2023 Tour de France Femmes race ahead of stage 5 on Thursday. The 24-year-old has won one sprint stage and finished second in another already, while her team-mate Lotte Kopecky holds the lead in the general classification. However, Wiebes' involvement has now come to a premature end.

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SD Worx have announced that sprint cyclist Lorena Wiebes has had to pull out of the remainder of the Tour de France Femmes.

The 24-year-old Dutchwoman is regarded as one of the best riders in single-day and Classic events.

She had already claimed a first and second place finish in the 2023 edition during two sprint stages.

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However she has now had to leave the Tour after suffering from stomach problems, according to her team, before the start of stage 5 on Thursday.

The team wrote on their official Twitter account: “Lorena Wiebes is leaving Le Tour Femmes after illness. She’s suffering from stomach issues and consequently can’t start in Onet-Le-Château.

"Of course this is a loss for Team SD Worx, because there were still sprint opportunities. But health always prevails," says Danny Stam.”

Stage 5 is a largely flat course over 126.1km, starting in Onet-Le-Chateau before and concluding in Albi, to the north east of Toulouse.

In Wednesday's stage 4, Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) secured the stage win. Wiebes' team-mate Lotte Kopecky holds a lead of 43 seconds over another SD Worx rider, Demi Vollering, in second spot.

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