Cyclist from Demi Vollering sprints in the Tour de France Femmes with Zwift stage near the finish

‘This déjà vu came back’ – Vollering turns tables to her favour after seizing Tour de France Femmes lead with stage 8 win

The FDJ United-Suez leader turned a 15-second deficit into an eight-second advantage in Nice, then disclosed the knee problem that disrupted her winter preparation.

By Peter Stuart · · 4 min read

Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) regained the Tour de France Femmes yellow jersey on Saturday by winning stage 8 in Nice, leaving her eight seconds ahead of Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon//SRAM) before the final day.

Vollering made a late attack with 6km remaining on the 171.9km stage from Sisteron to Nice, finishing 17 seconds ahead of Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L’Imad) and Niewiadoma-Phinney. The 10-second winner’s bonus helped turn her overnight 15-second deficit into an eight-second advantage.

Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team) remains third overall at 1:12, while Longo Borghini is fourth at 3:05. Vollering’s victory was her second of this Tour after she won the three-rider sprint on stage 5.

Results

Aug 8

Velora
PosRiderTeamTime
🥇
NL flagDemi Vollering
FDJ UNITED - SUEZ4:02:39
🥈
IT flagElisa Longo Borghini
UAE TEAM L'IMAD+0:17
🥉
PL flagKatarzyna Anna Niewiadoma-Phinney
CANYON//SRAM +0:17
4
Mary Patricia Kimberley le Court de Billot - Pienaar
AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM+0:38
5
BE flagLotte Kopecky
TEAM SD WORX - PROTIME+0:38
6
PL flagDominika Wlodarczyk
UAE TEAM L'IMAD+0:38
7
CA flagSarah van Dam
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:38
8
CH flagNoemi Rüegg
EF EDUCATION - OATLY+0:38
9
ES flagPaula Blasi Cairol
UAE TEAM L'IMAD+0:38
10
FR flagCedrine Kerbaol
EF EDUCATION - OATLY+0:38
11
DE flagAntonia Niedermaier
CANYON//SRAM +0:38
12
CH flagMarlen Reusser
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:38
13
NL flagThalita de Jong
HUMAN POWERED HEALTH+1:37
14
IT flagDebora Silvestri
LABORAL KUTXA - FUNDACION EUSKADI+1:37
15
US flagKristen Faulkner
EF EDUCATION - OATLY+1:37
16
NL flagLorena Wiebes
TEAM SD WORX - PROTIME+1:50
17
IT flagElisa Balsamo
LIDL - TREK+1:50
18
NL flagMarianne Vos
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+1:50
19
GB flagPfeiffer Zara Georgi
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+1:50
20
FR flagEmilie Morier
ST MICHEL - PREFERENCE HOME - AUBER93+1:50
21
FR flagClémence Latimier
MA PETITE ENTREPRISE+1:50
22
FR flagCelia le Mouel
MA PETITE ENTREPRISE+1:50
23
NL flagNienke Vinke
TEAM SD WORX - PROTIME+1:50
24
NL flagNina Buijsman
HUMAN POWERED HEALTH+1:50
25
NL flagPuck Pieterse
FENIX-PREMIER TECH+1:50
26
FR flagJuliette Berthet
FDJ UNITED - SUEZ+1:50
27
CA flagIsabella Holmgren
LIDL - TREK+1:50
28
FR flagCélia Gery
FDJ UNITED - SUEZ+1:50
29
GB flagJosie Nelson
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+1:50
30
NL flagFemke de Vries
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+1:50
31
NL flagDaniek Hengeveld
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+1:50
32
CA flagMagdeleine Vallieres Mill
EF EDUCATION - OATLY+1:50
33
DK flagAmalie Dideriksen
COFIDIS WOMEN TEAM+2:10
34
IT flagLetizia Paternoster
LIV-ALULA-JAYCO+2:10
35
IT flagGaia Masetti
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+2:10
36
NL flagLieke Nooijen
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+2:10
37
FR flagLaura Asencio
MA PETITE ENTREPRISE+2:10
38
NZ flagNiamh Mary Fisher-Black
LIDL - TREK+2:10
39
SI flagUrška Žigart
AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM+2:10
40
NO flagSigrid Ytterhus Haugset
UNO-X MOBILITY+2:10
41
ES flagMargarita Victoria Garcia Cañellas
UAE TEAM L'IMAD+2:10
42
MX flagRomina Hinojosa Cruz
LOTTO INTERMARCHE LADIES+2:38
43
IE flagFiona Mangan
MAYENNE MONBANA MY PIE+2:51
44
PL flagMalwina Mul
COFIDIS WOMEN TEAM+3:05
45
ES flagPaula Ostiz Taco
MOVISTAR TEAM+3:17
46
NL flagJeanne Korevaar
LIV-ALULA-JAYCO+3:22
47
DE flagLinda Riedmann
LOTTO INTERMARCHE LADIES+3:22
48
NL flagEline Jansen
VOLKERWESSELS CYCLING TEAM+3:22
49
UA flagYuliia Biriukova
LABORAL KUTXA - FUNDACION EUSKADI+3:22
50
IT flagArianna Fidanza
LABORAL KUTXA - FUNDACION EUSKADI+3:22
51
NL flagRiejanne Markus
