After numerous attempts over the last few editions, Demi Vollering finally claimed an elusive win at the Tour of Flanders, as she soloed to victory after a decisive move on the Oude Kwaremont. It marks just the third Monument win of her career, after her two victories at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
The European Champion managed to distance all of the other contenders on the penultimate climb, with nobody able to follow her seated acceleration. She then continued to extend her advantage over those behind her on the Paterberg before time trialling her way to the finish in Oudenaarde.
“It was super hard. My only thought was ‘I need to go as fast as possible and then the suffering is finally over,’ because it was painful,” Vollering said in her post-race interview.
“I really tried to find some calmness in the suffering, tried to stay super focused and then in the end I did it, but I also had to because the team did an amazing job again. It’s not every year that you’re healthy and come in the position [to win], so then you really have to enjoy the moment and give it your all.”
On the work of her team throughout the race, Vollering said, “I think sometimes people don’t really see how important teammates are, but in the end they make sure you come in as fresh as possible to the final. For everybody in the team, it’s just so important winning here.”
The only rider able to even get close to Vollering when she accelerated on the Oude Kwaremont was Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, but the French rider did not have the power to match her Dutch rival and was forced to settle for second place once again, having also finished runner-up at last year’s race.
She beat Puck Pieterse in a two-up sprint to decide the lower steps of the podium, whilst in the group behind, Zoe Bäckstedt just missed out on fourth place after a strong performance, as she was narrowly beaten by last year’s winner Lotte Kopecky in the sprint for the minor placings.
How It Happened
A four-rider breakaway went up the road at the start of the day, with two other riders then bridging across from a chasing group later on. The peloton were content in giving them a sizeable advantage of nearly six minutes, as they were confident that they could reel them in before they entered the decisive phase of the race.
Crashes marred the race, as several riders hit the deck over the course of the day. There were two major pile-ups in the bunch, the second of which came just before the ascent of the Koppenberg with 47km to go. Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) was among those to go down and was forced to abandon the race due to a fractured wrist, with her team later confirming that she will undergo surgery in the coming days.
Marlen Reusser (Movistar) also abandoned the race as a result of the same crash after having shown great form to win Dwars door Vlaanderen earlier in the week. The Swiss rider suffered a broken vertebra, having only just come back from injuries to her knee and shoulder.
Those unaffected by the crash continued to race on and as they went onto the Koppenberg, the last rider from the early breakaway was caught, with Franziska Koch (FDJ United-SUEZ) coming to the front to set an infernal pace on the steep cobbled climb.
Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) was sat firmly in the wheel of her German teammate as they drew a group of nine riders clear over the top of the climb, with Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ), Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech), Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) among those to make the selection at the head of the race.
They were then rejoined by a group of eleven riders as they approached the cobbled sector of the Mariaborrestraat, with FDJ United-SUEZ pushing on once again after being reinforced by the return of Elise Chabbey and Célia Gery. They helped to whittle down the group further as they went onto the Taaienberg, helping to keep Vollering right at the front of the lead group.
Koch would then take over on the Oude Kruisberg, as Chabbey and Gery were finally dropped for good with 29km to go. The German rider then proceeded to create yet more splits on the cobbles, with only Vollering, Ferrand-Prévot, Pieterse and Kopecky able to follow her over the top of the climb.
Longo Borghini then made a massive effort to bring her UAE Team ADQ teammates, Karlijn Swinkels and Silvia Persico, back into contention along with the rest of the chasing group, as they rejoined the leading group in the approach to the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont.
Going onto the penultimate climb with 18km to go, Koch made one final effort to lead out Vollering, before the European Champion then made her move as they went onto the cobbles. Ferrand-Prévot was able to respond initially, with Kopecky and Pieterse not too far behind, but a gap quickly began to open up as Vollering pressed on again.
Over the top of the climb, the Dutch rider had a nineteen-second advantage over Pieterse and Ferrand-Prévot, with over half a minute to a group containing Kopecky, Longo Borghini, Swinkels, Persico and Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), who had been quietly riding a brilliant race.
Vollering then began the fast descent towards the Paterberg and was not relenting in her attempt to extend her advantage, as she looked to carry as much speed as possible onto the final climb of the race.
A few more seconds had gone her way as she went over the top of the climb and began the run-in towards Oudenaarde. It was here that she began to time trial her way to the finish, with those behind struggling to make any inroads into her advantage, despite good cooperation in the chasing groups.
Vollering was ultimately too strong for the rest of her competitors though, as she soloed to the finish to take the victory, lifting her bike above her head in celebration after she crossed the line.
Ferrand-Prévot just had enough to hold off Pieterse in a tired sprint for second place behind, whilst Kopecky just pipped Bäckstedt on the line to take fourth place in the sprint for the minor placings ahead of the UAE Team ADQ trio of Swinkels, Persico and Longo Borghini.
Results
Tour of Flanders Women 2026: Oudenaarde > Oudenaarde (164km)
1. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ United-SUEZ, in 4:16:37
2. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Fra) Visma-Lease a Bike, +42s
3. Puck Pieterse (Ned) Fenix-Premier Tech, at same time
4. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime, +1:04
5. Zoe Bäckstedt (GBr) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto
6. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ, all at same time
7. Silvia Persico (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, +1:07
8. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, at same time
9. Mischa Bredewold (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +1:58
10. Franziska Koch (Ger) FDJ United-SUEZ, at same time
