Demi Vollering achieved her first stage victory in the 2026 Tour de France Femmes, narrowly surpassing overall leader Marlen Reusser, who finished in second place.
The current standings show Reusser, a Swiss cyclist, maintaining a 12-second advantage over the Dutch rider Vollering in the overall classification.
Stage six on Thursday will feature a challenging 153.4-kilometer route from Montbrison to Tournon-sur-Rhône.
In a dramatic sprint finish for stage five, Vollering triumphed over her key competitors, including Reusser, who retained her lead in the general standings.
Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney from Poland made a strong move with 300 meters to go, appearing to take the lead, but Vollering from FDJ United-Suez accelerated in the final stretch to clinch the victory.
“I anticipated that Kasia would make her move early, as she often does,” Vollering remarked following her win on Wednesday. “I also knew Marlen would try her luck, so I let her take some risks, but she didn’t capitalize. I pushed myself to the limit leading into the final sprint, and I utilized every meter of that last straightaway.”
The stage featured a demanding 140-kilometer ride from Mâcon to Belleville-en-Beaujolais, including eight categorized climbs, leading to significant changes in the standings, although the top two positions remained unchanged.
Reusser, who secured the yellow jersey after winning Tuesday’s time trial, now leads Vollering by 12 seconds, while Niewiadoma-Phinney has climbed to third place, trailing the leader by one minute and 17 seconds.
Last year’s champion, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, faced difficulties on the final ascents and is currently five minutes behind Reusser.
Puck Pieterse, the leader in the mountains classification, maximized her points on the first six climbs and was part of a 19-rider breakaway with over 75 kilometers remaining; however, they were caught by the yellow jersey group after the penultimate climb.
Niewiadoma-Phinney, the 2024 champion, seemed poised for her first stage win in the Tour de France, but Vollering executed a remarkable finish to claim victory.
Since the competition’s inception in 2022, both Vollering and Niewiadoma-Phinney have consistently finished on the podium, and they are on track to do so again, as Reusser tries to defend her slender lead with only four stages remaining.
“Marlen has yet to win a Tour, and she will need to fight hard for it. I expect a tough competition ahead, as she is not an easy rider to beat; she is incredibly strong,” Vollering commented.
Stage six promises to be another challenging 153.4-kilometer hilly ride from Montbrison to Tournon-sur-Rhône.
