"That's just the way it is" – FDJ - Suez left searching for answers after Demi Vollering fades on Madeleine

Demi Vollering's Tour de France Femmes defence has not gone the way she wanted. The 2023 champion lost significant time on the Col de la Madeleine, dropping more than three minutes to stage winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. While Vollering had entered the race as the overwhelming favorite for both the general classification and yesterday's queen stage, her performance raised immediate questions. Having crashed hard earlier on in the race, it looked like Vollering would have to abandon with concussion. But, she soldiered on, and had looked strong and unaffected in recent days.

But today, she simply could not match the pace of her rivals. Was she simply off the pace, or still feeling the effects of an earlier crash?

"I haven't spoken to Demi yet, but it seems that way," team director Lars Boom told Eurosport, acknowledging the crash may be lingering. “I don't have an explanation, I have to check with her first,” Boom said, though he praised the team's overall effort.

“We had Evita (Muzic) who was still in a good position in the standings, up front. That was good for us. It shows we're doing really well as a team this week. But yeah, Pauline and Gigante looked very strong. That's just the way it is.”

Vollering now sits third overall, clinging to a slim advantage of about twenty seconds over Kasia Niewiadoma. “She's third now, about twenty seconds ahead of Kasia. That’s good. Trying to maintain that lead. Tomorrow is another very tough stage. Hopefully, she'll have better legs then,” Boom added.

While Vollering faltered, Sarah Gigante surged. The Australian is now second on GC, 2:37 behind Ferrand-Prévot and comfortably ahead of Vollering. For Gigante and Ferrand-Prevot, this is rapidly turning into a dream Tour de France Femmes. For Vollering, it’s a case of what could’ve been, once again.