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Demi Vollering (SD Worx) got the better of her yellow jersey rivals Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) and Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) on Stage 7 of the 2023 Tour de Femmes, with the Dutchwoman dropping both contenders in the final six kilometres of the day to take a near-unassailable one minute and 50 second advantage into the final stage.
The victory came as a relief to Vollering after the rider controversially received a 20-second time penalty for drafting on Stage 5, with the decisive stage victory cementing her position as the leader of the race.
"In the team, we said: ‘Let’s not talk about seconds, let’s make it minutes.’ I wanted to take as much time as possible and I’m happy I did it for my team," Vollering said after the stage.
"At one point, I felt it and I just went. With the mist, I knew that if I opened a gap quickly, then they wouldn’t be able to see me. I went full gas and never looked back. When I crossed the line, I was just happy that it was over, that I had made it happen."
Niewiadoma stayed with her Dutch rival right up until five kilometres to go, but had to settle for second-place on the day after being dropped by Vollering on the Col du Tourmalet.
The Polish rider was able to surpass Van Vleuten and Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) to go into second in the general classification, and now only needs to keep her 45-second advantage over Kopecky on Sunday's (AEST) individual time-trial to secure her spot on the podium.
"On the climb, I could see that Demi [Vollering] didn’t want to work with Annemiek [van Vleuten] so I knew that they would look at each other and I decided to take my chance on the downhill, go quite fast and see if I would be able to go," she said.
"It was a perfect scenario. I heard at the bottom of the Tourmalet that the chasers got back together so that wasn’t ideal but I just rode my pace and tried to stay in my zone. I was just hoping they would be looking at each other more and I could get more time.
"But Demi showed how strong she is when she passed me. Somehow on the first stages, I knew I would get the polka-dot jersey. I was the only favourite scoring points here and there, so I had a feeling it was gonna be mine. I definitely believed I would get the victory! But I often come 2nd or 3rd… Maybe I need to come to terms with that [she laughs]."
Van Vleuten, the winner of last year's inaugural edition of the Femmes, was unable to go with her compatriot as they took on the Col du Tourmalet, slipping a further 38 seconds behind second-placed Niewiadoma into third overall.
Despite seeing her hopes of winning a second edition of the race all but fade with her third-placed finish on the day, the Movistar leader was full of praise for Vollering despite her disappointment.
"Of course, I am disappointed, but I can accept it. I didn't do anything wrong. I had the best possible preparation, so I'm happy that I went for it on the Col d'Aspin. I raced for it like I always do; go hard and focus on your strength. I was confident today that I could win," van Vleuten said.
"In the end, I felt a little bit, on the Tourmalet, that I was... when I looked to the others, and [Juliette] Labous was setting a high pace, I thought back to the Giro, I was better there. I could see in my performance that I didn't have the best day.
"I came here to win the Tour de France and not to get second, third or fourth. To be honest, it's beautiful, and after winning it last year, you only want to win. It's obvious that Demi Vollering was on another level."
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Stage 7 - Full Replay - Tour de France Femmes 2023
Despite relinquishing the yellow jersey for the first time since the opening stage, Kopecky was thrilled for her teammate Vollering taking the yellow jersey.
The Belgian has the green jersey all but sowed up heading into the final day of the race, and is still a fighting chance of taking a spot on the podium only seven seconds behind van Vleuten in fourth.
"This is why we came here, to win the Tour with Demi [Vollering]! And I think the way she did it, she showed she is the best," she said after the stage.
"I wanted to enjoy my last day in yellow … But it was pretty painful [she laughs]. I just went all out and we wanted to see where I could get.
"I’d like to say I’ll enjoy it tomorrow but I will go full gas. Winning the green jersey is also something that won’t happen every year. This is the chance of my life to get on the podium of the Tour!"
