Vollering Seals the Tour in Nice
NICE > NICE (August 9, 2026) — Everything was set for a memorable finale in Nice, and the race delivered on that promise with a stage that evoked a “race to the sun” and crowned a deserving champion.
Demi Vollering of FDJ United-Suez won the final stage of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and secured the yellow jersey, defeating her rival Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney of Canyon//SRAM with an attack inside the final kilometer of the last ascent of the Col d’Èze.
The Dutch rider secured her second overall victory in the Tour de France Femmes, finishing 1 minute, 18 seconds ahead of Niewiadoma-Phinney and 4:29 ahead of Elisa Longo Borghini of UAE Team L’Imad, who moved onto the third step of the podium after Marlen Reusser of Movistar Team was dropped early in the stage and later crashed out of contention.
Antonia Niedermaier of Canyon//SRAM claimed the white jersey as the best young rider after finishing fourth overall, just ahead of Paula Blasi of UAE Team L’Imad.
In the other classifications, Lorena Wiebes of SD Worx-Protime secured the green jersey, while the polka dot jersey had already been decided in favor of Puck Pieterse of Fenix-Premier Tech. UAE Team L’Imad won the teams classification.
09/08/2026 – Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026 – Étape 9 – Nice / Nice (99,9 km) – Demi VOLLERING (FDJ UNITED-SUEZ) – Photo: Aurélien Vialatte/ASO
Vollering wins the final battle
A total of 122 riders took the start in the ninth and final stage of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift at 4:11 p.m. CEST, with the race reaching its conclusion in Nice on a course perfectly suited for a final showdown.
The 99.2-kilometer finale consisted of four laps of a circuit that had the summit of the Col d’Èze as its apex and the Promenade des Anglais as both its axis and culmination. With the yellow jersey and the final podium places still up for grabs, the stage promised a dramatic conclusion to the 2026 Tour.
There were four nonstarters: Alice Coutinho of Mayenne Monbana My Pie, Paula Patiño of Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi, Heidi Franz of St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 and Valentina Cavallar of SD Worx-Protime.
09/08/2026 – Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026 – Étape 9 – Nice / Nice (99,9 km) – La baie des Anges. Photo: Billy Ceusters/ASO
Reusser crashes out of podium contention
The first ascent of the Col d’Èze, a Category 2 climb at kilometer 7.7, came almost immediately. UAE Team L’Imad set a hard tempo from the start, with Mavi García, Dominika Wlodarczyk and Maëva Squiban among those attacking.
Squiban reached the summit first with a small gap, while the pace had already reduced the peloton to about 50 riders.
Lorena Wiebes of SD Worx-Protime was still among them. She finished third in the intermediate sprint in Nice at kilometer 23.5, behind Malwina Mul of Cofidis and Paula Ostiz of Movistar Team. Ostiz had briefly opened a small gap on the peloton, but the sprint was enough for Wiebes to secure the green jersey.
The second ascent of the Col d’Èze produced an even more dramatic selection.
Zoe Backstedt of Canyon//SRAM took control of the peloton on the Category 2 climb at kilometer 33.6. Her relentless pace reduced the group to just 11 riders by the time she pulled off shortly after the summit.
The select group included Antonia Niedermaier, Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney, Juliette Berthet, Demi Vollering, Paula Blasi, Dominika Wlodarczyk, Elisa Longo Borghini, Niamh Fisher-Black, Isabella Holmgren, Cédrine Kerbaol and Femke De Vries.
Notably absent was Marlen Reusser of Movistar Team.
Reusser was dropped two kilometers from the summit and then crashed on the descent. Starting the day third overall, 1 minute, 12 seconds behind Vollering and 1:53 ahead of fourth-place Longo Borghini, Reusser’s crash ended her hopes of finishing on the podium.
Holmgren attacks as the race tightens
There was more hesitation on the third ascent of the Col d’Èze, a Category 2 climb at kilometer 59.6.
That changed when Holmgren attacked 6.5 kilometers from the summit and opened a gap on the yellow-jersey group.
Berthet moved to the front and began setting the pace in an attempt to keep the Canadian rider within reach. With two kilometers remaining to the summit, Blasi attacked but quickly sat up when her team leader, Longo Borghini, began struggling to follow.
The 10-rider yellow-jersey group remained together over the summit, 1:10 behind Holmgren, who continued alone at the front.
