Demi Vollering has won the 2025 European Championship road race after going solo with 37 kilometers to go in France’s Drome-Ardeche region.
The 28-year-old Dutchwoman made multiple attacks on the seven kilometer Cote de Saint-Romain-de Lerps climb to distance the peloton and earn her 55th professional win, the 11th of this season. Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini initially followed Vollering before falling back, leaving 2024 Tour de France winner Kasia Niewiadoma and Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen to chase and claim silver and bronze in that order.
The women’s elite race spanned 116.1km from Privas to Guilherand-Granges, with multiple climbs including the 7.2 per cent gradient of the one Vollering attacked on.
Vollering’s wins this season include in the Strade Bianche and Vuelta a Espana, but the FDJ-Suez rider could not beat Pauline Ferrand-Prevot to the Tour de France title and finished seventh in the World Championships road race last week. The Netherlands team dominated the pace of the peloton nearing the decisive climb, to position Vollering on the front and return her to winning ways.
A chase group including Elise Chabbey (Switzerland), Juliette Labous (France) and Mavi Garcia (Spain) overtook Longo Borghini within the final 15km to complete the top ten.
Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser did not start Saturday’s race after winning the European time-trial title earlier this week.
The men’s elite race will take place on Sunday at 10:45 BST, on a route that goes between the same places but is 202.5km in length.
(Photo: Billy Ceusters/Getty Images)
Oct 4, 2025
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