Demi Vollering won the 140-kilometer fifth stage of the Tour de France Femmes from Macon to Belleville-en-Beaujolais after beating overall leader Marlen Reusser and Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney in a sprint finish.
Niewiadoma-Phinney attacked 300 meters from the finish line, but Vollering sprinted past her to take the victory ahead of Reusser. Dominika Wlodarczyk finished fourth, crossing the line 45 seconds behind the top three riders.
Breakaway and peloton chase
The stage began a day after the time trial, where Niewiadoma-Phinney had finished 13th to move up to sixth place overall while Wlodarczyk ranked just outside the top 10. Wlodarczyk joined a breakaway group of more than a dozen riders that contained no top general classification contenders, creating an early opportunity to challenge Reusser.
On a steep climb about 32 kilometers from the finish, the breakaway split as its lead dropped by over a minute. Vollering attacked from the peloton with Niewiadoma-Phinney and Reusser closely following her. The chase caught the breakaway 22 kilometers before the finish, forming a lead group of about 20 riders.
General classification standings
Wlodarczyk earned two bonus seconds by finishing third at an intermediate time bonus. On the final climb, Vollering increased the pace, allowing Niewiadoma-Phinney and Vollering to reach the mountain summit together slightly ahead of Reusser, while Wlodarczyk fell back by several dozen seconds.
The stage results moved Niewiadoma-Phinney up to third place in the general classification, one minute and 17 seconds behind Reusser. Wlodarczyk advanced to fifth place overall, sitting less than three minutes off the lead.
The fifth edition of the Tour de France Femmes will conclude on Sunday, August 9, with the final stage ending in Nice. Niewiadoma-Phinney won the race two years ago and has finished on the podium every year since 2022, while Wlodarczyk placed fourth overall last year.
