Yellow Cards, Fines After Shimano Neutral Service Motorbike Knocks Noemi Rüegg Off Bike at Tour de France Femmes

Noemi Rüegg was knocked to the tarmac after a Shimano neutral service motorcycle clipped her handlebars in the chaos of stage 5 at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift on Wednesday.

The jury later sanctioned neutral service motorbike driver Reynald Bos and EF Education-Oatly director Huub Duijn with CHF 200 fines and yellow cards for violating race rules concerning vehicle movements.

If Wednesday’s explosive stage that blew apart the general classification wasn’t wild enough, things quickly went from bad to worse for Rüegg.

The former Swiss champion made the day’s key breakaway but sat up near the summit of the Col de Durbize as Demi Vollering and the overall favorites detonated the race on the penultimate climb.

Television images showed Rüegg glancing over her shoulder, perhaps looking for EF Education-Oatly teammate Cédrine Kerbaol, who started the stage third overall.

As she swerved left and drifted across the road, a Shimano neutral support motorcycle moved up from behind.

The motorcycle clipped Rüegg’s handlebars and sent the 25-year-old sprawling to the ground just meters from the top of the climb.

Rüegg crashed onto her left knee and elbow, but remounted and later joined Kerbaol in a chase group. She paced her teammate onto the final climb at Mont Brouilly and eventually finished 36th on the stage, slipping to 24th overall.

There was no immediate word on whether Rüegg suffered any injuries.