09/08/2026 – Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026 – Étape 9 – Nice / Nice (99,9 km) – Isabella HOLMGREN (LIDL – TREK). Photo: Billy Ceusters/ASO
Vollering wins the final battle
The yellow jersey and the final podium positions were still at stake on the fourth and final ascent of the Col d’Èze.
This time, the riders tackled the climb from its steeper side, known as the Chemin du Vinaigrier, or “Vinegar-maker Road.” Just eight seconds separated Vollering and Niewiadoma-Phinney at the start of the climb, and the Polish rider immediately put her teammate Niedermaier to work.
09/08/2026 – Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026 – Étape 9 – Nice / Nice (99,9 km) – Juliette BERTHET (FDJ UNITED-SUEZ), Dominika WLODARCZYK (UAE Team L’IMAD), Demi VOLLERING (FDJ UNITED-SUEZ). Photo: Aurélien Vialatte/ASO
Niedermaier set a fierce pace from the bottom of the climb, putting pressure on the yellow-jersey group.
Holmgren was finally caught with four kilometers remaining. Almost immediately, Niewiadoma-Phinney attacked, with Vollering responding and staying firmly on her wheel.
Behind them, a five-rider chase formed containing Niedermaier, Blasi, Longo Borghini, Holmgren and Fisher-Black.
With 800 meters remaining to the summit, Vollering made her move.
The Dutch rider accelerated sharply and finally cracked Niewiadoma-Phinney. Vollering crested the Col d’Èze with a 15-second advantage over the Polish rider and 33 seconds over the five chasers.
From there, the Tour belonged to Vollering.
She extended her advantage on the descent toward Nice while Niewiadoma-Phinney was caught by the Longo Borghini group. Vollering arrived on the Promenade des Anglais with more than a minute in hand and raised her arms to celebrate her second consecutive stage victory and the overall Tour de France Femmes title.
Blasi led the chasers across the line.
09/08/2026 – Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026 – Étape 9 – Nice / Nice (99,9 km) – Demi VOLLERING (FDJ UNITED-SUEZ) – Photo: Billy Ceusters/ASO
A historic finish
Vollering became just the third rider to win the final stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift while wearing the yellow jersey, following Annemiek van Vleuten in 2022 and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in 2025.
It was also the first time Vollering had won a Tour de France Femmes stage while wearing yellow. Before the finale, she had won five stages and worn the yellow jersey for three days.
The victory also delivered a milestone for FDJ United-Suez. Vollering’s win marked the first Tour de France Femmes stage victory for a French team.
Vollering had this to say about her win:
“I was thinking about a lot of things as I was approaching the finish line. I thought that I had never won in the Yellow Jersey before. I thought about my team, and also about Célia [Gery] who had a really rough night. I thought about how much work has gone into this victory. I thought about the people who have been behind me, working like the people from Specialized who built my new bike. The people I have around… It’s not only the dream of winning the Tour de France. It’s also the dream of living this life, of working hard along with passionate people. That’s the whole dream.”
“I told Kasia that it would be fine for me if [Elisa] Longo Borghini came back to us, trying to make her work. Then I felt I had to attack and win on my own, to make clear that we didn’t win because of an incident yesterday. That isn’t what I believe, and I wanted to make clear that we as a team deserve to win this beautiful Tour de France Femmes. We are humble, and we are proud.”
“I never have doubts on my level – not even after Mont Ventoux. I gambled a bit too much that day, and that’s sport: sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes you get it right, sometimes you make mistakes. Attacking always is the easiest approach, as Kasia did in Mont Ventoux to claim a beautiful win – and as I did today.”
“I still have a lot of dreams, on and off the bike.”
Stage 9 Highlights:
09/08/2026 – Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026 – Étape 9 – Nice / Nice (99,9 km) – Katarzyna NIEWIADOMA-PHINNEY (CANYON//SRAM), Demi VOLLERING (FDJ UNITED-SUEZ), Elisa LONGO BORGHINI (UAE Team L’IMAD) – Photo: Billy Ceusters/ASO
09/08/2026 – Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026 – Étape 9 – Nice / Nice (99,9 km) – Lorena WIEBES (TEAM SD WORX – PROTIME), Demi VOLLERING (FDJ UNITED-SUEZ), Puck PIETERSE (FENIX-PREMIER TECH), Antonia NIEDERMAIER (CANYON//SRAM) – Photo: Billy Ceusters/ASO
Stage 9 Results:
Final General Classification:
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