Demi Vollering secured her second overall victory at the Tour de France Femmes on August 9, 2026, delivering a decisive attack on the final climb of Stage 9 in Nice to defeat rival Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney by 1 minute and 18 seconds, according to race organizers at letourfemmes.fr. The FDJ United-Suez rider conquered the 99.2-kilometer final stage, which featured four ascents culminating over the Col d’Èze and down to the Promenade des Anglais, successfully overturning Niewiadoma-Phinney’s narrow lead in the race’s closing moments.
The Final Showdown on the Chemin du Vinaigrier
The 2026 edition of the race concluded with a demanding route featuring four climbs of the Col d’Èze, including a final ascent via the steeper Chemin du Vinaigrier, which measures 6 kilometers at a 7.6% gradient, as reported by PEZ Cycling News.
Behind the leading duo, Elisa Longo Borghini of UAE Team L’Imad claimed the third spot on the final general classification podium, finishing 4 minutes and 29 seconds back from the winner, according to letourfemmes.fr. Longo Borghini’s podium security was aided by misfortune striking her primary rival for third place, Marlen Reusser. According to PEZ Cycling News, Reusser (Movistar Team) struggled on the earlier climbs and subsequently crashed on a descent, effectively ending her podium ambitions after starting the day in third place overall.
Antonia Niedermaier of Canyon//SRAM finished fourth overall to claim the white jersey as the best young rider, just ahead of Paula Blasi of UAE Team L’Imad, as detailed by letourfemmes.fr. In the other classification battles, Lorena Wiebes of SD Worx-Protime secured the green points jersey early on the stage, while Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) retained the polka dot jersey for the mountains classification, and UAE Team L’Imad won the team classification.
Early Race Dynamics and Decisive Teamwork
The stage ignited right from the start when UAE Team L’Imad applied intense pressure on the first category-two climb of the Col d’Èze, according to letourfemmes.fr. Early attacks from riders such as Mavi García, Dominika Wlodarczyk, and Maëva Squiban whittled the peloton down to roughly 50 riders on the opening slopes. Between the first and second ascents, Paula Ostiz (Movistar) and Malwina Mul (Cofidis) escaped to contest the intermediate sprint, where Lorena Wiebes collected enough points to mathematically lock up her green jersey.
The race broke apart definitively during the second trip up the Col d’Èze. According to PEZ Cycling News, Zoë Bäckstedt (Canyon//SRAM) drove an unrelenting tempo that shattered the peloton down to just 16 riders by the halfway point and reduced it even further by the summit. Shortly after, Canadian rider Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) launched a solo attack, building a lead of nearly a minute before being reeled in by Antonia Niedermaier with four kilometers remaining on the final, steepest slopes of the Chemin du Vinaigrier, setting the stage for the final duel between Vollering and Niewiadoma-Phinney.
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