Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) has won the Itzulia Women with a solo victory on the final stage around Donostia. The 2022 and 2024 winner attacked on the Mendizorrotz climb and soloed to the finish to win the stage, 55 seconds ahead of Sarah van Dam (Ceratizit) and Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal)
Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) was the last rider to be dropped by Vollering but was caught on the run-in to Donostia, and on the final kilometre, Van Dam and Ghekiere attacked in a bid for the GC podium. Van Dam beat Ghekiere in the sprint for second and took third place overall, while Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx-Protime) held on to second place in GC.
"I needed to get some time on Mischa, so I could not wait. And when there is a climb, I know how strong I am. Even though I crashed yesterday, so I had a lot of muscle pain and stiff body, but I have done worse, with a broken back in the Tour de France, so I know I can do it and just really need to trust myself and full-gas go for it," said Vollering after her solo arrival.
It was Vollering’s seventh Itzulia stage victory in four editions, but the first with her new team FDJ-Suez, and she thanked her teammates for their support.
"My team was so strong today. Amber [Kraak] was riding in front the whole day, and Léa [Curinier] did a really, really strong pull on the first part of the climb to make it as hard as possible from the bottom, Évita [Muzic], perfect job to follow the second group, so it was perfect teamwork today," she said.
How It Unfolded
The day's initial breakaway containing Sara Martín (Movistar) and Célia Le Mouel (Ceratizit) (Image credit: Getty Images)
Starting and finishing in Donostia (San Sebastián), the 112.6km stage with the climbs of Jaizkibel, Gurutze, and Mendizorrotz was always going to be the day to decide the overall victory.
Erica Magnaldi (UAE Team ADQ) and Liane Lippert (Movistar), second overall after stage 2, did not start the final stage. Despite numerous attempts, nobody managed to establish a breakaway in the first hour of the race. A group of 20 riders got a gap but were caught again before the Jaizkibel climb started.
Ava Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) got away on the climb but was soon caught, and her teammate Amanda Spratt led the peloton over the top ahead of Vollering. On the Gurutze climb, Sara Martín (Movistar) and Célia Le Mouel (Ceratizit) got away, building a gap of almost two minutes.
Vollering on the attack (Image credit: Getty Images)
Behind the front duo, Bredewold beat Vollering to the remaining bonus second at the intermediate sprint in Usurbil, 25.5km from the finish. By this point, the peloton, led by FDJ-Suez, had reduced the gap to under a minute. Martín and Le Mouel were reeled in with 17.2km to go, shortly before the start of the Mendizorrotz climb.
Mavi García (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) made an acceleration right away that only Vollering and Niedermaier could follow immediately, but Bredewold and Muzic bridged the gap quickly. When Vollering attacked again, only García and Niedermaier could hold her wheel, though, and another acceleration by Vollering on the steepest part of the climb led to García losing contact. Eventually, Niedermaier had to let go as well, and Vollering had four kilometres of climbing left to make the difference.
Demi Vollering atop the podium for a second year, with Mischa Bredewold once again on the second step (Image credit: Getty Images)
At the top of the climb, exactly ten kilometres from the finish, she was 46 seconds ahead of Niedermaier and 1:13 minutes ahead of a group of about a dozen riders led by Bredewold. Vollering kept her advantage on the descent and could celebrate on the finish line while Niedermaier was caught by the group behind.
Ghekiere launched an attack at the flamme rouge, but Van Dam dug deep to reach her with 150 metres to go. The Canadian won the sprint for second place, and the time bonification put her on the overall podium. In addition to the overall win, Vollering also took home the mountain jersey while Bredewold kept the points jersey, and Niedermaier won the U23 classification.
Lukas Knöfler started working in cycling communications in 2013 and has seen the inside of the scene from many angles. Having worked as press officer for teams and races and written for several online and print publications, he has been Cyclingnews’ Women’s WorldTour correspondent since 2018.
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