Demi Vollering seems to be able to forget about the final victory in the Tour de France Femmes. The Dutch rider lost about three minutes to Pauline Ferrand-Prévot on Saturday, who won the queen stage and took the yellow leader’s jersey.
The 28-year-old Vollering had to let go 11 kilometers from the finish after an attack by Sarah Gigante in the group of favorites. Eventually, only Ferrand-Prévot could follow the Australian’s pace.
Ferrand-Prévot later left Gigante behind and went in pursuit of leaders Yara Kastelijn and Niamh Fisher-Black, who were part of an early breakaway. The Frenchwoman quickly joined the two escapees, after which Kastelijn was the first to drop out.
With 5 kilometers to go, Ferrand-Prévot also rode away from Fisher-Black. The leader of Visma-Lease a Bike continued to extend her lead and soloed to victory on the Col de la Madeleine.
Ferrand-Prévot takes over the yellow jersey from Kimberly Le Court, who fell in a descent along the way. The Mauritian, like Vollering, dropped out after the attack by her teammate Gigante.
The final stage of the Tour is scheduled for Sunday. Then the riders must conquer a climb of the highest category and two climbs of the first category. The finish is on an uncategorized climb.