Vollering wins, takes the lead in Nice and leaves the Tour with an 8-second advantage for the final day

Demi Vollering has turned the Tour de France Femmes 2026 on its head in the penultimate stage. The Dutch rider from FDJ United-SUEZ attacked on the final climb towards Nice, leaving Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney behind and arrived solo at the Promenade des Anglais to win the stage and become the new leader of the race.

Demi Vollering wins in Nice and dons the yellow jersey one day before the end of the Tour de France Femmes

The victory comes just a day after Niewiadoma conquered Mont Ventoux and took the lead in the general classification. Now it is Vollering who will face the final day in the yellow jersey, albeit with only an eight-second lead over the Pole.

A breakaway that dreamed of victory

The eighth stage, spanning 171.9 kilometers between Sisteron and Nice, began with several attempts before Loes Adegeest and Maeva Squiban managed to form the most consistent breakaway of the day.

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The duo had more than six minutes of advantage during the long descending section in the middle of the route. For many kilometers, it seemed possible that they could contest the victory, but the peloton began to cut the gap as they approached the decisive part.

FDJ United-SUEZ, AG Insurance-Soudal, and Liv AlUla-Jayco participated in the chase, while Adegeest and Squiban's margin gradually decreased.

The breakaway definitively lost options in the final kilometers. Squiban suffered a fall on one of the descents, and Adegeest continued alone for a few more kilometers, but with the main group getting closer.

Vollering waits for the final climb to attack

The Côte de Colomars, 1.4 kilometers at 5.4%, served as the first filter before tackling the Côte de la Ginestiére.

FDJ United-SUEZ then took control of the group and increased the pace. Franziska Koch, Juliette Berthet, and Célia Gery took turns to position Vollering at the front before the decisive stretch.

The selection increased. Lorena Wiebes ended up losing contact, and Puck Pieterse could not stay among the best, while Lotte Kopecky managed to overcome the initial difficulties.

The decisive move came on the last rise. Vollering launched with great strength and immediately opened a few meters.

Niewiadoma could not respond directly, although she initially closed the gap with the help of Elisa Longo Borghini. The effort, however, proved too demanding.

Niewiadoma concedes and Vollering goes solo

Just a few meters after returning to Vollering's wheel, Niewiadoma began to lose contact.

The Dutch rider maintained her pace until she crested and faced the descent towards Nice solo. Behind her were Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma, with the Italian doing most of the chasing work.

Vollering started the last four flat kilometers with a small lead, but instead of losing ground, she continued to extend it over the Promenade des Anglais.

The FDJ United-SUEZ rider crossed the finish line solo with a time of 4:02:39. Longo Borghini finished second, 17 seconds behind, and Niewiadoma third with the same time.

Kim Le Court-Pienaar led the next group at 38 seconds, ahead of Lotte Kopecky and Dominika Wlodarczyk.

Top 10 of stage 8

1. Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) – 4:02:39
2. Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L’IMAD) – at 17 s
3. Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (CANYON//SRAM) – at 17 s
4. Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) – at 38 s
5. Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx-Protime) – at 38 s
6. Dominika Wlodarczyk (UAE Team L’IMAD) – at 38 s
7. Sarah Van Dam (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – at 38 s
8. Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) – at 38 s
9. Paula Blasi (UAE Team L’IMAD) – at 38 s
10. Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) – at 38 s
11. Vollering dons the yellow jersey by just eight seconds

The victory allows Vollering to take the lead in the general classification of this Tour de France Femmes 2026.

Niewiadoma loses the yellow jersey just a day after conquering it at Mont Ventoux, but she remains fully in the fight: only eight seconds separate them before the final day.

Marlen Reusser is third at 1:12, while Elisa Longo Borghini occupies fourth place at 3:05. Antonia Niedermaier completes the Top 5 at 3:54.

General classification after stage 8

1. Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) – 28:10:18
2. Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (CANYON//SRAM) – at 8 s
3. Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team) – at 1:12
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L’IMAD) – at 3:05
5. Antonia Niedermaier (CANYON//SRAM) – at 3:54
6. Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) – at 4:34
7. Paula Blasi (UAE Team L’IMAD) – at 5:05
8. Dominika Wlodarczyk (UAE Team L’IMAD) – at 5:46
9. Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) – at 6:50
10. Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) – at 7:54

The Tour de France Femmes 2026 will be decided this Sunday in Nice with only eight seconds between Vollering and Niewiadoma. The final stage, short and explosive, will pass several times over the Col d’Éze and still leaves enough room for the yellow jersey to change hands again.