The Pogacar effect hits the women’s peloton: Longo Borghini pays the price for following Vollering, while Niewiadoma plays it smart

Longo Borghini, Vollering, Anna van der Breggen, and Niewiadoma broke away from the other women on the Côte de Saint-Romain-de-Lerps, the long climb of the day, 7 kilometers at 7 percent. After Longo Borghini was able to respond to the first attack by the eventual winner, Vollering went for a second time. The Italian tried to move up again, but cracked.

She paid for that effort, she explained in the mixed zone to CyclingProNet. “After I tried to follow Vollering, I didn't feel at my best anymore. But I did everything I could. The energy just drained away, that's the story.” She eventually finished almost five minutes behind Vollering.

Longo Borghini said she wasn't afraid of hitting the wall. “I didn't think about that, I just wanted to follow. But she dropped me, and that's what happened,” said the Italian, who then dropped back and finished tenth. “It hurt. And when I was completely out of strength, it only got worse.”

How different it was for Niewiadoma, who did not respond explosively to Vollering's attacks but chose to set her own pace. With Van der Breggen as a block on her wheel, the Polish rider eventually finished in second place. “Of course I dreamed of victory, but Demi was clearly the strongest and the Netherlands was very committed,” said Niewiadoma in the press conference.

Niewiadoma didn't find it surprising that things got going on the only long climb of the day. “I think every cycling federation got a reality check at the World Championships on how to win a race, so it was clear from the start,” she said, referring to the strange World Championships in Rwanda, where the strongest women on paper never came to the front and surprising breakaway riders won the medals.

"I think we all learned our lesson from the World Championships, but the dynamics of a race are also different in a 3-hour or 4.5-hour race. You knew it would happen here from the start; shorter races are often more aggressive and more interesting from the outset anyway. In the end, I wasn't happy with the situation 35 kilometers from the finish, with one orange woman in front and one on my wheel. But it is what it is," she concluded with a laugh.