Demi Vollering secured a decisive victory in stage eight of the Tour de France Femmes, taking over the overall lead from Kasia Niewiadoma. The Dutch rider launched a strong attack in the final stretch of the stage, which was marked by a steep climb near Nice. Niewiadoma finished third on the day, unable to match Vollering’s late surge that shifted the general classification.
With this win, Vollering now holds an eight-second lead over Niewiadoma in the overall standings as the race heads into its final day, according to lemonde.fr. The stage route ran from Sisteron to Nice and included a flat section before a challenging late climb that played a major role in the outcome.
Vollering extended her lead further by 17 seconds after crossing the finish line on the Promenade des Anglais. She described the effort as extremely difficult and credited her team for helping her through the tough moments.
Vollering’s win marks her fifth time wearing the yellow jersey in this year’s race, making her one of five different riders to lead the event so far, according to a report from thestar.com. She also expressed frustration with what she called childish behavior from other competitors who may have blocked her path.
The race is set to conclude on Sunday with a final stage featuring four steep climbs, including the 7km Col d’Eze. Marlen Reusser remains in third place overall, just 1 minute and 12 seconds behind Vollering after her time-trial win earlier in the week. Elisa Longo Borghini is in fourth place, 3 minutes and 5 seconds behind the race leader.
Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot withdrew from the stage due to illness after struggling to finish on Friday. Vollering said she would need to prepare for a tough final day of racing, but felt confident about her position in the yellow jersey.
She emphasized the importance of fair play in competition and said that blocking other riders was unacceptable.
IMAGE: Demi Vollering bij de ploegenvoorstelling in Gent voor de Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2023. Photo: Joost Pauwels / Wikimedia, taken 2023-03-04, CC0