Cycling-Vollering delivers masterclass to secure second Tour de France Femmes title

NICE, France, Aug 9 (Reuters) – Dutchwoman Demi Vollering secured her second Tour de France Femmes title on Sunday, winning the ninth and final stage in emphatic fashion to reclaim cycling’s biggest prize.

The 29-year-old FDJ-Suez rider, widely regarded as one of the finest cyclists of her generation, added another milestone to an illustrious career that includes the 2023 Tour triumph, the 2026 Giro d’Italia Women and back-to-back La Vuelta Femenina titles in 2024 and 2025.

Vollering began Sunday’s 99.2-km finale around Nice with an eight-second lead over Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney after wresting the yellow jersey from the Pole a day earlier.

Vollering put any lingering doubts to rest on the fourth and final ascent of the Col d’Eze, where she launched a decisive attack on the 31-year-old Niewiadoma-Phinney before soloing to victory in Nice.

“I thought, I’ve never won in the yellow jersey before,” Vollering said.

“I thought about my team, I thought about Celia (Gery) – who had a really rough night. I thought about all the work I did before this, all the people standing behind me, working together.

“The people I have around me, not only the dream to win in yellow here, my second Tour de France, but it’s the dream to live this life, work hard together with people with a lot of passion. That’s the whole dream.

“I was like ‘I have to try to attack and go alone’… I wanted to make it clear that we as a team deserve to win a beautiful Tour de France Femmes with humility and with pride.”

Vollering finished one minute and 18 seconds ahead of Niewiadoma-Phinney in the final general classification, while Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini completed the podium.

Spain’s Paula Blasi was second on the stage, one minute and four seconds behind Vollering, with Niewiadoma-Phinney coming third.

Vollering claimed her third stage victory of this year’s race and her sixth Tour de France Femmes stage win overall.

In the men’s race, Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar claimed a record-equalling fifth Tour de France title in July, securing a third successive triumph in cycling’s most prestigious event.

(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru;Editing by Christian Radnedge and Pritha Sarkar)