Demi Vollering wins second straight Vuelta a Espana after dominant final stage
Demi Vollering has won La Vuelta Femenina after breaking away in the last kilometre of Saturday's final stage to take her second stage victory of the race.
The Dutch rider has been the dominant Grand Tour rider in women's cycling over recent seasons, and took her second consecutive Vuelta a Espana title by one minute and one second over Switzerland's Marlen Reusser.
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This is Vollering's first Grand Tour win since moving to French team FDJ-Suez over the winter, when she became the first female cyclist to earn a salary of over €1million (£846k; $1.13m) per season.
She won the Tour de France in 2023, but lost the 2024 edition to Katarzyna Niewiadoma in heartbreaking fashion, missing out on the yellow jersey by just four seconds — the closest finish in race history — despite winning the final stage.
During this Vuelta, Vollering remained close to the race lead during the first four stages before winning the first summit finish to Lagunas de Neila to seize the maillot rojo (red jersey).
Post-stage, a visibly emotional Vollering dedicated the win to a friend struggling with their mental health.
A very emotional Demi Vollering dedicates her win to those suffering with mental health challenges ❤️ pic.twitter.com/mGBKI1YKq4
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) May 8, 2025
The 28-year-old then comfortably navigated the sprint on Stage Six to take a 45-second lead into the race's final day, which culminated with an ascent of Alto de Cotobello in northern Spain's Asturias region.
'I always like it when it's really hard, because I want the group as small as possible,' Vollering told The Athletic last September. 'Then the situations are simpler, and it's a woman-against-woman fight. It's not about tactics any more, but just a really hard battle. That's what I like.'
This was how Saturday's final stage unfolded. Anna van der Breggen, who entered in second place, set a high pace with her SD-Worx Protime team — incidentally, Vollering's old squad.
Van der Breggen had taken the first victory of her comeback with a breakaway victory on Stage Four — the Dutchwoman returned to competing this season, having previously retired in 2021 to work as a directeur sportif at SD-Worx.
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However, Vollering was too strong for her compatriot, comfortably sitting on Van der Breggen's wheel after the latter attacked with just over 6km left, reducing the peloton to just four riders.
Vollering then demonstrated her superiority by launching a seated attack with 800m remaining to take the stage victory, her second of the Vuelta, and ninth overall in Grand Tours.
'I'm really happy I could win both mountain stages,' Vollering said post-race. 'My team was so strong and I felt we were always in control. Van der Breggen was trying to drop us with a high speed, but I knew I had something left, so I waited for the less steep part to attack and take the win.'
Van der Breggen had only entered the final stage with a lead of one second over third-place time-trialling specialist Reusser.
However, Reusser broke away from Van der Breggen in the final two hundred metres to take second in the general classification, her first Grand Tour podium.
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