Today Demi Vollering wrote a new chapter in her career by winning with authority in Belleville en Beaujolais the fifth stage of the Tour de France Femmes, featuring eight climbs and almost 2,900 meters of elevation gain. In a fiercely contested three-way sprint, the Dutch rider from Fdj-Suez overtook Swiss Marlen Reusser in the yellow jersey and Polish Kasia Niewiadoma (first at the 2024 Tour), who had launched the sprint 500 meters from the finish, and inflicted a gap of 2'35" on defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. Italian Elisa Longo Borghini also finished back, at 1'43".

Vollering, queen of the 2023 Tour Femmes and the 2026 Giro Women, declared: "It was a truly fantastic race. The entire team contributed to this victory. I especially appreciate this type of success, where all my teammates worked so hard: it makes victories even more special and beautiful, because you truly win together".

Three champions, an attack from far out and the final sprint, in which Vollering showed extraordinary determination: "I didn't expect to win the sprint. Yet I managed it. It was a real relief. I knew that Kasia (Niewiadoma, ed.) would attack early, as she always does. And I knew that Marlen would take risks. I let her do it. I gave everything until the finish line. It was a very long sprint; I needed every meter".

In the standings, Swiss Marlen Reusser (Movistar) maintains the yellow jersey with 12" over Vollering and 1'17" over Niewiadoma: "I have an advantage over Reusser, that is, I've already won the Tour. And so has Kasia. Marlen has never managed it, so she'll have to push hard too. I'm sure it will be a tough battle, because she's not a cyclist who can be beaten easily. She's very strong. But I'll do everything possible to make it happen". On Friday meanwhile there's the giant of Provence, Mont Ventoux, to tackle from the classic Bedoin side: the conclusion on Sunday in Nice after four climbs up the Col d'Eze.