The race leader asked Vollering to stop attacking, but would it have made any difference?
Gruber Images, Cor Vos
Fortune favored the bold on Friday, as Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney tore up the slopes of Mont Ventoux and took enough time out of Marlen Reusser and Demi Vollering to slip on the yellow jersey on the barren top of the Giant of Provence. The Tour de France was once again turned upside down and posed a fresh set of questions.
Did Vollering and Reusser mark themselves out of this Tour?
They certainly didn’t do themselves any favors as Niewiadoma-Phinney launched up Mont Ventoux. As the gap stretched, Vollering attacked a number of times, and whenever you have two riders attacking each other, average speed tends to be lower. That’s not good when your rival is headed up the road at a steady clip.
It was difficult to tell, in real time, whether both Vollering and Reusser were simply on their limit, but quotes from Reusser after the race point at a significant amount of game playing.
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