"My legs were just finished. I feel pretty rotten" - Demi Vollering's Maillot Jaune dreams evaporate of the Tour de France Femmes Queen Stage

Any hopes Demi Vollering had of reclaiming the Maillot Jaune and winning the 2025 Tour de France Femmes were left in tatters on the Queen Stage on Saturday afternoon as Pauline Ferrand-Prevot powered clear of the field on the Col de la Madeline to all but officially win the women's Grand Tour.

In the end, Vollering crossed the line in 4th on the stage, but at 3:03 down on Ferrand-Prevot, the time gap tells its own story. "I just feel not really myself. I just miss some power in the legs. My heart and lungs were OK, but my legs were just finished today," the disappointed Dutch leader of FDJ - Suez reflected in her post-stage interview afterwards. "I felt good in the beginning, but I didn't have an answer to Sarah Gigante's attack."

This lack of capability for a response clearly troubled Vollering, who for many years has been widely regarded as the best climber in the women's World Tour. "Normally, I should be able to follow, but I'm very disappointed, of course," she admits. "I just couldn't keep up. It's as simple as that. Cycling is very simple for once."

Online, there was some confusion at the FDJ - Suez tactics on the final climb, as Evita Muzic, placed in the breakaway as an expected satellite rider, seemed to take an age fighting in vain to keep pace at the front, before finally deciding to drop back and help Vollering limit her losses. Vollering herself though, explains she asked her French teammate to ride in such a manner.

"Yes, definitely. I told Evita that she should just keep going. But I thought maybe she could stay with the rider in front, and then it would be a waste if she waited for me," the former Tour de France Femmes winner explains. "But in the end, they did wait for me and still managed to bring me back very nicely. And take a bit on Kasia."

Thanks to that late time gain on Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Vollering sits 3rd overall heading into the final day of the race, on the podium by 22 seconds. "I rode flat out to the finish in the final kilometre. I didn't have much left, but it was at least enough to drop Kasia," Vollering concludes her assessment. "Maybe I can get a podium finish in the GC, but we'll see. At the moment, I feel pretty rotten. Let's recover first, then look at tomorrow."