Dutch cyclist Demi Vollering on Sunday won her second Women’s Tour de France title, dethroning defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot from France, who dropped out of the race on Saturday. Vollering excelled during the hilly final stage to extend her lead on nearest rival Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney, who finished second overall.
The 29-year-old Vollering – winner of the 2023 title – timed the nine-day slog to perfection in winning the final two stages, which both ended in Nice.
She crossed the finish line on Sunday with a lead of 1 minute 4 seconds over the group of riders that included other favourites.
In the general classification, Vollering finished 1 minute 18 seconds ahead of Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon//Sram) and 4 minutes 39 seconds ahead of Italy's Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L'IMAD).
A favourite even before the big start of this year's Tour de France Femmes in Switzerland, Vollering confirmed an exceptional year, having triumphed at the Giro, the Tour of Flanders, La Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
But she finished second in the 2022, 2024 and 2025 editions of the Tour de France.
In 2026, she succeeds France's Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who was forced to withdraw at the start of the penultimate stage on Saturday due to illness.
"I thought about my team, about Célia (Géry), who had a very, very rough night. I thought about all the work we’ve done, about everyone around me – the people who worked on the bike they designed for me," Vollering told the press at the end of the stage.
"The people around me are incredible. It’s not just about the dream of winning in the yellow jersey or winning for the second time. The dream is living this life, being with all these people who have so much passion," she added.
Vollering claimed the overall lead on Saturday, attacking late on a small hill and edging into an eight-second overall lead on Polish rider Niewiadoma-Phinney.
A furious Niewiadoma-Phinney, however, complained she had been blocked by a teammate of Vollering at a crucial moment, but no action was taken.
The tense final stage was contested over four climbs of the Col d'Eze just outside Nice, where Vollering waited until the fourth ascent to pounce.
Never looked back
Attacking near the summit, she took a 20sec lead and thundered down towards Nice never looking back.
Former yellow jersey wearer Swiss rider Marlen Reusser (Movistar), who started the stage in third place, crashed on a descent, losing all hope of securing a spot on the podium.
Dutch sprinter Lorena Wiebes won the green sprint points jersey mainly thanks to her victories on the two opening stages.
Also from the Netherlands Puck Pieterse secured the polka dot climb points jersey ahead of the final stage.
The top French finisher, Breton rider Cédrine Kerbaol, took sixth place.
Three riders were missing from the final stage: France's Alice Coutinho, Colombia's Paula Patino, and Austria's Valentina Cavallar.
(with AFP)
