It was second again for Demi Vollering at the Tour de France Femmes, though this felt like a very different type of runner-up spot, with no sign of the degree of distress that struck after missing out by four seconds in 2024.
"I think how we fought as a team the whole day and also the whole Tour de France – I'm really proud of that in a new team. Everything went really well as a team, so I'm really proud of that, and at this moment, that makes me very happy," Vollering told the assembled media after working herself up one spot on the overall standings on stage 9.
Yellow was further out of reach than last year, with the Dutch rider finishing 3:42 behind Pauline Ferrand-Prévot on the overall, and there had been no expectation that she could claim it back on the final day of racing, given the French rider who was commanding on Col de la Madeleine hadn't put a foot wrong all race.
"Yesterday when I couldn't follow with Sarah [Gigante] and Pauline then afterwards, I was pretty sure that it was not so much possible anymore to move to yellow, but still I really wanted to try to move up in GC and also to go for a stage victory, because that's also what I was missing this Tour de France."
The field broke up early, leaving a small group at the front in pursuit of Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime), who went out on the attack, and then it ended with a group of five – Vollering, Ferrand-Prévot, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and Niamh Fisher-Black – heading into the final ten kilometres together.
However, when the French rider in the yellow jersey attacked at just under seven kilometres to go, there was little any of her rivals could do. Vollering has to settle for second on the stage as well in a Tour de France Femmes characterised by intense and widespread competition at the top.
Now we need to recover and rest, and then we go back to the drawing board and see what we can do better for the coming year," said the 2023 Tour de France Femmes winner. "But, I mean, it also depends, because if next year in the Tour de France, if you have, for example, an extra long day, then it's also good for me."
Vollering is looking ahead with hopes that the 2026 course will deliver an edition that plays to her versatility.
"It's not only being a good climber that makes you a good rider. You need to have every kind of skill, and this Tour de France was maybe it was a bit more for the pure, pure climbers. But you don't know what's next year, so never say never," she said when asked if she could still compete for the top spot.
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