Was it a shame that Niewiadoma and Vollering have fallen out in such public fashion? Or good for the sport?
Vollering gets a hug from her partner.
There will be changes in the top 10 on GC … confirmation to follow.
Wiebes wins green, Pieterse wins polka-dots. Both richly deserved. Niedermaier takes white, unless I missed something.
Niewiadoma sprints for third place. I think she got third.
It’s a third stage win of the race for Vollering, and her second Tour de France Femmes title.
Formidablé! What a ride. She slows down over the line, takes her time to savour the moment, then stops, gets off the bike, and lifts it over her head in triumph.
400m to go: Nearly there!
1km to go: Flamme rouge for Vollering! She’s powering along the Promenade des Anglais. Fans pack the roadside. It’s 1min 15sec.
2.5km to go: Vollering is just a phenomenal athlete. They all are, of course, but for Vollering to deliver a performance like this, with such panache, to seal her second Tour de France Femmes: it’s incredible. A remarkable amount of skill, fitness and bravery goes into it.
4km to go: It’s 1min 07sec for Vollering. She looks sideways at the motorbike camera and smiles. She is confident of bringing this home. (It was a half-smile, half-grimace, such is the effort she is putting in.)
5km to go: Niewiadoma is caught by the Longo Borghini group. The Italian wasn’t sure if she had the legs for a podium this morning … as it turned out, Reusser’s terrible day has handed it to her, to some extent.
6km to go: It was a magnificent win on Mont Ventoux for Niewiadoma … but even without Vollering’s controversial stage win yesterday, on this sort of form, she would have snatched yellow and the overall victory on the final day, regardless.
8km to go: And now 55sec for Vollering who is absolutely flying down the descent, her head tucked down level with her handlebars. Niewiadoma has been well beaten on the uphill and downhill in this final section.
10km to go: It’s 39sec for Vollering. The seventh group on the road is 10min back. The Wiebes/Reusser group, meanwhile, is 7min 50sec down. But Vollering is riding to glory up front. This is the moment you dream of as a professional rider.
11km to go: Vollering is past the steepest section of the descent. She’s got 32sec. Niewiadoma chases across a breezy bridge.
12.5km to go: Niewiadoma gave it everything on that climb but she could not get rid of Vollering. Indeed, it looked like the Dutchwoman was merely biding her time and waiting for her moment.
Vollering looks a bit shaky in a couple of the hairpins, but she makes it through, bringing a sharp intake of breath from the commentators.
13km to go: Vollering is riding away. She’s got 28sec. This is a performance worthy of winning the greatest bike race of them all.
14km to go: The gap is 23sec between the front two.
15km to go: Vollering takes a drink. It’s business time, if it wasn’t already. She needs to hold things together on this descent, and she’s champion again.
15.5km to go: Vollering has 18sec on her great rival.
16km to go: Vollering attacks, and distances Niewiadoma! The Polish rider cannot respond. A ridiculously powerful attack by Vollering and unless something really unexpected happens, I think she’s just secured herself the victory. Amazing stuff. Still a couple of hundred metres to climb.
16.5km to go: Nearing the top of the climb and we’ve had attacks from both these remarkable riders …but still they are together. Niewiadoma, based on this climb so far, does not have enough in the tank to distance her rival. Still a kilometre to climb.
17km to go: There are bonus seconds available at the finish: 10sec, 6sec, 4sec. If Niewiadoma were to beat Vollering in a 1-2 finishing with the same time, that would mean Vollering turning the tables from 2024 and winning the overall race by 4sec, if my calculations are correct (factoring in the 6sec for the Dutchwoman.)
17.5km to go: Still 2.3km of climbing to go.
18.2km to go: I think Vollering just flicked her elbow … I don’t think there is going to be much in the way of co-operation.
18.5km to go: Now Vollering attacks! This is the one! Or is it? Niewiadoma follows.
18.5km to go: Vollering now comes past her Polish rival … it looks like Niewiadoma is suffering a bit more than the Dutchwoman.
19km to go: Niewiadoma still leads. Vollering, if anything, looks capable of counterattacking soon.
This is phenomenal racing. Another 3.5km of climbing to decide the Tour de France Femmes for 2026.
