Demi Vollering missed out on the overall victory in the Tour de Suisse on Sunday. The Dutch rider had to acknowledge Marlen Reusser as her superior after a brilliant duel in the final stage.
Vollering started the final stage from and to Küssnacht with a three-second deficit to Reusser in the general classification. At the first intermediate sprint, the leader of FDJ-SUEZ gained one second on the Swiss rider.
At the second passage of the Michaelskreuzstrasse, a second-category climb, Vollering and Reusser rode away together with a number of other riders. The two favorites for the overall victory passed the top together with Katarzyna Niewiadoma and Niamh Fisher-Black.
Fisher-Black was quickly dropped after the descent, after which the other three leaders constantly attacked. With 9 kilometers to go, Reusser launched the decisive attack. Vollering tried to come back, but saw her deficit continue to increase.
Reusser held on and took the overall victory in style. Vollering finished almost half a minute behind the Swiss rider in third place, just behind Niewiadoma. In the final standings, the Dutch rider was second, 36 seconds behind Reusser.
Vollering missed out on her eleventh victory of the season. Earlier this season, the 28-year-old from South Holland did win, among others, the Vuelta España, the Tour of the Basque Country, and the Tour of Catalonia.