Vuelta Femenina: Demi Vollering takes up responsibility and drops competition into victory on stage 5
Cycling
Stage 5 of the Vuelta Femenina was the first summit finish of the race, and Demi Vollering matched the expectations by taking the victory in front of Annemiek van Vleuten.
Again a difficult day for the breakaway, the race exploded early on which saw the early group being caught early. The quartet was formed by Adèle Normand, Simone Boillard, Quinty Ton and Sara Poidevin.
The group was caught with 84 kilometers to go on the longest climb of the day. The hard pace up the climb saw a group of around 25 riders going up the road including many of the GC riders however race leader Marianne Vos and Movistar's Liane Lippert among others were missing from the group.
This saw the front group relatively unite to extend and maintain the gap. It was never too large however Canyon // SRAM mainly put in a lot of effort to keep the split alive. The fight for the stage win would come in the final ascent to the Mirador de Peñas Llanas, a 4.6-kilometer climb.
The pace in the firsthalf was not hard, with Trek - Segafredo keeping a steady tempo. Demi Vollering herself took to the front with two kilometers to go, beginning to thin down the group. One by one all but two riders were dropped, with Annemiek van Vleuten and Ricarda Baurnfeind.
However the power of the Team SD Worx proved too much, in the steep final meters of the stage she managed to get a gap over the World Champion and has brought it home. Van Vleuten and Bauernfeind concluded the podium as the GC fight truly opened.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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- for what?frieders311-11-2026
- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
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