Each moment the team has left Vollering to fend for herself could be written off in isolation, but as they continue to mount up, scrutiny of the team’s treatment towards the Tour winner will only get louder, and each moment will be picked apart.

Perhaps everything will become clear soon, and the situation during stage six was just miscommunication, but if it smells like a duck and walks like a duck … All we can hope is that Vollering’s contract negotiations are sorted soon and the Dutch national champion can focus on her job, but by golly, the SD Worx-Protime team bus can’t be a fun place to hang out at the moment.