Demi Vollering finishes the job and regains Tour de France Femmes crown after three years

Demi Vollering finished the job in the final stage of the Tour de France Femmes. The FDJ United-SUEZ rider defeated her main rival Kasia Niewiadoma (CANYON//SRAM) in a head-to-head battle on the Col d'Eze, automatically securing overall victory in the process.

Eight seconds. That was the gap separating Demi Vollering and Kasia Niewiadoma heading into the final stage. The Dutchwoman pulled off a superb coup on stage 8 to take the yellow jersey from her Polish rival, after Niewiadoma herself had made her move on Mont Ventoux. But that was not the main story on Saturday.

That was because Niewiadoma was furious after the penultimate stage. She believed Célia Gery had deliberately obstructed her, forcing the yellow jersey wearer to make up considerable ground on Gery's teammate Vollering. It remained one of the major talking points ahead of the 99-kilometre final stage in the hills around Nice.

"I was right. I've been racing for years. I know what's right and what's not. It's not like I'm making things up. I expressed how I felt, and nothing has changed since then," Niewiadoma said. "Demi was extremely strong. It's an honour to fight against her. I don't want to take anything away from her performance. I just want to race fairly against her."

Vollering was disappointed by the Pole's reaction. "I have a lot of respect for Kasia, but I was a little disappointed when I heard her interview yesterday because she attacked my teammate. I haven't forgotten what Kasia did when I was on the ground two years ago," Vollering said, referring to the 2024 Tour, when Niewiadoma capitalised after Vollering crashed on stage 5 and took the yellow jersey.

In any case, the two were soon spotted talking to each other on their bikes, and ultimately the dispute would have to be settled on the road. Straight from the start, the riders headed up the Col d'Eze, which would be climbed four times in total. Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) survived the first ascent and subsequently secured the green jersey, while Marianne Vos abandoned after being dropped early.

On the second passage, CANYON//SRAM moved emphatically to the front. Zoe Bäckstedt reduced the peloton to around 25 riders and dropped the likes of Puck Pieterse and Kim Le Court, while Vollering was left with only Juliette Berthet alongside her.

Bäckstedt even managed to distance Marlen Reusser (Movistar), who was third overall, with 66 kilometres remaining. That played directly into the hands of Elisa Longo Borghini and UAE, who suddenly had a renewed opportunity to reach the final podium.

A crash for Reusser completely changed the situation. The Swiss rider was trying to return to the front group on the descent when she went down. It took some time before the Movistar leader, surrounded by her teammates, got back on her bike and continued: her podium hopes were gone.

Who remained for the third ascent of the Col d'Eze? Femke de Vries, Demi Vollering, Juliette Berthet, Kasia Niewiadoma, Antonia Niedermaier, Dominika Włodarczyk, Paula Blasi, Elisa Longo Borghini, Niamh Fisher-Black, Isabella Holmgren and Cédrine Kerbaol. Holmgren took advantage of the tactical battle between FDJ United-SUEZ and CANYON//SRAM by launching an attack of her own.

Ultimately, everything came down to the final ascent of the Col d'Eze, this time from the steeper side. Berthet was dropped almost immediately, after which Niedermaier was tasked with setting the pace for Niewiadoma as they approached the steepest sections.

The Pole then went all-out, but Vollering was firmly planted on her wheel before taking over herself. In the final few hundred metres of climbing, Vollering finally dropped her rival. She quickly built an advantage of around 30 seconds, putting the Tour beyond doubt with a commanding margin and adding the perfect finishing touch to her overall victory.