Demi Vollering had imagined this moment many months ago. Perhaps in January, perhaps during one of those days when you begin to mentally construct the season and try to imagine where you might arrive. A fleeting thought, almost impossible to take seriously: to reach Nice, win the stage and wear the yellow jersey of the Tour de France Femmes. Today that thought has become reality. The Dutch cyclist conquered the stage with a finish in Nice, at the end of an extremely difficult and hard-fought day, and above all completed her comeback in the general classification, securing the yellow jersey on the eve of the final fraction. A success that means much more than a simple stage victory: Demi Vollering arrives at the last appointment of the Tour as leader of the race with the destiny of the Grande Boucle in her own hands.

It will not yet be enough to celebrate. Tomorrow there will indeed be the final battle, the one that will bring the group to the finish line. And in a race like the Tour de France Femmes, especially after what has happened in recent stages, no one can afford to consider the match settled before the finish. But in the meantime Demi Vollering can allow herself a few minutes to savor a moment that, just hours ago, seemed only an image in her head.

The story of the day begins precisely with that memory. Vollering recounted having had, months ago, a sort of intuition. «Somewhere, I don't know, I don't remember exactly when. Perhaps it was in January, when I did a calculation here. Somehow I had a flashback before my eyes, in which I thought I would take the yellow jersey here».

A thought so far from reality that it was quickly forgotten. Until this morning. «It made no sense to me, so I completely forgot about it. It was strange. But then this morning that déjà vu came back and I thought: maybe it's true, maybe that's really how it was supposed to go».

From that moment on the race took on a different meaning. Vollering didn't just have a stage to win and seconds to make up: she had before her eyes an image that seemed to anticipate what would happen.

The road, of course, gives nothing away. To transform a dream into reality requires legs, courage, strategy and a team ready to support their leader when fatigue becomes unbearable.

And that is exactly what happened. Vollering's victory did not come without suffering. Indeed, the Dutch cyclist recounted having to push herself beyond the limit, continuing to believe in the possibility of making it even when her body asked her to slow down.

«I tried to remind myself during the race that I could do it, that we could do it, and that at least we had to try to dig deep, to endure so much pain».

It is a sentence that perfectly captures the nature of this victory. The Tour de France is decided not only by physical condition, but also by the ability to resist in moments when fatigue takes over.

Demi Vollering resisted and in the end found the most important reward: the stage victory and the yellow jersey. «I can't describe it», she admitted.

Then came the reflection that goes beyond the single day and tells how the Dutch champion interprets cycling. «I think this shows that if you truly believe in something, if you really dream big, then it doesn't matter what it takes, how much pain it will cost you. With the right people around you, you'll make it».

The reference to the team is not casual. On a day like today, the victory is not only Vollering's. It is the result of collective work, of teammates who raced to protect her and accompany her to the decisive moment. «You just have to have the right people around you».

The Tour, however, is not yet over. The yellow jersey is finally on her shoulders, but tomorrow it will have to be defended.

The final stage will start from Nice, the same city that today welcomed her victory. A detail that makes the moment experienced by the Dutch cyclist even more special: she conquered the symbol of leadership precisely when the Tour is preparing to crown its winner.

«Tomorrow will be extremely difficult, obviously. That's what I've said from the start of the Tour. Anyway, anything can happen on the last day».

Vollering knows perfectly well that the advantage accumulated today does not represent an absolute guarantee. The final fraction can still change the classification and any episode can become decisive.

But at least one thing is already certain: tomorrow she will start with the most important jersey in women's cycling. «At least tomorrow I'll start in yellow, and that's already a dream come true».

A sentence that encompasses all the satisfaction for what has been achieved, but also the awareness that the work is not yet finished.

Vollering has never hidden her ambitions. And today she has already reached an important part of the objective she had set for herself. «I want to win two stages and I have the yellow jersey on my shoulders for this moment. So it's already something really special».

A stage victory was therefore one of the stated objectives. Now it has arrived at the most important moment, accompanied by the yellow jersey.

It remains to be seen whether tomorrow the Dutch cyclist will manage to complete the job. To do so, concentration and sacrifice will still be needed. There will be no room for distractions and, above all, there will be no possibility of experiencing the last day as a procession. The rivals are still there and will try until the last kilometer to put the leader in difficulty. «We will do everything to keep the jersey tomorrow. But I'm sure that my team and I are more than ready».

There is something symbolic about the fact that Vollering's dream materialized precisely in Nice. A city that today gave her a victory and the yellow jersey, but that tomorrow could become the theater of her definitive consecration.