Demi Vollering claimed a hard-fought victory on stage five of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift on Wednesday, outsprinting rivals Kasia Niewiadoma and race leader Marlen Reusser at the finish in Belleville-en-Beaujolais, a town in the Beaujolais wine region of eastern France. The Dutch climber, riding for FDJ and the 2023 Tour champion, now sits just 12 seconds behind Reusser in the overall standings after collecting time bonuses at the line.
The 140-kilometre stage from Mâcon was punishing by design, featuring eleven climbs — eight of them categorised — through rolling Beaujolais hills. A breakaway group formed early and Puck Pieterse, already wearing the polka-dot jersey as leader of the mountain classification, collected points atop climb after climb. The decisive moment came on the final ascent, Mont Brouilly, a second-category climb where Vollering attacked sharply, shedding all but Reusser and Niewiadoma. In the sprint finish, Niewiadoma — the 2024 Tour champion — launched early, only to be caught and passed in the final metres by a surging Vollering, with Reusser holding her wheel but choosing not to contest the win. "I knew Kasia would go early — she always does — and I knew Marlen would gamble," Vollering said afterwards. "I had to give absolutely everything to the line."
Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, 34, suffered a difficult day, losing a further 2 minutes 35 seconds after already haemorrhaging time in Tuesday's individual time trial. Her overall deficit to Reusser has now grown to around five minutes. "We shouldn't fool ourselves — a gap like that is irreparable," the French rider conceded. Also losing ground was former world champion Anna van der Breggen, who finished alongside Ferrand-Prévot.
The stage result reshaped the race beyond the general classification standings. Visma–Lease a Bike had sent Femke de Vries into the breakaway as a tactical move designed to put pressure on Vollering, but their plan ultimately did not produce the hoped-for result for Ferrand-Prévot, who could not bridge across to the front group. De Vries finished eighth on the stage and the team was left to reassess its strategy overnight.
The peloton faces a more moderate stage on Thursday before Friday's summit finish on Mont Ventoux — the iconic, exposed limestone mountain in Provence — which is expected to settle the title fight. The race concludes on Sunday in Nice, on the Promenade des Anglais along the French Riviera. "Marlen has not won a Tour yet, and she will have to work for it," Vollering said, making clear the race is far from over.