The Tour de France for women was again dominated by the Dutch, this time by Demi Vollering

From 23 to 30 July, the second edition of the Tour de France Femmes took place. It is the women’s version of the most famous cycling event, but significantly shorter than the men’s. After eight stages, Demi Vollering of the Netherlands took the overall victory, following in the footsteps of her compatriot Annemiek van Vleuten.

The battle of 154 participating cyclists from 22 different teams began on the day that the 110th edition of the Tour of Paris culminated on the Champs-Élysées. Tour de France. The relatively flat stage with start and finish in Clermont-Ferrand was won by Lotte Kopecká after a successful final attack.

The reigning Belgian champion from the SD Worx stable donned the yellow jersey, which she held for most of the race. The subsequent hilly course with the finish in the village of Mauriac was best managed by Germany’s Liane Lippert. The third stage had a less undulating profile, with Lorena Wiebes of the Netherlands taking the win in Montignac-Lascaux.

The fourth stage, with a few hills at the end, was the longest of the Tour de France Femmes 2023, with 177 of the 960 kilometres ridden on Wednesday. In Rodez, a rider from the breakaway won, namely another Dutch rider, Yara Kastelijn.

The next two stages offered flatter routes again. Ricarda Bauernfeind of Germany was the fastest to the finish in Albi, while a day later Emma Norsgaard of Norway was the winner in Blagnac.

The royal seventh stage was a major turning point in the battle for the overall triumph. On the final climb to the Tourmalet, Demi Vollering got away from everyone in the thick fog. She beat second-placed Katarzyna Niewiadom of Poland by almost two minutes and, above all, by three and a half minutes ahead of Kopecka.

At the famous summit, the 26-year-old Dutchwoman took the yellow jersey from her teammate and never let go. In Sunday’s 22.6km time trial in Pau, Vollering finished second, ten seconds behind winner Marlen Reusser of Switzerland.

The new champion beat the other two cyclists on the final podium, green jersey holder Kopecka and top female climber Niewiadom, by the same three minutes and three seconds.

Movistar’s Annemiek van Vleuten, the defending champion of last year’s triumph, finished fourth, with Team DSM-Firmenich’s Juliette Labous fifth. Cédrine Kerbaol of France, twelfth overall at 22 years of age, dominated the young female cyclists’ ranking.

Next year’s edition should start outside French territory, in the Netherlands. However, the organisers are forced to change the date due to the Olympic Games in Paris. The race will take place between the Olympics and the Paralympics.

Source: Tour de France Femmes