Demi Vollering opened her 2025 Tour de France Femmes
campaign with a fifth-place finish on Stage 1, a strong result on the tough
Côte de Cadoudal that reaffirmed her status as the top favorite for yellow. One
of Vollering’s key rivals, Marlen Reusser, was forced to abandon and Lotte
Kopecky lost over a minute too.
"It's very sad to hear that Marlen has withdrawn from
the Tour," Vollering said after the stage. "I heard she's still been
ill since the Giro. I wish her the best recovery and that she can return
healthy. That's ultimately the most important thing. I hope she can perform at
her best again soon. It's never fun to lose a contender for the general
classification, or any rider for that matter, in a beautiful stage race like
this. So I hope she gets better soon."
Vollering also tipped her cap to Marianne Vos, who claimed
victory and the first yellow jersey of the race. “I'm very happy for Marianne.
She's a fantastic cyclist. She's already shown what she's capable of in the
past. It's great to see her win again and take the first yellow jersey for her
team. Huge respect; she's a huge inspiration to every rider in the
peloton."
One rider who struggled was Lotte Kopecky, who was supposed
to be challenging for the GC this Tour. The Belgian’s team director Team
director Danny Stam expressed frustration with how the day unfolded.
“Despite all the injuries in recent weeks, Lotte indicated
she wanted to go for the win. So this is a bit of a setback,” he told VTM. “I
haven't spoken to her yet, but Lotte certainly wasn't good enough. The team
completely sacrificed themselves for her, and if she's not there in the end,
you can make all sorts of excuses, but the strongest team wins."
Stam added that under normal circumstances, Kopecky would
have signaled if she wasn’t feeling up to it, allowing the team to pivot. “We
still have to analyze it all. Normally, Lotte indicates at such times that
she's not good enough, so we can draw a different card. She didn't do that this
time.”
As for Vollering, she remains focused and unshaken by the
early turmoil. The Dutchwoman is looking to reclaim the title she won in 2023,
and was denied winning again in 2024. “We did everything right,” she said. “But
we're hungry for more.”
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as 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. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- 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
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