'Couldn’t eat, couldn’t drink' - Annemiek van Vleuten charge hit by stomach bug at Tour de France Femmes

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) has revealed she is suffering from a stomach bug as she fights to stay in contention for the yellow jersey at the Tour de France Femmes. The pre-race favourite has leaked time on the last two stages and looked out of sorts on the first proper climbs of the race on Tuesday. Ad/> The Dutchwoman fought back after being distanced on the Cat.

3 to Cote de Mutigny on Stage 3, but faded in a lively finale won by Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Suez Futuroscope). /> Tour de France Femmes'If this is her feeling terrible…' – TDF Femmes will ‘kick off’ when Van Vleuten is back to 100%38 MINUTES AGO Van Vleuten’s struggles have raised questions about whether it was smart to ride both the Giro Donne and Tour de France Femmes in 2022, given there was just a fortnight between the two races. But the 39-year-old, who won her third title in Italy, has offered another explanation for her surprise lack of form.

“Today was actually an awesome day compared to yesterday, because yesterday I was really, really, really sick,” Van Vleuten told Eurosport. “It started two hours after the first stage, I had a real stomach infection. I had all the symptoms apart from flu – couldn’t eat, couldn’t drink, super tired.

The last thing I was thinking about was racing. «So yesterday when I woke up, I was also feeling so s***. I could not even think about finishing yesterday’s stage.

So losing less than a minute was a big achievement. “Today I was quite optimistic because I could have breakfast, I felt quite normal again. But your body is still recovering from a hard 24-hour sickness.” ‘What a victory, man!’ – Watch Uttrup Ludwig’s amazing victory interview Tour de France Femmes GC standings /> Van Vleuten is ninth in the general