Racing

TdFF daily stage 6: Veronica Ewers suffers broken collarbone

American rider will not start stage 7

July 28, 2023

Veronica Ewers and Kathrin Hammes were both involved in a crash during today’s stage of the Tour de France Femmes.

A touch of wheels somewhere in the peloton caused the crash. Kathrin was able to remount her bike and chase back to the peloton with other riders. She was examined by the race doctor during the race and has no injuries.

Veronica was less fortunate. Though she finished the stage, afterward she went to the hospital for further medical checks which revealed a broken collarbone. She will return home to rest and recover.

Hear from the team about our tough day.

Alison Jackson
It’s really unfortunate about Veronica. But then coming into the final, Letizia and I were just focusing on what we could do in the sprint. Salvage the day a bit. Pretty chaotic with all the roundabouts but we were staying together pretty good. Letizia got caught up in a crash a little bit and then it was me on my own, just holding position pretty good until the final. And then just sprinting from the lead out trains but I’m just happy to be able to contest in the finals. It’s been a long week. It feels good to be a part of it and to be in the action.

Magdeleine Vallieres
I wasn’t with Veronica when she crashed. I nearly went down in that crash but I was able to save it. I thought she was in front of me but I was looking for her when Tim said on the radio to wait for her. She was quite far back because she crashed quite hard so I stopped on the side and waited for her. It was a hard day to make sure we made the time cut but we made it.

Daniel Foder, sport director
Bad luck with Veronica. Apart from that, we tried to do the sprint. AJ and Letizia were doing a really good job but then there was some chaos in the last 100 meters and Letizia needed to unclip and her sprint was over. It was not the best day but that’s cycling and we have a new day tomorrow.

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Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift
Jul. 23, 2023 – Jul. 30, 2023
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Alison Jackson

Alison Jacson returns to the squad for the 2023 season after a three year hiatus, bringing with her a sprinting and classics background. She raced a strong 2022 season, winning the points competition at the Tour of Scandinavia and narrowly missing out on defending her Canadian national champion’s road title. She finished second at Drentse Acht van Westerveld, improving on her fifth place result in 2021. She is a former Canadian time trial national champion and raced in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Born in Alberta, Canada, Alison grew up wanting to work on her family’s farm. Noticing that Alison still had plenty of energy to spare after completing her chores, her parents enrolled her in just about every sport and type of dance class offered in their small town. It was only a matter of time until Alison discovered cycling as a 19-year-old. While racing in western Canada, her steady results netted her first professional contract in 2015 which was her stepping stone to European racing.

Today she divides her time between her hometown of Vermilion, Aberta, her Canadian training grounds of Abbotsford, BC, and her race base in Girona, Spain. Abbotsford is where she got her start as a cyclist and to this day she loves to catch up with friends while exploring the hills on gravel and single track trails. Her favorite ride from Girona is to climb up the backside of scenic El Far through the medieval village of Rupit.

She's not only an amazing rider, but even better leader and friend on the team. On April 8, 2023, she won Paris-Roubaix Femmes in an amazing display of grit and racing instinct. This summer she claimed her second Canadian road race national championship so keep an eye out for her maple leaf jersey in the peloton.

You can also find Alison on social media where you’ll find her dancing in lycra and often getting her teammates in on the action.

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Magdeleine Vallieres

Magdeleine Vallieres Mill hails from Sherbrooke, Québec. At nine-years-old, she and her dad took a 1,000 kilometer bike packing trip over nine days. After that, Magdeleine was hooked. A sports program at her high school introduced her to bike racing. She loved every discipline, racing road, cyclocross, and mountain bike as a junior before deciding to focus on road racing.

She applied for the UCI World Cycling Center (WCC) program as she transitioned out of the junior ranks and was offered one of eight spots on the WWC squad for 2020. The Continental team serves as a launching pad into the professional ranks for its scholarship riders, who typically hail from across the globe. Magdeleine’s first season with the WCC was interrupted by Covid but she took advantage of every opportunity and ultimately earned a spot on EF Education-TIBCO-SVB.

Magdeleine is approaching her second season with the team full of energy and excitement. In her rookie season, she didn’t know what to expect but her eagerness to seize every opportunity ultimately led to plenty of race days for the 21-year-old. She raced the classics, one-day races, and stage races, all while providing essential support to her teammates. Now in her second year as a pro, Magdeleine continues to be an essential member of the team. You will often find her at the sharp end of the peloton, pulling for her teammates.

Her diverse cycling background has helped her develop a love for the chaotic classics, the endurance required in stage racing, and has taught her unrivaled track standing skills.

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Veronica Ewers

Veronica’s focus and dedication made the 2022 season one full of podiums. In Luxembourg, she won the final stage of the Festival Elsy Jacobs which earned her second place on the general classification. She took the overall win at the Navarra Women’s Elite Classics as well as second place at both Emakumeen Nafarroako Women’s Elite Classic and Durango-Durante Emakumeen Saria. At the Tour de France Femmes, Veronica rode aggressively and with heart, finishing among the top ten on two stages which landed her in ninth place on general classification. Veronica had the honor of representing her country at the 2022 World Championships in Wollongong, Australia. She concluded the season with a pair of second place podiums in the Italian one-day races and a fifth place GC finish at the Tour de Romandie.

Her list of race results is particularly impressive given that 2022 was her first season as a full-time professional cyclist.

Veronica burst onto the professional racing scene at the 2021 US National Road Championships, coming in third place behind Lauren Stephens and Coryn Labecki. The result, and the way she earned it, turned heads, ultimately landing Veronica a guest ride with EF Education-TIBCO-SVB at Joe Martin Stage Race. Veronica backed up her nationals bronze with second place at Joe Martin, her first national level race.

Because the 28-year-old had limited experience in the peloton before she turned pro, Veronica is proud of the growth she has displayed as she has learned to navigate the bunch. This improved skill has led to greater confidence, which in turn has helped her become a more proficient racer.

Though she is new to cycling, Veronica is not new to competitive sports. She played Division III soccer at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon while double majoring in Spanish and anthropology. Following graduation, she turned to running, and a running friend encouraged her to attend a local club ride meet-up. This led to Veronica joining Fount Cycling Guild where she worked closely with Jennifer Wheeler, who rode for TIBCO in 2011-2012. Wheeler recognized Veronica’s budding talent immediately and connected the up and coming rider with Linda Jackson, founder of EF Education-TIBCO-SVB.

Veronica raced the Giro d’Italia Donne for the first time this season and her aggressive approach animated the race. She had a trio of top-ten results and on the final stage, she attacked during an intermediate sprint to earn a single bonus second which placed her in fourth place on the final general classification, her best result to date in a WorldTour GC.

For now, Veronica sees herself as an all-rounder. She is punchy and loves the hills, including the longer mountain climbs. She spent a month of the off season in Medellín, Colombia where she explored the local climbs and got to practice her Spanish.

Veronica is as surprised as anyone at the way her cycling journey has unfolded to date, but is excited to continue to develop and see just how far she can go in the sport.

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