19.2km to go: Niewiadoma attacks! Here we go! The Polish rider gets out of the saddle. Vollering covers the attack, staying seated, accelerating enough to hold the wheel.
19.5km to go: Holmgren, who has put in a brave ride, will soon be caught. She has just 5sec now.
Vollering, as we expect, is glued to the wheel of Niewiadoma.
Niedermaier of Canyon/SRAM sets the pace for her teammate
20km to go: I think Vollering was put in difficulty by the Backstedt attack, but has steadied the ship since then and had a chance to regather herself. Canyon/SRAM just needed another Backstedt for the third climb: a one-two might have broken the Dutchwoman.
20.5km to go: Five kilometres or so of climbing remain at this Tour des Femmes. It’s already been a classic race, but is there more drama to come? In 2024, Niewiadoma won by 4sec. As it stands, Vollering leads by 8sec. Here we go …
21km to go: Vollering continues to mark Niewiadoma. She will be marking her in the bar afterwards, no doubt.
What can Niewiadoma do about it?
22km to go: It’s 33sec for Holmgren. The Canadian rider is about to hit the final climb … Who, if anyone, will have the strength left to counterattack from the front group?
25km to go: Reusser and Wiebes are in the sixth group on the road, 7min 50sec down. It’s a shame for Reusser, after she illuminated the early stages, that she will lose her podium place on the final day. She could not keep pace with Backstedt’s devastating attack on the climb, and then crashed on the following descent.
27km to go: On the official site, the final climb is described as follows:
“Remember: this fourth and final loop features a slight variation in the climb to the Col d’Èze, with a detour via the Chemin du Vinaigrier (‘the Vinegar-maker Road’) and the climb of the Quatre-Chemins (‘the Four-Ways’), the toughest section of the day. This extends for 3.8km on a narrow road between housing estates that has an average gradient of 8.6% and a maximum of 14%, before rejoining the original route of the Col d’Èze, reaching the summit at km 83.8.”
A higher class of housing estate, I am sure.
29km to go: Holmgren ploughs on at the front for Lidl-Trek. Her lead has fallen to 50sec. This is a truly selective stage, and anyone in that front group has documentary evidence that they are among the strongest riders on the planet.
31km to go: Canyon/SRAM clearly wanted to set a hot pace on that third climb, but Niedermaier did not have the same destructive impact as Backstedt. As it stands, this is all looking good for Vollering’s second TdF Femmes title.
32km to go: A reminder that the final insult from the course designers is that the final ascent of the Col d’Eze is a steeper alternative than the first three laps. There are ramps of up to 15%, so they say.
34km to go: Now for the penultimate descent of the day … Holmgren is flying down it and is holding her lead of 1min.
In terms of staging an attack, Niewiadoma is literally running out of road. Is she keeping her powder dry for the final climb?
36km to go: In terms of the other jerseys: if Puck Pieterse finishes safely, she’s got the QOM competition long since sewn up.
Wiebes took another 17pts at the intermediate earlier, and her closest rival Vollering took zero, so that jersey is done and dusted too, presuming Wiebes finishes safely.
37km to go: There are now seven separate groups on the road. The back group, of 41, is nine minues down.
39km to go: Holmgren powers towards the top of the climb. This is a huge ride. She’s 58sec ahead.
In the group of favourites, Vollering is right on the wheel of Niewiadoma. She looks happy to mark her Polish rival for now. Maybe Vollering will have the legs to attack?
41km to go: Holmgren, our lone leader, won the best young rider classification at the Giro this year.
Niedemaier, Blasi Cairol and Holmgren are the top three, in that order, in the white jersey classification at this race. Holmgren is 4min down, Blasi Cairol 1min 11 sec behind.
42km to go: It’s 58sec for Holmgren out in front. In the chasing group, Berthet (FDJ United-Suez) is setting a hot pace.
44km to go: Holmgren’s lead has flown out to 1min.
45km to go: In yellow, Vollering looks calm, and is riding at a solid tempo in the front group.
Playstation cycling, I admit, but if Niewiadoma has anything in the tank for an attack on this climb, it would be very interesting to see if Vollering can respond after Backstedt’s earlier heroics.
46km to go: Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) attacks at the front. She is nearly taken out by a fan in a giant panda costume, but lives to tell the tale.
