When the peloton entered Berry St. Edmunds, the finish of the first stage of the Women's Tour, a sprint victory by Dutch sprinter Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) was expected.

However, a crash in the last few hundred meters of the opening stage ended Weaves' chances for a stage win and her first leader's jersey of the competition.

The run-in to the finish next to St. Edmundsbury Cathedral was very technical, with the road narrowing and widening several times in the final kilometer, with parked cars and a total of four turns adding to the difficulty.

It was not only Wiebes who collapsed, but also Charlotte Kuhl, who served as her lead-out; Barbara Guariski (Movistar Team), another sprinter; former overall champion Colin Labecchi (Team Jumbo Visma), and Carline Swinkels also fell.

They were all left on the ground as Clara Copponi (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) accelerated another 300 meters to win.

Despite this, Team DSM's lead group rode a perfect race: British champion Pfeiffer Gheorghi was last in front of Vives, sending her and Cool to the front of the race just before a sharp left-hand corner where Cool crashed.

"Today's stage was focused on setting up the sprint and trying to control any moves, we rode well throughout the day and had a good lead out in the finale. It was a pity that we lost Charlotte and Lorena in the last crash. It was a shame to lose Charlotte and Lorena, but we still have a lot of chances this week. But I'm looking forward to this week because we still have a lot of chances," Georgi said after the stage.

A spokesperson for Team DSM confirmed that Kool and Weaves were in good physical condition considering the circumstances and had no serious injuries. A decision on whether they will continue racing will be made Tuesday morning. Carmen Small, sport director of Team Jumbo-Visma, said the team took a calculated risk in the race.

"The crash in the last kilometer was unfortunate. We knew this part of the course was dangerous and we were prepared for it."

"The girls showed courage. Their will to win was obvious, but unfortunately Carline and Colin crashed. Luckily the damage was not too bad and we can start again tomorrow with the five of us. I hope to be back in contention for the win." Both Lavecki and Swinkels are expected to start the second stage with no serious injuries. Gualeschi suffered a small cut and bruise on his elbow, but no other injuries were reported. The stage finish in the town of Suffolk has been used before in the Women's Tour, with the final stage taking place in the first edition in 2014. At the time, the outer barrier curved continuously to the apex of the left corner, and at the exit, it was widened by a parking space on the curb of Honey Hill Road to provide room for riders to maneuver.

On Monday, the barrier was set up to pass in a straight line through the turn, widening the roadway at the apex and forming a 120-degree angle off the track where the barrier reached the curbside parking space, narrowing the width of the road to just two meters. The roadway appeared to be wide, so Kuhl may have taken a wider route through the turn, but in any case, the Dutch rider's bike slid out on the wet surface and hit the barrier, knocking down Swinkels, Guariski, and Labecki.

Vives managed to dodge Cool on the inside, but seconds later her rear wheel also slipped and crashed.

Trek-Segafredo sprinter Chloe Hosking avoided crashing, but was held up behind the crashing riders. More riders had to brake to avoid the barriers and get back up to speed. In the video of the 2014 finish, 14 of the first 15 finishers are in the curb parking spaces on Honey Hill, suggesting that the turn exit set up on Monday was simply too narrow to safely navigate in the high-speed sprint finish.