Demi Vollering sealed her second Tour de France Femmes title with a solo victory on the final stage in Nice, becoming the first rider to win two editions of the revived race.
Eight seconds became a chasm on the Col d'Èze
Vollering started the day holding a slim eight-second lead over defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney. The two had traded blows for days, including a long-range solo win by Niewiadoma-Phinney on Mont Ventoux. On the final short, hilly circuit, they stayed evenly matched until the fourth and last climb of the 7.8-kilometre Col d'Èze.
Roughly 800 metres from the summit, with about 16 kilometres left, Vollering launched a decisive attack. Niewiadoma-Phinney could not follow. Vollering crested the climb with a small gap and then took every risk on the twisting descent into Nice, stretching her advantage over the flat run-in along the Promenade des Anglais.
A second yellow jersey, a record rewritten
The winning margin swelled to 1:18 by the finish, with Vollering stopping the clock in a total time of 30:54:51. Elisa Longo Borghini completed the podium, moving up after Marlen Reusser crashed out of contention on a descent. The victory made Vollering's FDJ United-SUEZ the first French team to win the Tour de France Femmes.
The Dutchwoman, now 29, has an unmatched record in this race: two wins and three second-place finishes across its five editions. This triumph was built on back-to-back solo stage wins in Nice, the first of which had put her back in the yellow jersey for the first time since August 2024.
"I've never won in the yellow jersey before," she told reporters afterwards. "It's a dream to live this life."
The final day closed a tense edition, moving the rivalry decisively in one direction and burnishing a palmarès that already defined the modern Tour.
