Demi Vollering produced a stunning late attack on the final climb of stage eight to win the Tour de France Femmes stage in Nice and seize the yellow jersey from Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney. The Dutchwoman now leads the general classification by eight seconds heading into the final stage.
Vollering's decisive move
With 6km to go, Vollering launched a powerful attack on the Côte de la Ginestière, dropping Niewiadoma-Phinney and crossing the line solo. Elisa Longo Borghini finished second at 17 seconds, with Niewiadoma-Phinney third in the same time.
"I thought they would do something [on the final climb] so I wasn't surprised [Vollering attacked]," Niewiadoma-Phinney said at the finish. "I was super annoyed at the bottom of the climb because [Célia] Gery blocked me on purpose into the barriers so I had to stop pedalling. So I feel like if they want to compete, they should compete fair play and not block me into the barriers because it's so childish."
GC standings after stage eight
Vollering leads the classification with a time of 28 hours, 10 minutes, and 18 seconds. Niewiadoma-Phinney is second at eight seconds, followed by Marlen Reusser (Movistar) at one minute 12 seconds, Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L'Imad) at three minutes five seconds, and Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon/Sram) at three minutes 54 seconds.
Stage eight results
The top five on the stage were: 1. Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) 4 hours, 2 minutes, 39 seconds; 2. Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L'Imad) at 17 seconds; 3. Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon/Sram) at 17 seconds; 4. Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) at 38 seconds; 5. Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) at 38 seconds.
Breakaway and crashes
Earlier in the stage, Maeva Squiban (UAE Team L'Imad) and Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek) formed the main breakaway, building a lead of over six minutes. However, the peloton, driven by FDJ United-Suez, gradually reeled them in. With 16km to go, Squiban crashed on the descent of the Côte de Colomars, injuring her wrist but continuing. Adegeest was eventually caught with 9km remaining.
A crash in the peloton with 28km to go brought down Nikola Noskova (Cofidis), Nadia Gontova (Liv-AlUla-Jayco), Marine Allione, and Alice Coutinho (Mayenne Monbana My Pie), but none appeared seriously injured.
Ferrand-Prévot abandons
Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) did not start the stage due to illness. Her team announced: "Unfortunately, Pauline was not feeling well this morning. In consultation with the medical staff, it has been decided that she will not start today. We wish Pauline a speedy recovery!"
Looking ahead to the final stage
With an eight-second lead, Vollering is in a strong position but Niewiadoma-Phinney remains a threat. "We still have to go get the yellow jersey [tomorrow] but we need to sit with the team and evaluate what's the plan now," Niewiadoma-Phinney said.
The final stage promises more drama as the race concludes with a potentially decisive showdown.
