Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) overturned a 49-second deficit to Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) on the final stage of the Giro d'Italia Women, taking the maglia rosa after a pre-planned tactical raid that she and her team designed over dinner the previous evening. Speaking in the post-race press conference in Saluzzo, Vollering described a strategy that required her to risk losing second place overall to create a scenario in which she could still win.
Stage 9 covered 145km from Saluzzo to Saluzzo with three classified climbs, including the Montoso and the Colletta di Brondello. Vollering finished the day as overall winner, 30 seconds clear of Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM) in second and 1:37 ahead of Van der Breggen, who dropped from first to third. Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) won the stage from the front group that formed after the decisive GC moves.
Stage 9 Results
Saluzzo › Saluzzo • Jun 7 • 145km
| Pos | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Elisa LONGO BORGHINI | UADUAE Team ADQ | 3:45:09 |
| 🥈 | Niamh FISHER-BLACK | LTKLidl-Trek | +0:00 |
| 🥉 | Antonia NIEDERMAIER | CSZCanyon//SRAM zondacrypto | +0:02 |
| 4 | Demi VOLLERING | FSTFDJ United-SUEZ | +0:03 |
| 5 | Femke DE VRIES | TVLTeam Visma | Lease a Bike | +2:23 |
| 6 | Sigrid Ytterhus HAUGSET | UXMUno-X Mobility | +2:23 |
| 7 | Anna VAN DER BREGGEN | SDWTeam SD Worx-Protime | +5:59 |
| 8 | Lauren DICKSON | FSTFDJ United-SUEZ | +5:59 |
| 9 | Isabella HOLMGREN | LTKLidl-Trek | +6:01 |
| 10 | Magdeleine VALLIERES | EFOEF Education-Oatly | +6:01 |
"Yesterday evening Lars Boom, our DS, and Lieselot (Decroix) came to our table and they said to us, okay girls, make yourselves ready for a very big and long fight tomorrow because we're going to take the pink," Vollering said. "First I was like, wow, how the hell are we going to do that? But then the girls directly showed the belief. They said, oh yeah, let's do it. From that moment I really changed my mind."
How FDJ United-SUEZ built the raid
It was a plan from the very first kilometres. FDJ United-Suez sent their riders on the attack immediately as they tried to place riders like Amber Kraak, Celia Gery, Eva van Agt and Lauren Dickson into the break and force a race that would put Anna van der Breggen's SD Worx-Protime on the back foot. The first climb came too quickly for a breakaway to form, however. But that didn't change the plan and the aggression continued.
Vollering attacked multiple times on the climbs but Niedermaier was closing her down every time. So the European champion decided to use her German rival to her own advantage rather than just seeing her purely as a rival.
"I saw that Antonia was closing it the whole time on me," Vollering said. "So I told her, let Anna close on me, because that way you create something for yourself. I told her I will let you go, but by doing this I also risk my second place to become third. I needed to risk it to be able to be in the position for winning it."
Niedermaier did exactly that and took Longo Borghini and Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) with her. The German became the virtual leader on the road as Vollering looked to Van der Breggen to chase. Dickson came back and also paced when the gap was growing to the leaders but Vollering didn't push hard when she hit the front. It was all down to the final climb for her as she launched multiple brutal all-or-nothing attacks.
"My finish line was on the top of that climb," Vollering said, in response to a question from Velora. "It was really an all-or-nothing thing. My finish was in my head on that climb. I had cramps everywhere, but I just kept going full gas. I knew that when I came into that group I would probably make the GC win possible."
She bridged to the leaders who were starting to look at each other shortly after cresting the climb, after closing a 1:30 gap. She went straight to the front and immediately explained to the lead group what she wanted out of the day. Longo Borghini and Niedermaier were happy to work with Fisher-Black sitting on at the back.
"She wanted to win the Giro, she was going to do the job, and I wanted to win the stage," Longo Borghini said afterwards. The Italian had endured a difficult three months before the race, describing periods where she would put on her cycling shoes and then sit without going anywhere. "This means much more than a win, this is a comeback," she said. "I've been very sick the past three months and I worked very hard to come back. I'm not still 100%, but I didn't want to leave this Giro without leaving a mark."
It was the shared interests of the group that meant they cracked Van der Breggen and made it impossible for the race leader to make it back within time to regain the race lead.
Dickson, who chased hard to close the gap to Niedermaier before Vollering's decisive attack, said the team believed the plan could work from the start. "We knew it was possible if we gave it absolutely everything, like 110%," she said in an interview with TNT Sports. "Demi, she's such a nice leader. She's really encouraging. If you do a good job, even if she's not at the race with you, she'll message you. So then it makes you want to work for her."
Stephen Delcourt, the FDJ United-SUEZ boss, framed the strategy in blunter terms. "We need to destroy all, we need to accept to lose, we need to play a lot," he told TNT Sports, recounting the briefing. He said Vollering trusted the plan but that the execution exceeded even his expectations.
Vollering herself kept returning to the idea that the win required a specific kind of mental commitment as well as climbing legs. "I needed to be able to give it all up, and only like that I could place myself in a position from where I could win," she said. "Cycling is all about the mind games and the tactical games. Sometimes it's difficult, but it's also about planning and having teammates out there who can help you on the way."
Alongside the maglia rosa, Vollering took the blue QOM jersey. Elisa Balsamo won the red points classification and Isabella Holmgren held the white best young rider's jersey despite dropping to seventh overall.
The overall title makes Vollering only the second rider, after Annemiek van Vleuten, to win the Giro d'Italia Women, Tour de France Femmes and La Vuelta Femenina. Asked about what comes next, she kept it short: "I still dream of a lot of beautiful victories, but first I'm going to enjoy this very well tonight."
Cover image credit: RCS/ Marco Alpozzi
