Demi Vollering emerges as moral winner of Tour de France Femmes stage 1 after forced effort with 1.3km to go

Demi Vollering safely negotiated the opening day of the Tour de France Femmes. On Switzerland’s national holiday, the Dutch FDJ United-SUEZ leader made a late bid for both the stage victory and the yellow jersey, but in Lausanne she had to concede defeat to compatriot and former teammate Lorena Wiebes of SD Worx-Protime.

Vollering eventually finished third, just behind Kim Le Court of AG Insurance-Soudal. However, that result allowed her to make an immediate gain in the general classification, as third place also earned the Dutchwoman four bonus seconds. That is precisely the margin by which she lost the 2024 Tour de France Femmes to Kasia Niewiadoma.

"I wanted more," Vollering told Cycling Weekly after the finish. She explained that she had wanted the yellow jersey, but was nevertheless pleased to have gained several seconds in the general classification. Vollering expects similarly small margins to matter throughout the Tour and was also satisfied to have fought her way onto the stage podium.

The Dutchwoman’s result was all the more impressive because she had to unclip and almost came to a complete stop shortly before the final kilometre. Letizia Paternoster of Liv AlUla Jayco and Dominika Włodarczyk of UAE Team ADQ crashed directly in front of her, forcing Vollering to take evasive action with 1.3 kilometres remaining.

Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek), for example, was also caught up in that incident and was unable to return to the front. European champion Vollering, by contrast, quickly worked her way back into contention before eventually crossing the line in third place.

Vollering said she was satisfied that she had managed to return to the front and still had enough power left in her legs to contest the finish. Her recovery after being forced to slow almost to a standstill made her podium place—and the four valuable bonus seconds—even more significant.

The next two stages appear slightly less demanding on paper, while the stage-four time trial toward Dijon will already have been marked as a major target by Vollering and the other general-classification contenders.