“The female version of Tadej Pogacar” - Demi Vollering hailed by British cycling legend after Giro d’Italia turnaround completes Grand Tour clean sweep

Demi Vollering’s final-stage Giro d’Italia Women heist has earned one of the biggest comparisons in modern cycling, with British legend Lizzie Deignan framing the Dutch star as the women’s peloton’s closest answer to Tadej Pogacar.

Vollering completed her Grand Tour clean sweep in Saluzzo, ripping the Maglia Rosa away from Anna van der Breggen after starting the final day 49 seconds behind. By the finish, she had won the Giro by 34 seconds from Antonia Niedermaier, while Van der Breggen dropped from first to third overall.

The victory added Giro d’Italia Women glory to Vollering’s previous Tour de France Femmes and Vuelta Espana Femenina triumphs. It came in the same season that Jonas Vingegaard completed the men’s Grand Tour triple crown at the Giro, giving women’s cycling its own historic sweep only weeks later.

Speaking on the For The Love of Cycling podcast, Deignan said Vollering’s place among the sport’s modern greats is now beyond serious debate. “Yeah, absolutely,” Deignan said when asked whether Vollering now belongs among the all-time greats. “She’s a very versatile rider. Very accomplished in the classics and in stage races. Obviously the favourite I would say going into the Tour de France again this year.”

Vollering’s Giro had looked close to slipping away after the Stage 4 uphill time trial to Nevegal Tudor, where Van der Breggen produced a dominant ride and put more than a minute into both Vollering and Marlen Reusser.

From there, the FDJ United - SUEZ leader had to rebuild her race. She won Stage 5, took another victory on the shortened queen stage over the Colle delle Finestre, then launched the decisive move on the final day after Niedermaier, Elisa Longo Borghini and Niamh Fisher-Black had already gone clear.

The final-stage ambush gave Vollering the last missing Grand Tour title. Deignan believes the level required to remain a reference point across so many different races is what makes Vollering stand apart.

“She’s been the favourite since it’s been in its long format,” Deignan said of the Tour de France Femmes. “To be considered the favourite over the last five years is a very impressive achievement as well as performing all year in the classics as well.”

That is where the Pogacar comparison comes in. Vollering is not being framed as a like-for-like copy of the Slovenian’s dominance, but as the rider in the women’s peloton whose range across terrain and race formats most naturally invites the comparison.

“In the same way that Tadej can, she’s our female version of Tadej,” Deignan said with a grin. “Obviously not quite on the same level in terms of out and out dominance, but she’s certainly as versatile as he is.”

The Giro turnaround immediately sharpens the next major question of Vollering’s season. Her Italian victory did not come through a controlled procession. It came after she had been put under severe pressure by Van der Breggen, forced to chase the race, and then turned the whole general classification around on the final stage.

That gives the comparison extra weight. Pogacar’s modern standing is built partly on the sense that almost any race can become his terrain. Deignan’s point around Vollering works in a similar direction: not total dominance every time she starts, but a rare ability to matter in Classics, stage races and the biggest climbing battles.

The final stage of the Giro underlined that in the clearest way. Vollering did not simply defend a lead or wait for others to fade. She used the chaos created by Niedermaier’s attack, dropped Van der Breggen on the Colletta di Brondello and bridged alone to the front group before riding into pink.

That ride completed the Grand Tour clean sweep. It also ensured she heads towards the Tour de France Femmes with the strongest possible reminder of why so many rivals will once again build their races around her.

The Giro had seemed to belong to Van der Breggen after Nevegal. Vollering left Italy with the title, the mountains jersey, the full Grand Tour set and a comparison reserved for cycling’s rarest all-rounders.