Vollering battles to maiden Tour de France Femmes title

Demi Vollering claimed a maiden Tour de France Femmes title when she comfortably retained her overall lead with a dominant showing in the final time trial, a 22.6-km loop beginning and ending in Pau, on Sunday (Jul 30).

Marlen Reusser clocked 29 minutes 15 seconds to win the time trial, with Vollering finishing second fastest in stage eight to claim a comfortable victory, though the earlier stages of the race were far from smooth sailing for the Dutch rider.

In stage five of the race, Vollering got a 20-second penalty for riding in the slipstream of her SD Worx team director Danny Stam's car, with Stam later being banned for "dangerous" overtaking and making "inappropriate comments".

Despite the setback, Vollering roared into the lead in the penultimate stage, claiming a commanding victory to enter the finale with a sizeable 1:50 advantage.

Vollering, who finished in second place behind compatriot Annemiek van Vleuten last year, defended her lead with ease to claim a first Grand Tour win.

Vollering's team mate Lotte Kopecky of Belgium finished second in the overall standings, while Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon–SRAM) took third to match her finish in last year's edition.