LIDL - TREK+3:35
52
PL flagKarolina Perekitko
MAYENNE MONBANA MY PIE+4:08
53
BE flagJustine Ghekiere
AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM+4:31
54
NL flagSophie von Berswordt
VOLKERWESSELS CYCLING TEAM+4:31
55
DE flagRosa Klöser
CANYON//SRAM +4:31
56
BE flagLotte Claes
FENIX-PREMIER TECH+4:31
57
GB flagZoe Backstedt
CANYON//SRAM +4:31
58
NL flagMischa Bredewold
TEAM SD WORX - PROTIME+4:31
59
NO flagMarte Berg Edseth
UNO-X MOBILITY+4:38
60
DE flagFranziska Koch
FDJ UNITED - SUEZ+4:38
61
US flagLily Williams
HUMAN POWERED HEALTH+4:38
62
ES flagMireia Benito Pellicer
AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM+4:38
63
IT flagSara Casasola
FENIX-PREMIER TECH+4:38
64
FR flagTitia Ryo
HUMAN POWERED HEALTH+4:38
65
CA flagAlison Jackson
ST MICHEL - PREFERENCE HOME - AUBER93+4:38
66
LU flagNina Berton
EF EDUCATION - OATLY+4:38
67
FR flagMaeva Squiban
UAE TEAM L'IMAD+4:38
68
NL flagLucinda Brand
LIDL - TREK+4:44
69
NL flagLoes Adegeest
LIDL - TREK+4:44
70
AU flagAmanda Spratt
LIDL - TREK+4:44
71
NL flagAnouska Koster
UNO-X MOBILITY+5:05
72
IT flagCarlotta Cipressi
HUMAN POWERED HEALTH+5:05
73
FR flagOcéane Mahe
MA PETITE ENTREPRISE+5:05
74
NL flagMaud Rijnbeek
VOLKERWESSELS CYCLING TEAM+6:46
75
NL flagQuinty Schoens
VOLKERWESSELS CYCLING TEAM+6:46
76
ES flagIdoia Eraso Lasa
LABORAL KUTXA - FUNDACION EUSKADI+6:46
77
GB flagMillie Couzens
FENIX-PREMIER TECH+7:29
78
US flagCaroline Wreszin
ST MICHEL - PREFERENCE HOME - AUBER93+8:34
79
US flagNatalie Quinn
MAYENNE MONBANA MY PIE+8:34
80
FR flagVictorie Guilman
COFIDIS WOMEN TEAM+8:34
81
FR flagNoemie Abgrall
MA PETITE ENTREPRISE+9:14
82
IT flagSilvia Persico
UAE TEAM L'IMAD+9:14
83
BR flagAna Vitoria Gouvea Vieira Almeida Magalhaes
MOVISTAR TEAM+9:14
84
IT flagChiara Consonni
CANYON//SRAM +9:14
85
US flagHeidi Franz
ST MICHEL - PREFERENCE HOME - AUBER93+9:14
86
AU flagLucie Fityus
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+9:14
87
ES flagAlicia Gonzalez Blanco
ST MICHEL - PREFERENCE HOME - AUBER93+9:14
88
CU flagArlenis Sierra Canadilla
MOVISTAR TEAM+9:14
89
DE flagLiane Lippert
MOVISTAR TEAM+9:14
90
ES flagSara Martin Martin
MOVISTAR TEAM+9:14
91
PL flagAgnieszka Skalniak-Sójka
CANYON//SRAM +9:14
92
IT flagFrancesca Barale
MOVISTAR TEAM+9:14
93
BE flagSandrine Tas
LOTTO INTERMARCHE LADIES+9:14
94
IT flagSoraya Paladin
CANYON//SRAM +9:14
95
IT flagElena Cecchini
TEAM SD WORX - PROTIME+9:14
96
IE flagMia Griffin
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+9:14
97
NL flagAnneke Dijkstra
VOLKERWESSELS CYCLING TEAM+9:14
98
AU flagRuby Roseman-Gannon
LIV-ALULA-JAYCO+9:14
99
IT flagAlessia Vigilia
UNO-X MOBILITY+9:14
100
CO flagPaula Andrea Patiño Bedoya
LABORAL KUTXA - FUNDACION EUSKADI+9:14
101
NZ flagHenrietta Christie
EF EDUCATION - OATLY+9:14
102
GB flagAlice Madeleine Towers
EF EDUCATION - OATLY+9:14
103
AT flagValentina Cavallar
TEAM SD WORX - PROTIME+9:14
104
FR flagJulie Bego
COFIDIS WOMEN TEAM+9:14
105
FR flagEma Comte
COFIDIS WOMEN TEAM+9:14
106
NL flagMarit Raaijmakers
HUMAN POWERED HEALTH+10:21
107
NL flagMalou Eisen
VOLKERWESSELS CYCLING TEAM+10:21
108
FR flagConstance Valentin
MAYENNE MONBANA MY PIE+10:21
109
FR flagMarie le Net
FDJ UNITED - SUEZ+10:21
110
CA flagNadia Gontova
LIV-ALULA-JAYCO+10:21
111
FR flagMarine Allione
MAYENNE MONBANA MY PIE+10:21
112
AU flagMackenzie Coupland
LIV-ALULA-JAYCO+10:21
113
ES flagNaia Amondarain Gaztañaga
LABORAL KUTXA - FUNDACION EUSKADI+10:21
114
ES flagUsoa Ostolaza Zabala
LABORAL KUTXA - FUNDACION EUSKADI+10:21
115
FR flagSolène Muller
ST MICHEL - PREFERENCE HOME - AUBER93+10:21
116
FR flagMorgane Coston
MA PETITE ENTREPRISE+10:21
117
NL flagSilke Smulders
LIV-ALULA-JAYCO+11:24
118
FR flagAlice Coutinho
MAYENNE MONBANA MY PIE+11:24
119
FR flagMarion Bunel
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+11:42
120
BE flagLore de Schepper
AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM+11:42
121
GB flagRobyn Clay
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+11:51
122
BE flagShari Bossuyt
AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM+12:00
123
IT flagLetizia Borghesi
AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM+12:00
124
FR flagEvita Muzic
FDJ UNITED - SUEZ+12:00
125
NL flagAmber Kraak
FDJ UNITED - SUEZ+12:00
126
CZ flagNikola Nosková
COFIDIS WOMEN TEAM+12:00

