Vollering wins after Giro queen stage shortened
Demi Vollering claims victory on a shortened queen stage of the women's Giro d'Italia on Saturday but admits it was the "weirdest finish line of my life".
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Notable Quotes
"It was strange because [the Colle delle Finestre] was suddenly the final climb."
— Demi Vollering , Athlete
"Today something happened that I don’t think has ever happened in our history or in any of our races."
— Paolo Bellino , Executive
"due to an unstable sheet of ice that could fall onto the road, for safety reasons, the stage will finish approximately 1km before the Colle delle Finestre GPM."
— Anna van der Breggen , Athlete
"It was strange because suddenly it was the final climb."
— Demi Vollering , Athlete
"I hadn’t even thought about winning before the stage, I’m really, really happy."
— Célia Gery , Athlete
Key People
Alison Jackson is a professional cyclist racing for St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93.
Anna van der Breggen is a Dutch cyclist and the current race leader in the Giro d'Italia Women.
Antonia Niedermaier is a professional cyclist known for her performances in various races.
Celia Gery is a professional cyclist known for her climbing abilities.
Célia Gery is a cyclist representing FDJ United-Suez in the Giro d'Italia Women.
Chantal Pegolo is a cyclist representing Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria.
Demi Vollering is a professional cyclist from the Netherlands who claims victory in cycling competitions.
Elisa Longo Borghini is an Italian professional cyclist known for competing with Lidl-Trek.
Femke de Vries is a professional cyclist racing for Visma-Lease a Bike.
Gaia Segato is a professional cyclist from Italy representing Vini Fantini-BePink.
Isabella Holmgren is a competitive cyclist who participated in the Giro d'Italia Women.
Lauren Dickson is a rising star in women's cycling, noted for her climbing skills.
Lore De Schepper is a cyclist competing for AG Insurance-Soudal.
Lucinda Brand is a professional cyclist from the Netherlands who competes in women's cycling.
Marlen Reusser is a cyclist with the Movistar team competing in women's cycling races.
Monica Trinca Colonel is a professional cyclist with Jayco AlUla.
Niamh Fisher-Black is a young cyclist competing for Lidl-Trek.
Paolo Bellino is the CEO of RCS Sport, the organization behind the Giro d'Italia.
Urška Žigart is a cyclist representing AG Insurance-Soudal.
Tags
All Coverage
Demi Vollering claims victory on a shortened queen stage of the women's Giro d'Italia on Saturday but admits it was the "weirdest finish line of my life".
Célia Gery (FDJ United-Suez) claimed victory in stage 7 of the 2026 Giro d'Italia Women by outsprinting Lucinda Brand and Chantal Pegolo from a six-rider breakaway in Salice Terme. The French rider bridged to the leading group with Silvia Persico on the descent of the day’s only categorized climb. Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) also joined the group, pushing the pace to gain time in the general classification.
Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) won stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia Women, outsprinting Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) and Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM) on a shortened stage that ended about a kilometre from the top of the Colle delle Finestre.
Due to an unstable ice sheet, organisers shortened the queen stage of the Giro d'Italia Women, ending it one kilometre below the Colle delle Finestre summit. Demi Vollering secured victory, but Anna van der Breggen retained the overall lead.
An unstable ice sheet above the road forced organisers to cut the queen stage short on the Colle delle Finestre, removing the descent and Sestriere summit finish entirely. The late change reshaped tactics, fueling and the GC battle with one stage to go.
Stage 5 of the 2026 Giro d'Italia Women brought major changes to the general classification (GC) as the mountainous terrain separated the top climbers from the rest of the field. Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) retained the pink jersey and strengthened her lead despite finishing second on the stage, as only four riders—including stage winner Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ)—managed to stay ahead.
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