Demi Vollering impresses with stage win and overall victory in Vuelta, Riejanne Markus second in final standings

Demi Vollering took the final victory in La Vuelta Femenina 2024 with force majeure. The leader of SD Worx-Protime took a solo victory in the short but tough final stage to Valdesquí; a icing on the cake for the Dutch champion. After a third place (2022) and second place (2023), this overall victory in the Spanish Grand Tour is a first for Vollering. Riejanne Markus managed to finish second in the final rankings on the final day, ahead of Elisa Longo Borghini.

Just like the Tour de France Femmes, the Vuelta Femenina has opted for a difficult queen stage over a good 90 kilometers, with two big climbs and an uphill finish. First the Puerto de la Morcuera (18.5 kilometers at 5%) awaits and then the final climb to Valdesquí. We should actually speak of the Puerto de Cotos (11 kilometers at 5.5%), because the last 1,800 meters towards the ski station are of little interest.

In a difficult opening phase, a leading group of thirteen riders emerged. Two-time stage winner and green jersey wearer Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) participated, as did her compatriots Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ) and Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco). Classification leader Demi Vollering had a pawn in the breakaway with Elena Cecchini, who rode away from the peloton for a maximum of two minutes.

Swinkels, Rooijakkers and Kastelijn show themselves
The leading group quickly thinned out on the long Puerto de la Morcuera. Swinkels, together with Brodie Chapman (Lidl-Trek) and Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal), remained the longest, but they were caught before the top by the favorites group. There Visma | Lease a Bike raced hard, but that quickly left leader Riejanne Markus alone. An attack by Pauliena Rooijakkers was nipped in the bud, allowing a favorite group of fifteen riders to round the top.

In the descent, Niamh Fisher-Black almost went off the bend, causing Vollering’s teammate to lose connection and only be able to connect after a chase. In the valley towards the final climb, Yara Kastelijn rode away. She posed no threat to the rankings and gained more than a minute’s lead, but was caught again nine kilometers before the finish.

Demi Vollering connects the dots and crosses the i’s, tension for podium places
More than six kilometers before the finish, Demi Vollering herself opened the debates, after FDJ-Suez had been in the lead for kilometers. Elisa Longo Borghini, second in the rankings, was one of the first victims of that acceleration. Markus, Kastelijn, Évita Muzic and Ricarda Bauernfeind tried to follow her, but the red jersey was in a class of its own and rode away solo. The stage victory and the final victory were already certain at that moment.

The battle for the other podium places was more interesting. Because Longo Borghini was about to crack, second place came into view for Markus and several riders were thinking about third place. Markus set the pace and drove almost 20 seconds away from the Italian champion, making it a game of seconds for second place in the rankings, behind Vollering.

Muzic eventually sprinted to second place, ahead of Markus. The leader of Visma | Lease a Bike therefore achieved important bonus seconds and had enough of a lead at the finish to overtake Longo Borghini in the final rankings. As a result, Vollering was flanked on the podium by compatriot Riejanne Markus and Italian champion Elisa Longo Borghini.