Counting the Cost: Vollering and Reusser Admit Crucial Errors at Tour de France Femmes

Friday’s key stage of the Tour de France Femmes saw a tactical and physical masterclass by Kasia Niewiadoma, who capitalized on a ferocious rivalry between former teammates Demi Vollering and Marlen Reusser, the riders in first and second overall, and seized yellow as a result.

Niewiadoma attacked 9.5km from the finish line and immediately opened a gap over Maillot Jaune Reusser and Vollering, the 2023 Tour winner. The duo looked at each other to chase, losing more time, and while Vollering did give pursuit for a while and appeared to be closing, she ultimately backed off to try to force Reusser through.

That didn’t happen and Niewiadoma went on to take her first-ever stage win in the event.

She also recaptured the yellow jersey, two years after winning the race overall.

Safe to say that the day was a tactical mess by her two big competitors.

“I launched my attack and Kasia very smartly went right over it,” Vollering said shortly after the finish, according to NOS. “After that, I should have closed the gap immediately, but I hoped to break away from Marlen and then catch up with Kasia. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out.”

Reusser also accepted that she got it wrong.

“I didn’t quite understand,” she told journalists, according to Wielerflits.

“I think the problem was that Demi and I watched each other too much. It’s very stupid of both of us.”

The duo were together as part of the SD Worx Protime team between 2022 and 2024. Both then exited the squad, Vollering to FDJ Suez United and Reusser to Movistar Team, seeking absolute team leadership.

Both have taken highly important results in that time but were by their own admission too embroiled in their own scrap on Mont Ventoux.

Niewiadoma was flying and gradually gained more and more over them, compounding the problem.

‘Demi kept attacking…’

Once clear the gap continued to grow. Niewiadoma was fully committed, tapping out a fast, continuous pace bereft of any distractions.

In contrast the two chasers spent some time urging the other to ride, with flapping elbows noticeable after periods of time at the front.

That’s exactly what Niewiadoma was counting on.

“I could already see a couple of days ago that they were playing games,” she said, explaining that she wanted to capitalize on that rivalry.

Indeed, according to Reusser, Vollering was more focused on trying to get rid of her than actually keeping Niewiadoma within range.

“Demi kept attacking, I kept saying: don’t do this!” the Swiss rider explained. “Let’s just go riding, because we had Kasia in sight. But if we keep riding and standing still, we build up more and more lactic acid and it gets harder and harder for both of us.

“I thought at a certain moment: it’s about every second, go! And Demi, I think she meant something, I don’t know, but it was in favor of someone riding in front.”

Their stop-go momentum definitely helped Niewiadoma. The Polish rider was also on a stormer. She changed coach in recent months and has trained fastidiously to be ready for the Tour de France Femmes, and for Friday’s stage in particular.

She was pulling further and further ahead with each passing kilometer. She was 1:15 clear with 5km left to cover, and very soon after that became race leader on the road.

She had 1:40 with 1.5km remaining, and 1:53 when she was 200 meters from the finish.

However Vollering put in a huge acceleration around this point, dropping the Maillot Jaune, and would reduce her deficit to 1:16 by the time she climbed the final steep pitch and crossed the line.

‘You doubt yourself’

Once unburdened by the tactical tussle and instead going all out, Vollering gained 30 seconds on Reusser in that short space of time. In that light, was staying with the race leader so long the correct decision?

“The last stretch had a lot of headwind, so I thought it would be better to be there together,” she explained. “But Kasia had really strong legs today and just kept pulling away.”

Still, given how fast the gap came down at the end, many wonder if she could even have taken yellow if she had gone sooner.

Niewiadoma was far enough to take the win, but the race leadership was possible. After all, she had started the day 1:05 ahead of the Polish rider, a substantial buffer.

Was it the case that she couldn’t counter sooner, or did she simply not want to?

“I probably couldn’t either,” she accepted. “Looking back, you doubt yourself, that’s part of the disappointment. I felt like I should have tried earlier. In the end, Kasia wins, and that’s super impressive.”

“Afterwards, you always think: if only I had… But at that moment you give it 100 percent, so it’s hard to say.”

‘We never give up’

Two days remain in the race. Things are still tight at the top: Vollering is now 15 seconds off yellow, while Reusser is also within range at 39 seconds.

Saturday’s stage to Nice is the longest of the week at 171.9km, but is also the flattest. A bunch sprint is the most likely outcome but that doesn’t mean the GC challengers won’t try something.

There are two category four climbs in the first half of the stage, as well as another two inside the final 30 minutes of racing.

Sunday’s stage, however, offers a lot more, with four ascents of the tough Col d’Eze climb.

It looks like a course that may well better suit Reusser than the Ventoux did. She was disappointed at the finish Friday but will likely get her determination back by the start of stage 8.

“I’m sad, just sad. I’m a little disappointed about today, because I somehow believed it was still possible,” she siad. “I’m not very happy, but I gave everything.”

FDJ United-Suez directeur sportif Lars Boom believes that both Reusser and Vollering were at their limit, something borne out by the latter’s anguished appearance after the finish line, but pledges that the fight will continue.

“We never give up. Tomorrow is another very hard day, maybe Demi is better than this one,” he told Sporza.

“We first need to eat well, drink and recover. Tomorrow we also have to get through well. Sunday is a hard day that Demi is better than this, as you saw on day five. That doesn’t change the fact that we have to make up fifteen seconds.”

As for Vollering herself, she pledges to fight on.

“We’ll take another look at that tonight,” she said of the GC standings and her chances of taking the final yellow jersey.

“It’s not over until it’s over.”