"You can never underestimate Elisa Longo Borghini" - Demi Vollering cautious ahead of Vuelta Femenina queen stage
Cycling
The Vuelta Femenina will reach it's climax today in the mountains around Madrid. On the eighth day of racing, the peloton will find it's hardest climbs and a summit finish that could determine the overall winner; and Demi Vollering has not let down her guard yet.
"I think the stage suits me well. I haven’t looked into the details as of yet, but it will be a hard stage and that’s nice for me," Vollering said after the finale of stage 7, where she managed to keep up with some of the best in the hard uphill sprint, but saw her gap to Elisa Longo Borghini come down slightly as the Italian rider sprinted to third place and some bonus seconds.
So far, Vollering was superior in both summit finishes and won the difficult ascent to Fuerte de Rapitán in convincing fashion. But in a Grand Tour a lot can happen and a bad day can dictate disaster. Hence, despite the 52-second gap over Elisa Longo Borghini and 1:14-minute gap over Riejanne Markus - her closest competitors - Vollering enters the queen stage very much aware of the danger.
"As for challengers to look out for, I think Yara Kastelijn has already shown how strong she is, as did Évita Muzic yesterday. And you can never underestimate Elisa Longo Borghini, she is always dangerous," the race leader assures.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
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.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- This is a really interesting idea, which, if well prepared could even be very successful. Very little money needs to be involved for a first season and any success could lead to rapid interest from sponsors.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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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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