Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) won the women’s Tour of Flanders in style, attacking on the Oude Kwaremont with 18km to go for a solo victory. Behind Vollering, Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) dropped Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) on the Paterberg, but the Frenchwoman returned on the run-in to the finish. After cooperating to hold off the chasing group, Ferrand-Prévot came past Pieterse in the sprint for second place.

A front group of 20 riders had formed on the Koppenberg, and Vollering’s teammates Franzi Koch, Elise Chabbey, and Célia Gery worked hard to keep the pace high into the Oude Kruisberg, where Koch pushed hard before Vollering attacked on the Hotond climb that immediately followed.

Pieterse, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime), Ferrand-Prévot, and Koch could just follow the European champion’s acceleration, but there was a regrouping on the descent before the Oude Kwaremont.

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After another lead-out by Koch, Vollering went all-in as soon as she hit the cobblestones, quickly dropping everyone else to go solo. Ferrand-Prévot hung on the longest, lost ground on the upper slopes, but could stay with Pieterse when she came past.

Dutch Demi Vollering of FDJ United-Suez pictured in action during the women's race of the 'Ronde van Vlaanderen/ Tour des Flandres/ Tour of Flanders' UCI WorldTour one day cycling race, 164,1 km with start and finish in Oudenaarde, Sunday 05 April 2026.BELGA PHOTO JASPER JACOBS (Photo by JASPER JACOBS / BELGA MAG / Belga / AFP via Getty Images)

(Image credit: Getty Images)

“It was really difficult today because we had headwind and the bunch was going pretty slow. That made it hard to stay in position, because if you’re taking the front, you’re killing yourself. That’s what Amber [Kraak] did before the Koppenberg. It is a job that is super necessary.

“Sometimes people don’t really see how important teammates are, but they make sure that you’re as fresh as possible in the final. Everybody in the team was just so important for the win here,” Vollering continued, thanking her team for the effort that put her in a position to attack on the Kwaremont.

“I have dreamt of that moment so many times last night. I knew that the Kwaremont is the longest effort, that’s what suits me the most. And it’s in the end, so everybody feels the fatigue already. I knew that I just had to push without looking behind, and that’s what I did until I finally turned off the cobbles, and then I realised I was alone,” Vollering said.