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08/08 11:58 CDT Vollering wins Stage 8 to take overall lead at Women's Tour de
France from Niewiadoma-Phinney
Vollering wins Stage 8 to take overall lead at Women's Tour de France from
Niewiadoma-Phinney
NICE, France (AP) --- Demi Vollering launched a blistering attack to win the
eighth stage of the Women's Tour de France and take the yellow jersey heading
into Sunday's final stage.
The Dutchwoman upped the pace on Saturday's fourth and final small climb and
Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney cracked with about six kilometers (four miles) to
go, sitting back down in her saddle as 2023 Tour winner Vollering surged ahead.
As Vollering zoomed along the famed Promenade des Anglais by the seaside in
Nice, Niewiadoma-Phinney and former Giro d'Italia winner Elisa Longo Borghini
could not close the gap.
"It's funny but only this morning I saw myself taking the yellow Jersey,"
Vollering said. "I thought it might come true, that maybe that's the way things
should be. During the day, I tried to remind myself I could do it."
So it proved.
Vollering raised her arms triumphantly at the line, then sat on the ground and
panted heavily as she tried to get her breath back.
"I was in so much pain, I can hardly describe it, but I made it happen,"
Vollering said. "This goes to prove that if you really believe in something, if
you dream big, it doesn't matter how much risk you take or how much pain you
have to go through."
Longo Borghini was second and Niewiadoma-Phinney was third, both 17 seconds
behind. The day belonged to Vollering, who won the Giro d'Italia this year to
complete the hat trick of Grands Tour wins.
She is eight seconds ahead of Niewiadoma-Phinney, the 2024 champion, in the
overall standings. The Polish rider took the yellow jersey with a brilliant
solo win up Mont Ventoux on Friday, and rode a yellow bike to go with it on
Stage 8.
The 172-kilometer (107-mile) route from Sisteron to Nice on the southeast coast
was mostly flat for sprinters but featured four minor climbs which made it a
little more tricky.
With the main title contenders initially saving energy for Sunday's
tough-looking decisive stage in the hills around Nice, the yellow jersey group
let Frenchwoman Maeva Squiban and Dutchwoman Loes Adegeest form a long
breakaway.
Squiban slid off her bike heading into a turn on a downhill section and landed
heavily on her left side. She had cuts and grazes and screamed in agony as a
medic on a motorbike tried bandaging her arm while she was riding.
She carried on riding despite the pain while, up ahead, Adegeest was caught
inside the last nine kilometers.
Defending champion withdraws Pauline Ferrand-Prvt pulled out of the race shortly before the stage after feeling unwell. The French rider's Visma-Lease a Bike team said on X that the decision to pull her out of the race was made after consultation with the team's medical staff. The 2024 Paris Olympic champion in mountain biking, she won the Women's Tour de France on her debut last year. But she struggled this year and was in 14th place overall before withdrawing.
Final day drama Stage 9 features four sharp climbs of Col d'Eze, which is nestled in the hills overlooking the tiny Principality of Monaco. Two years ago, Niewiadoma-Phinney beat Vollering on a final day mountain stage to win the race by just four seconds. Vollering will have to ensure it's not a case of dj vu. "Tomorrow's course is going to be super hard," she said. "We know it from the beginning of the Tour." ___ AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Defending champion withdraws Pauline Ferrand-Prvt pulled out of the race shortly before the stage after feeling unwell. The French rider's Visma-Lease a Bike team said on X that the decision to pull her out of the race was made after consultation with the team's medical staff. The 2024 Paris Olympic champion in mountain biking, she won the Women's Tour de France on her debut last year. But she struggled this year and was in 14th place overall before withdrawing.
Final day drama Stage 9 features four sharp climbs of Col d'Eze, which is nestled in the hills overlooking the tiny Principality of Monaco. Two years ago, Niewiadoma-Phinney beat Vollering on a final day mountain stage to win the race by just four seconds. Vollering will have to ensure it's not a case of dj vu. "Tomorrow's course is going to be super hard," she said. "We know it from the beginning of the Tour." ___ AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
