Anna van der Breggen crashes hard in the Basque Country, gets back up, and is then penalized for drafting

For a long time, nothing seemed wrong for Van der Breggen and her team SD Worx. In the last 15 kilometers, when all attacks had been neutralized, nervousness suddenly struck. Several riders tried to prevent a bunch sprint with a late attack, and suddenly several women went down. The biggest victim: Van der Breggen.

The Dutchwoman stayed down on the asphalt for a while, but was eventually able to continue on her way. Her gap to the peloton - which included competitor Vollering - was two minutes. Thanks to the help of two teammates, she managed to reduce that gap to 1 minute and 14 seconds at the finish. But with only two stages to go, that gap seems all too big.

Yet there was also success for the Dutch team: Mischa Bredewold sprinted to the stage victory. 'I was really looking forward to this stage, because this kind of stage suits me well,' she told afterwards. 'The team had a lot of confidence in me, which was very nice - even though it also made me a little nervous. But I got a perfect lead-out, which allowed me to sprint to a nice victory.'

Only after the finish did Bredewold hear that Van der Breggen had fallen. 'Of course that's not nice at all,' she responded. 'I hope she is doing well, but I have no idea what her condition is. Hopefully we can support her well in her recovery in the coming days.'