Vollering described the return of yellow as emotional after what she called a difficult previous year. She had worn the jersey earlier in this race before Niewiadoma-Phinney took the lead with a solo victory on Mont Ventoux during stage 7.

“It’s pretty special to have yellow back finally,” Vollering said in a post-race mixed zone interview. “To have it back now, it’s even more amazing.”

She said recovering from disappointment during a stage race required moving on quickly, with little time to dwell on the previous day.

“You just need to do it,” Vollering said. “In a stage race, you live day by day, so you can be disappointed at night, but then the next morning you need to put on a new mask and you go again. You try again, you make a plan with the team.”

“Maybe it was in January when I did the recon here, I somehow saw this flashback in front of my eyes that I would take yellow here, but it didn’t make sense in my eyes,” Vollering said. “But then this morning, this déjà vu, it came kind of back, and I was like, maybe it’s true, maybe it was really like how it should be.”

During the race, she used that memory to reinforce her belief that FDJ United-Suez could overturn the deficit. Vollering said the team had to “dig so deep” to make the plan work, crediting the people around her for the result.

An eight-second lead for the final stage

Vollering revealed after the finish that a knee problem had prevented her from riding for almost all of December. “Actually over the winter I had some knee problems,” Vollering said, “I never told the outside World, actually.” She suggested she had kept the injury private and only resumed training in full in January, when she completed some of her first efforts on the climbs she will face during the final stage.

“I was just so grateful to be back on the bike,” she said. “So tomorrow I will try to find it.”

Stage 9 covers an aggressive 99.2km from Nice to Nice on Sunday, August 9, with four repeat ascents of the Cole d’Èze. Vollering expects another aggressive contest from Niewiadoma-Phinney, whose eight-second deficit leaves the race open to an attack or time bonuses.

“I think tomorrow it’s going to be a hard fight again, but I will do everything I have left because I don’t want any regrets afterwards,” Vollering said. “I have had that feeling already too much, and it’s the worst feeling I have had in my life.”

Vollering said beginning the final stage in yellow already fulfilled one of her ambitions, while accepting that the classification could still change.

“Everything can happen on the last day, but at least I start in yellow tomorrow, and that’s already a dream coming true,” she said. “We’re going to try everything to keep that yellow tomorrow.”

Peter

Peter Stuart

Editor

Peter is the editor of Velora and oversees Velora’s editorial strategy and content standards, bringing nearly 20 years of cycling journalism to the site. He was editor of Cyclingnews from 2022, introducing its digital membership strategy and expanding its content pillars. Before that he was digital editor at Cyclist, and then Rouleur. Before joining Cyclist in 2012, he completed freelance work for titles including The Times and The Telegraph. He has reported from Grand Tours and WorldTour races, and previously represented Great Britain as a rower.