With 16km to go on the final stage of the Tour de France Femmes, Demi Vollering took off. The Dutchwoman timed her moment to perfection, attacking with 600m to go on the final of four ascents of the Col d'Eze, with Kasia Niewiadoma unable to cling on to her wheel. As she barrelled up the remnants of the climb and then down the descent towards Nice Vollering converted her minuscule eight-second advantage over the Pole to a minute and 18 seconds, with time to slow down before the line, soak in the moment, and lift her bike triumphantly overhead.
After nine days of agonisingly close racing, with momentum swinging this way and that, this was a tour de force by the sport's premier stage racer, the deserving first winner of a landmark second Tour de France Femmes **** le. "Impériale," was the verdict on L'Equipe's front page.
Vollering celebrated with her teammates after winning three stages and the overall (Reuters)
It was a fitting end to a resounding success of a Tour – dramatic, cathartic, and magnified by moments of individual virtuosity. This year's Tour de France Femmes has been an enormous coup for race director Marion Rousse, and for the sport generally. The Classics-style parcours, where nearly every day has resembled the most intense one-day races, coupled with the dynamics of the peloton and the fact that there are multiple evenly-matched teams rather than one all-conquering super-team, has made for an unpredictable and volatile race.
The fact that no singular team can entirely control proceedings has made for genuine jeopardy over whether breakaways will be brought back or able to seize their moment of glory – best emphasised by the heroics of Sigrid Haugset on stage three. The attacking, all-out nature of the racing, from Niewiadoma's raid on Mont Ventoux to her team's attempts to dislodge Vollering on stage nine, with Vollering responding with a devastating attack of her own, has made for thrilling viewing.
#vollering #tour #france #made
After nine days of agonisingly close racing, with momentum swinging this way and that, this was a tour de force by the sport's premier stage racer, the deserving first winner of a landmark second Tour de France Femmes **** le. "Impériale," was the verdict on L'Equipe's front page.
Vollering celebrated with her teammates after winning three stages and the overall (Reuters)
It was a fitting end to a resounding success of a Tour – dramatic, cathartic, and magnified by moments of individual virtuosity. This year's Tour de France Femmes has been an enormous coup for race director Marion Rousse, and for the sport generally. The Classics-style parcours, where nearly every day has resembled the most intense one-day races, coupled with the dynamics of the peloton and the fact that there are multiple evenly-matched teams rather than one all-conquering super-team, has made for an unpredictable and volatile race.
The fact that no singular team can entirely control proceedings has made for genuine jeopardy over whether breakaways will be brought back or able to seize their moment of glory – best emphasised by the heroics of Sigrid Haugset on stage three. The attacking, all-out nature of the racing, from Niewiadoma's raid on Mont Ventoux to her team's attempts to dislodge Vollering on stage nine, with Vollering responding with a devastating attack of her own, has made for thrilling viewing.
#vollering #tour #france #made
15 days ago
