Lance Armstrong looks forward to more spectacular showdowns in women's races after Vollering's move to FDJ - Suez. Such as the one at the Tour: "That was a great stage to watch"
Cycling
The women's cycling season had many surprising results, but arguably the greatest upset was Kasia Niewiadoma winning the Tour de France Femmes ahead of Demi Vollering after a spectacular battle on Alpe d'Huez. According to Lance Armstrong this might have been THE highlight of the 2024 season.
The American says this in his podcast TheMove, in which he analyses the past cycling year together with Johan Bruyneel and George Hincapie. "The way Niewiadoma recovered after being dropped on the Glandon is admirable. Nobody expected her to limit her loss to Vollering on the final climb to Alpe d'Huez. It was a great stage to watch."
Armstrong continues: "For Demi Vollering, who I'm a big fan of, it was a bitter pill. If you look back at the tactics of that day, she probably attacked too early and used too much energy. Also in the crash earlier in the Tour, she waited too long before getting back on the bike. If you can move everything normally, get on your bike and ride!"
Hincapie also adds his two cents: "The fact that she didn't get any help after her crash may have cost her the Tour. And if we look at the final stage, the valley between the Glandon and Alpe d'Huez also took its toll on her. You really don't want to end up riding there alone."
Armstrong concludes: "With Vollering's departure to FDJ - Suez, women's cycling is only going to get more interesting."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
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- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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