She was the most anticipated athlete and Demi Vollering did not miss her chance, powerfully taking one of the toughest stages of the Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour and the red jersey of the overall leader. The Dutch superstar dominated the final climb of Lagunas de Neila with an attack 3 km from the finish line that crushed all her rivals. While at Alle Ardenne the FDJ Suez tactics were not perfect, today the French team was practically impeccable, launching their captain (who had already won here twice in the Vuelta Burgos). Second place went to Marlen Reusser (Team Movistar), third to Anna Van Der Breggen (Sd Worx ProTime). The top Italian riders were Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv Alula Jayco) in thirteenth place and Eleonora Ciabocco (Team Picnic Postnl) in fourteenth.

THE RACE - First mountain stage for the Vuelta Femenina caravan, 120.4 km from Golmayo to Lagunas de Neila all above 1000 m altitude. The final 30 km were truly challenging with the climb to Alto de Rozaviento (4 km with an average of 8.4%) to be repeated twice, followed by the finish at Lagunas de Neila, already a protagonist in both the men's and women's Vuelta Burgos.

The early stages of the race were characterized by a series of attacks, with the breakaway forming only after 40 km and involving 4 athletes: Maike Van der Duin (Canyon Sram), Julia Borgstrom (AG Insurance Soudal Team), Arianna Fidanza (Laboral Kutxa Fundacion Euskadi) and Lea Lin Teutenberg (Lotto Ladies) managed to gain up to 2'35" on the group controlled by Lidlt Trek and FDJ Suez. The breakaway attempt ended about 27 km from the finish, and immediately the Demi Vollering's team (FDJ Suez) went into action, raising the pace in the peloton.

During the first climb of Alto de Rozaviente, FDJ Suez with Evita Muzic and Juliette Labous put many athletes out of contention, forcing them to chase in the subsequent descent. With 14 km to go, Mareille Meijering (Movistar Team) broke away, gaining an advantage over the group together with Mischa Bredewold (Sd Worx Protime). Once again, thanks to the super work of FDJ Suez, the attackers' move was neutralized.

3 km from the finish line, Demi Vollering took center stage, immediately putting her rivals out of the game and carving out a significant gap. The Dutch star managed to reach the finish line 24" ahead of an outstanding Marlen Reusser and took the red jersey, creating a true earthquake in the general classification.

Tomorrow, the Vuelta Femenina will restart from Becerril de Campos for a stage entirely dedicated to sprinters, a day to catch a bit of breath before the difficult final stage.