Once viewed as a pure domestique, Femke de Vries’ standout 2026 season has her dreaming of more for the future.
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider was among the peloton’s most improved riders this season, securing 6th place at the UAE Tour in February, followed by 6th at the Giro d’Italia Women and 5th at the Tour de Suisse, where she also claimed the opening stage in Sondrio - her first professional victory.
At the age of 32, De Vries has emerged as one of the Dutch team's leaders this year, having previously been exclusively utilized as a key part of the machinery, enabling the likes of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Marianne Vos.
Having finished the 2025 season strongly, De Vries targeted the early-season UAE Tour Women, hoping to test her legs ahead of bigger ambitions to come. She finished 3rd behind Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team l'Imad) and Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) on the queen stage to Jebel Hafeet, beating several top General Classification riders.
“That third place in the UAE Tour just gave me so much confidence," she told Wielerflits. "I made that a big goal and it went better than expected.”
After a strong Classics campaign, in which she once again worked tirelessly for Ferrand-Prévot and Vos, De Vries’ attention turned to the Giro, going in as one of the team’s leaders alongside French youngster Marion Bunel.
With Bunel off form, De Vries found herself as the team’s leader after a strong time-trial. Two 5th places on the race’s decisive mountain stages secured 6th overall.
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“I was really able to keep up there for so long,” she said on reflection. “I thought the gap at the top was quite small, so I was very proud of that.”
"If I had known this would be my season, I would have signed up for it immediately,” De Vries said, adding that she continues to find improvements in her training and hopes for more in the years to come.
“So far, it turns out that things can get better every year, and it goes better than expected every year. It will stop at some point, but for now, I still see little things that could be improved."
The target now is a shot at a Grand Tour podium.
“This is a dream that is fully on my mind. Every time I think about it, I get enthusiastic about training again. It is a big goal."
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Dan is a freelance cycling journalist who has written for Cyclingnews since 2023 alongside other work with Cycling Weekly, Rouleur and Escape Collective. Dan focuses much of his work on professional cycling beyond its traditional European heartlands and writes a regular Substack called Global Peloton.
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