Stage 2 of the Tour de France proved to be a very tough stage for FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope. Nevertheless, the French team is not giving up high hopes for the race.

"For FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope, the women's Tour de France is not lost, but this day was a reminder of how dangerous our sport can be. We will fight relentlessly to play the leading role in the overall classification in all the next stages of this Tour. We will fight for Malta."

Cavalli opened up the possibility of a strong two-pronged attack with Uttrup Ludwig to counter Annemiek van Hulten (Movistar), who finished second to Cavalli in the Giro d'Italia Donne, and became a valuable asset to the team in its pursuit of yellow

However, the team's success was not without its own problems.

However, the Italian rider was forced to abandon the race after being hit hard from behind in the chaos of a crash on stage 2. According to the team, an initial examination revealed that Cavalli suffered trauma to his head and lower body, and a hospital examination revealed no further injuries or fractures.

Cavalli was not the only FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope athlete to fall on Tuesday. Grace Brown and Utrup Ludwig also fell shortly after, as did Evita Mujic near the line. All of Cavalli's teammates were able to continue.

"There are no serious injuries to report regarding Cecilie Uttrup-Ludwig, Evita Mujic, or Grace Brown.

However, the crash involving Uttrup Ludwig and Brown with 22 km remaining in the 136 km stage to Provins resulted in casualties of a different kind.

Uttrup Ludwig and three teammates (Grace Brown, Vittoria Guazzini, and Marie Le Nette) were still trying to rejoin the peloton after the crash, but took advantage of a moment of hesitation after the intermediate sprint, and Elisa Balsamo ( Trek-Segafredo) attacked with around 20km to go, adding more pressure to an already tight pace. World champion Balsamo pulled away from a small group that included teammate Elisa Longo Borghini and soon-to-be stage winner and overall leader Marianne Vos (Jumbo Visma).

"It was definitely a hard day," Brown said in an interview with Australian broadcaster SBS (open in new tab). The entire team was involved in a crash with 20 km to go and had to wait to bring Cecily back to the peloton, an almost impossible task due to the crosswind." Uttrup-Ludwig finished 1:38 behind Vos, 1:54 behind the race leader and 1:42 behind overall contender Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM).

"There are more mountains to come, so hopefully we can make up for it," Brown added.