Demi Vollering of FDJ-Suez successfully defended her Vuelta Femenina title, winning the final stage in spectacular fashion to seal her second consecutive victory in the prestigious race.
The Dutch rider broke clear of her rivals in the final kilometre of stage seven, which finished at the Alto de Cotobello summit in Asturias, Spain. Vollering, 28, started the day with a 45-second advantage and made sure of her victory with a solo win, finishing the stage ahead of her closest competitors.
Vollering’s victory in the final stage, her second stage win of the race, gave her an overall lead of 1 minute 1 second over Marlen Reusser of Switzerland, who finished second. Anna van der Breggen, Vollering’s compatriot and former team-mate, took third, a further 15 seconds behind.
“I am very happy that I could win both mountain stages,” said Vollering, who joined FDJ from SD-Worx this season. “My team was so strong again, so strong, and we were always in control. I’m really happy about the whole performance with the whole team.”
Van der Breggen, returning to competition after retiring in 2021, had led for much of the final climb of the 152km stage, which was ridden in rainy conditions. However, she couldn’t respond to Vollering’s explosive attack with around 800 metres to go and eventually lost ground to both Vollering and Reusser.
With this victory, Vollering now has three major tour titles in women’s cycling, having also won the 2023 Tour de France Femmes alongside her two Vuelta triumphs. Her second stage victory in the race meant that every individual stage was won by a Dutch rider, with Marianne Vos taking stages two and six, Van der Breggen winning stage four, and Femke Gerritse claiming stage three.
Final General Classification Standings
- Demi Vollering (Ned/FDJ-Suez) 19hrs 41mins 32secs
- Marlen Reusser (Swi/Movistar) +1min 01secs
- Anna van der Breggen (Ned/SD-Worx) +1min 16secs
- Cedrine Kerbaol (Fra/EF Education-Oatly) +2mins 34secs
- Juliette Labous (Fra/FDJ) +3mins 24secs
- Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ/Lidl-Trek) +3mins 25secs
- Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita/Liv AlUla Jayco) +4mins 07secs
- Yara Kastelijn (Ned/Fenix-Deceuninck) +5mins 20secs
- Nienke Vinke (Ned/Team Picnic PostNL) +5mins 40secs
- Evita Muzic (Fra/FDJ-Suez) +5mins 41secs
