Dutch star takes yellow in Nice as nine-stage race delivers another memorable battle
The 2026 Tour de France Femmes ended Sunday in Nice with Demi Vollering claiming the yellow jersey after a dramatic final weekend in southern France.
Vollering, riding for FDJ United-Suez, won the ninth and final stage to secure her second Tour de France Femmes overall title. She finished the race in 30 hours, 54 minutes and 51 seconds, beating Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney by 1 minute, 18 seconds. Elisa Longo Borghini finished third, 4 minutes, 19 seconds behind the winner.
The victory capped nine days of racing that began Aug. 1 and took the peloton from Switzerland into France. The route covered roughly 1,175 kilometers and included flat roads, demanding climbs and decisive mountain stages.
Vollering takes control in final weekend
The battle for yellow remained close until the final two stages.
Vollering made her decisive move during Stage 8, taking both the stage victory and yellow jersey in Nice. She entered Sunday’s finale with only eight seconds separating her from Niewiadoma-Phinney, setting up a tense final showdown.
Instead of simply defending her advantage, Vollering attacked again.
The final 99.2-kilometer mountain stage started and finished in Nice and featured 2,100 meters of climbing. Vollering delivered another powerful performance, winning the stage and expanding her advantage in the overall standings.
Ferrand-Prévot’s title defense ends early
One of the biggest developments came before Stage 8 when defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot withdrew because of illness.
The French rider entered the 2026 Tour de France Femmes hoping to repeat her 2025 victory. However, she struggled during the race and lost significant time before her team announced she would not start the penultimate stage.
Her departure changed the complexion of the race and left Vollering, Niewiadoma-Phinney and other contenders fighting for the final yellow jersey.
Women’s cycling delivers another major Tour
Beyond the overall victory, the race produced several standout performances.
Puck Pieterse captured the Queen of the Mountains classification, while Antonia Niedermaier won the young rider competition. Niewiadoma-Phinney added another Tour podium to her record with second overall.
For Vollering, however, Nice belonged to her.
After winning the Tour in 2023, the Dutch star returned to the top step of the podium in 2026. Her aggressive racing during the final weekend turned an extremely close contest into a convincing victory.
The 2026 Tour de France Femmes once again showed the growing depth and competitiveness of women’s professional cycling, ending nine demanding stages with one of the sport’s biggest stars back in yellow.
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