Lotta Henttala: I did not hold on to the car

Lotta Henttala (AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep)
Lotta Henttala (AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep) (Image credit: Getty Images)

Lotta Henttala has refuted the claims made by the race jury that she held onto the team car during stage 6 at the Tour de France Femmes. Henttala and AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep director Servais Knaven were disqualified from the race with 70km to go in the stage to Blagnac on Friday.

Early reports indicated that Henttala and Knaven were disqualified because she hung onto the team car, and the UCI race jury later confirmed the decision in the official race communique after the stage. Both rider and director were also fined 200 CHF.

Kirsten Frattini
Deputy Editor

Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.

Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.

She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.