Demi Vollering seals Vuelta Femenina overall with solo victory on stage eight
SD Worx-Protime rider wins eight-day race by almost two minutes


Tour de France Femmes champion Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) added a second Grand Tour victory to her palmarès on Sunday, triumphing at the Vuelta Femenina.
The Dutchwoman, who already led by 52 seconds going into the eighth and final stage, attacked with 6km to go on the finishing climb, and soloed to a second stage win. Her climbing heroics meant she dominated the general classification, securing the red jersey by one minute and 49 seconds.
Riejanne Markus (Visma-Lease a Bike) finished second overall, overtaking Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), who closed out the podium in third.
Vollering's victory comes a year after she ended the Vuelta Femenina in tears, having come agonisingly close to the title in 2023, when she lost out to the now retired Annemiek van Vleuten by just nine seconds.
The scene this time round was a world apart. After weaving across the road smiling, Vollering stepped off her bike after the line in Madrid, and lifted it above her head, champion at last.
"It's really nice," the 27-year-old said post-race. "The team did a really good job all day. I was a bit nervous because I thought this last climb was not so super hard. It's difficult because it was again a headwind and it was not super steep.
"There was one part where we turned a bit," she continued. "There, I thought I needed to attack and have a gap so that the rest will also have a headwind to chase me back."
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
When Vollering upped the tempo, nobody else could follow. As she did on stage five – when she took her first victory of the season – the Dutchwoman sailed clear of her rivals, crossing the line alone. Behind, stage six's winner Évita Muzic (FDJ-Suez) came home with Markus 30 seconds later.
"I'm really happy to win this stage," Vollering said. "It's really nice to finish off like this. We did a really good tour here: some podiums, two stage wins. I think we can be really proud of ourselves."
Asked what the victory meant to her, the Tour de France Femmes champion said it marked a "good start" to her season. "I hope I can do some other really nice stage races, of course," she said. "I'm looking very much forward to the rest of the season."
Vollering also sealed the mountains classification, as the race's best climber. Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), winner of two stages, wrapped up the points classification, while Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal) was declared the most combative rider.
Results
Vuelta Femenina 2024, stage eight: Districo telefónica Madrid > Valdesquí (89.5km)
1. Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, in 2-43-06
2. Évita Muzic (Fra) FDJ-Suez, +29s
3. Riejanne Markus (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +33s
4. Pauliena Rooijakkers (Ned) Fenix-Deceuninck, +53s
5. Ricarda Bauernfiend (Ger) Canyon-SRAM, +56s
6. Juliette Labous (Fra) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +1-00
7. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek
8. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-Sram, both at same time
9. Yara Kastelijn (Ned) Fenix-Deceuninck, +1-10
10. Kim Cadzow (NZl) EF Education-Cannondale, +1-28
Final general classification
1. Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, in 20-30-55
2. Riejanne Markus (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1-49
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +2-00
4. Juliette Labous (Fra) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +2-58
5. Évita Muzic (Fra) FDJ-Suez, +3-15
6. Ricarda Bauernfiend (Ger) Canyon-SRAM, +4-33
7. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZl) SD Worx-Protime, +5-14
8. Yara Kastelijn (Ned) Fenix-Deceuninck, +5-27
9. Pauliena Rooijakkers (Ned) Fenix-Deceuninck, +5-42
10. Kim Cadzow (NZl) EF Education-Cannondale, +6-19
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and holds a master's degree in International Journalism. Since 2020, he has been the host of The TT Podcast, offering race analysis and rider interviews.
An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill, and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides. His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition, albeit out of 40 entrants.
-
Unmarked helmets to a new Campagnolo groupset: Five of the best tech finds from the Giro d'Italia 2025
There's new equipment on display at the first men's Grand Tour of the year
-
Bike racing needs to stop trying to reinvent the wheel and focus on what already works
Formula Fixed is just the latest novelty to promise to save cycling, but is it needed?
-
‘I have hardly done such efforts until now’ - Anna van der Breggen third on return to Grand Tour racing at La Vuelta Femenina
SD Worx-ProTime rider satisfied with Spanish stage race performance
-
'Not everyone wins the battle with their mind' - Demi Vollering sheds light on emotional La Vuelta Femenina stage win dedication
Vollering dedicated her stage five victory to 'all the people out there who are finding it really hard mentally at the moment'
-
'Because of my mentality I can win beautiful, beautiful races' - Demi Vollering climbs to victory and the red jersey on stage five of La Vuelta Femenina
Vollering beats Marlen Reusser and Anna van der Breggen to the summit of Lagunas de Neilas to take over the race lead
-
'This was not the plan' - Anna van der Breggen escapes to comeback victory on stage four of La Vuelta Femenina
SD Worx-Protime rider wins for the first time in almost four years
-
Entire Movistar team fined after start ramp chaos at Vuelta Femenina
Visma-Lease a Bike file official complaint with the UCI following team time trial delays
-
Ellen van Dijk hails 'phenomenal' victory as Lidl-Trek win Vuelta Femenina stage 1 team time trial
Dutchwoman earns first leader's jersey as Demi Vollering starts title defence six seconds adrift
-
How to watch La Vuelta Femenina 2025: Everything you need to live stream the Spanish Grand Tour
All the key information on broadcasters and live streams for the Vuelta Femenina from May 4-10, so you can watch the major stage race anywhere.
-
Vuelta Femenina 2025 route: Barcelona start and toughest final stage ever confirmed
Key Spanish race cut in length by a day, with mountaintop finale in Asturias