NICE, France (AP) 鈥� Demi Vollering launched a blistering attack to win the eighth stage of the Women鈥檚 Tour de France and take the yellow jersey heading into Sunday’s final stage.
The Dutchwoman upped the pace on Saturday’s fourth and final small climb and Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney cracked with about six kilometers (four miles) to go, sitting back down in her saddle as surged ahead.
As Vollering zoomed along the famed Promenade des Anglais by the seaside in Nice, Niewiadoma-Phinney and former Giro d鈥橧talia winner Elisa Longo Borghini could not close the gap.
鈥淚t鈥檚 funny but only this morning I saw myself taking the yellow Jersey,鈥� Vollering said. 鈥淚 thought it might come true, that maybe that鈥檚 the way things should be. During the day, I tried to remind myself I could do it.鈥�
So it proved.
Vollering raised her arms triumphantly at the line, then sat on the ground and panted heavily as she tried to get her breath back.
鈥淚 was in so much pain, I can hardly describe it, but I made it happen,鈥� Vollering said. “This goes to prove that if you really believe in something, if you dream big, it doesn鈥檛 matter how much risk you take or how much pain you have to go through.鈥�
Longo Borghini was second and Niewiadoma-Phinney was third, both 17 seconds behind. The day belonged to Vollering, who this year to complete the hat trick of Grands Tour wins.
She is eight seconds ahead of Niewiadoma-Phinney, the 2024 champion, in the overall standings. The Polish rider took with a brilliant solo win up Mont Ventoux on Friday, and rode a yellow bike to go with it on Stage 8.
The 172-kilometer (107-mile) route from Sisteron to Nice on the southeast coast was mostly flat for sprinters but featured four minor climbs which made it a little more tricky.
With the main title contenders initially saving energy for Sunday’s tough-looking decisive stage in the hills around Nice, the yellow jersey group let Frenchwoman Maeva Squiban and Dutchwoman Loes Adegeest form a long breakaway.
Squiban slid off her bike heading into a turn on a downhill section and landed heavily on her left side. She had cuts and grazes and screamed in agony as a medic on a motorbike tried bandaging her arm while she was riding.
She carried on riding despite the pain while, up ahead, Adegeest was caught inside the last nine kilometers.
Defending champion withdraws
pulled out of the race shortly before the stage after feeling unwell.
The French rider’s Visma-Lease a Bike team said that the decision to pull her out of the race was made after consultation with the team’s medical staff.
The 2024 Paris , she won the Women’s Tour de France on her debut last year. But she struggled this year and was in 14th place overall before withdrawing.
Final day drama
Stage 9 features four sharp climbs of Col d鈥櫭坺e, which is nestled in the hills overlooking the tiny Principality of Monaco.
Two years ago, Niewiadoma-Phinney beat Vollering on a to win the race by just four seconds.
Vollering will have to ensure it’s not a case of d茅j脿 vu.
鈥淭omorrow鈥檚 course is going to be super hard,” she said. “We know it from the beginning of the Tour.”
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