Published on : 04/05/2026
The Cofidis team had some bad luck at the Women’s Ronde van Vlaanderen. While Malwina Mul’s strong performance is worth noting, the team lost Victoire Berteau to a crash.
It had all started well. After a solid start to the race, the Ronde van Vlaanderen did not go as planned for our women’s team on Sunday, April 5, 2026. Caught up in a crash 83 km from the finish, Victoire Berteau was forced to withdraw. The medical diagnosis is serious for the 2023 French champion. A fractured radius forces her to put her season on hold and sit out Paris-Roubaix in a week.
The reaction
Arthur Quillec, sports director: "We had started the day well. Things went well for the first two hours of racing, but we lost Victoire Berteau in a crash at the entrance to Oudenaarde, just before the first climb. We also lost Valentine Fortin in that same crash. She wasn’t injured, but she fell behind and couldn’t switch bikes quickly because we were with Victoire. Obviously, losing our leader in a crash before the first climb makes for a difficult day. We still have Malwina Mul finishing in a group that sprinted for 19th place. It’s her first Ronde; she’s 20 years old: for her, it’s a great learning experience and a step toward the future. But it’s true that overall, we’re ending the day with a lot of disappointment and frustration because Victoire is injured; she can’t finish the race and she won’t be able to start Paris-Roubaix either. Especially since that was the goal at the start of the season…"