If anyone thought the Tour de France Femmes was settled after Mont Ventoux, Demi Vollering had other ideas.
On a stage that looked destined for the sprinters, the Dutch star launched a devastating late attack on the punchy roads into Nice, cracking yellow jersey Kasia Niewiadoma and blowing the general classification wide open. What was expected to be a transitional day became one of the biggest turning points of the race.
PEZ Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift 2026 Race Coverage is presented by FACTOR Bikes
A Sprinter’s Day… Or So We Thought
The 176-kilometre run from Sisteron to Nice appeared tailor-made for the fast finishers.
The opening half featured only two modest Category 4 climbs before the route trended gently downhill toward the Mediterranean. But the finale packed far more bite than the profile suggested. The Col de Colomars (1.4km at 5.6%) and Col de la Ginestière (2.5km at 4.4%) were followed by a vicious 450-metre wall averaging around 13%, cresting less than eight kilometres from the finish.
It wasn’t just a day for sprinters. The puncheurs and GC contenders had quietly circled this one too.
Adegeest and Squiban Roll the Dice
After several early attacks—including unsuccessful moves from Visma | Lease a Bike’s Daniek Hengeveld and Lieke Nooijen—the day’s breakaway finally formed around the 30-kilometre mark.
Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek) and Maeva Squiban (UAE L’IMAD), last year’s double stage winner, escaped together and quickly established an impressive advantage.
With SD Worx-Protime showing little interest in chasing, the pair worked seamlessly together and built a lead approaching seven minutes.
For a while, it looked like the peloton might have left it too late.
The Chase Begins
The escape’s advantage began to erode with roughly 70 kilometres remaining.
By the foot of the penultimate climb, Adegeest and Squiban still held nearly two minutes—a dangerous margin given their strength—but the sprinters’ teams had finally committed themselves to the chase.
Every kilometre the gap shrank.
Every kilometre the pace increased.
Disaster Strikes Squiban
The race changed dramatically on the twisting ascent of the Col de Colomars.
With Zoë Bäckstedt driving the pace for yellow jersey Kasia Niewiadoma, the peloton sliced the leaders’ advantage in half.
Up front, the pressure told.
Entering a tight left-hand hairpin, Squiban carried just a fraction too much speed, slid out, and hit the tarmac.
Although the Frenchwoman remounted quickly, she was clearly nursing an injured left arm.
Adegeest escaped the incident and pressed on alone.
Vollering Sees Opportunity
Adegeest began the final climb with only 40 seconds in hand.
Behind, FDJ-SUEZ had shifted gears.
The team assembled a textbook lead-out for Demi Vollering, signalling that this wasn’t simply about chasing a stage victory.
The yellow jersey itself was under attack.
Adegeest’s advantage evaporated rapidly and, with just over a kilometre remaining before the summit, the Dutch breakaway rider was finally reeled in.
The relentless pace also proved too much for Lorena Wiebes, whose hopes of another sprint victory disappeared on the climb.
Vollering Blows the Race Apart
At the summit, only teammate Célia Gery remained alongside Vollering as the peloton had already been reduced to around twenty riders.
Then came the decisive moment.
As the road kicked skyward onto the brutally steep final ramp, Vollering exploded out of the saddle.
The acceleration initially caught Niewiadoma by surprise, but the yellow jersey clawed her way back alongside Elisa Longo Borghini.
Marlen Reusser, however, could not respond and immediately lost contact.
Vollering wasn’t finished.
Her second acceleration was even more savage.
This time Niewiadoma cracked.
The race leader fought desperately to hold the wheel but eventually surrendered as Vollering powered clear alone.
Yellow Jersey Hanging by a Thread
The gap initially remained small.
Longo Borghini committed fully to the chase, doing almost all the work as the road tipped downhill toward Nice.
At the bottom of the descent, Vollering’s advantage measured only seven seconds.
But behind her, Niewiadoma was visibly struggling.
Longo Borghini continued pulling while the yellow jersey clung to her wheel, unable to contribute.
Sensing weakness, Vollering pressed even harder.
What had begun as an ambitious attack for bonus seconds was rapidly becoming something much bigger.
The Tour de France Femmes had been turned completely upside down—and with the race entering its decisive final kilometres, the yellow jersey was suddenly hanging in the balance.
Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift 2026 Stage 8 Results
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