Next UAE rider hits back at Tour de France Femmes tension claims: ‘They are trying to create drama’
Dominika Włodarczyk has become the latest UAE Team L’IMAD rider to criticise reports of tension within the team, echoing Elisa Longo Borghini’s claim that the continued speculation is hurting the riders personally.
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The Polish rider hit back at reports surrounding the atmosphere inside UAE Team L’IMAD, accusing journalists of trying to create drama during the Tour de France Femmes.
Asked after stage 5 about the way the UAE riders had worked for one another, she insisted the teamwork on display had been present since the start of the race.
“We are riding like this since the beginning of the Tour,” Włodarczyk told SBS Sport.
“It’s the journalists who are really trying to make a drama around us. It’s really not helping at all. It’s just hurting.”
The speculation has centred on Paula Blasi’s role within the team. Despite arriving at her first Tour after a breakthrough season, the 23-year-old Spaniard was initially assigned a supporting role behind designated leaders Elisa Longo Borghini and Włodarczyk.
Blasi’s performances and strong position in the general classification have since prompted questions about whether UAE should reconsider that hierarchy. Some reports have also suggested that the situation could create tension between the team’s leading riders.
Włodarczyk’s response came one day after co-leader Longo Borghini delivered her own forceful criticism of the coverage surrounding UAE.
The Italian rejected suggestions that Blasi’s performances had damaged the atmosphere within the team and urged journalists to consider the personal impact of their reporting.
“You guys are making it up so big, bigger than it is. We are fine,” Longo Borghini told RadReporter.
“Sometimes you should also think that we are persons. It is not nice to scroll through Instagram and see all those stupid articles saying that we do not have a good atmosphere and portraying us as though we are not a team.”
Longo Borghini said the continued speculation was affecting both her and Blasi personally.
“It hurts us. Personally I’m hurt by you journalists,” she said.
“You should also think about how Blasi might feel, because she is surely not happy coming to the dinner table knowing those articles are going around. Pay attention to the person sometimes.”
'It's savage'
A visibly emotional Włodarczyk also underlined the extreme physical toll the stage had taken on the riders. The race to Belleville en Beaujolais had unfolded in oppressive heat, adding another layer of difficulty to an already demanding day in the hills.
“It was just savage,” Włodarczyk said at the finish. “I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced something like this.”
She stressed that the conditions had not been limited to stage 5, but had affected the riders throughout the opening week of the Tour.
“It’s not just today. It’s the whole week, the whole race. It’s crazy,” she said.
“I really feel like we are riding in the oven. You cannot even breathe fresh air on the downhill. You really feel the air when you open the oven. It’s really savage.”
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