Cycling
Demi Vollering gave her final victory in the Tour of Spain for women some extra shine on Sunday afternoon. The Dutch rider from SD Worx-Protime soloed to victory in the difficult final stage and thus secured her red jersey.
The eighth and final stage was barely 89.5 kilometers, but perhaps the most difficult of them all. With the Puerto de la Morcuera (13.2 kilometers at 6.4 percent) and the climb to Valdesqui (12.4 kilometers at 4.9 percent), two first category mountains had to be bridged.
The early escapees were caught on the final climb, allowing the favorites to fight for the stage victory again. Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) rode away from her competitors with just under six kilometers to go, while Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) fell through the ice. The Dutch champion ultimately finished ahead of France’s Evita Muzic (FDJ-Suez) and Riejanne Markus (Visma-Lease a Bike), who just passed Longo Borghini for second place in the final rankings.
No Belgian women finished in the top ten of the final rankings. The 27-year-old Vollering takes revenge for her second place last year, after Annemiek van Vleuten, who is no longer active.
“I’m looking forward to the rest of the season”
Vollering left behind a poor spring without victories in the Vuelta. “This is really beautiful,” she enjoyed. “A good start, I hope. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season. I hope I can complete a few more very nice stage races.” Vollering will compete this summer in the Tour, which she won last year.
