Demi Vollering secured her second consecutive La Vuelta Femenina title in emphatic style, powering away from her rivals on the steep slopes of the Alto de Cotobello to win the final stage and seal her grip on the red jersey. It was her second summit victory of the week, rounding off a dominant display from FDJ-Suez that also placed Juliette Labous and Évita Muzic inside the top 10.
The final stage from Pola de Lena to the Cotobello summit was the toughest of the race – 152.6km with three classified climbs and heavy rain making conditions treacherous. Vollering held a 45-second advantage going into the day, but with the queen stage still to come and thunderstorms threatening, it was far from a ceremonial ride.
Marianne Vos, already wearing green after two sprint victories, summed up the week best: “We gave everything in every stage, so it’s really nice to go home with two wins and the points jersey.” Vos’s consistency earned her a third straight points classification victory, capping a historic race for Dutch riders.
Every individual stage at the 2025 La Vuelta Femenina was won by a Dutchwoman – an unprecedented feat across the sport’s three main stage races.
De Vries and Bunel impress early on
The opening 60km saw wave after wave of attacks before Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka escaped solo. She was joined by Femke de Vries, who then surged clear on the Alto de la Colladiella and crested the climb with a slender lead. But her brave effort unravelled on the descent as the favourites closed in, FDJ-Suez and SD Worx-Protime beginning to exert full control.
At the front, Mavi García and Évita Muzic launched a timely attack with just over 30km remaining. The pair worked well together, eking out a 90-second lead, but by the time the Alto de Cotobello began, the margin was just 37 seconds and falling fast.
Van der Breggen turns up the pressure
Anna van der Breggen took command of the favourites group on the 10.3km Cotobello climb, pacing steadily but relentlessly to thin the contenders. Muzic and García were reeled in, and as the gradient stiffened, only Vollering, Marlen Reusser, Cédrine Kerbaol and Monica Trinca Colonel could follow.
Van der Breggen’s accelerations eventually proved too much for Colonel and Kerbaol, but the 35-year-old former champion wasn’t done yet. “She was trying to drop us with a hard speed,” Vollering said. “I knew I still had something left, so I waited for the last steep part to go for the win.”
With 850 metres to go, Vollering finally made her move. Reusser responded initially, but couldn’t close the gap. The Swiss rider dropped Van der Breggen and secured second place on the stage and in the overall, but Vollering was untouchable.
“I just wanted to win the stage again,” she explained. “I didn’t have to risk anything today. I had to wait, and that was not easy, but finally I gave everything until the finish line.”
Final GC shake-up and historic sweep
Vollering’s second summit victory delivered not just the overall title, but also the polka-dot mountains jersey. With Labous finishing fifth and Muzic in tenth overall, FDJ-Suez underlined their strength in depth.
Marlen Reusser’s second place pushed Van der Breggen down to third overall, though the SD Worx-Protime rider earned the white combativity jersey for her persistent aggression across the mountains. Kerbaol, dropped only in the final kilometre, came home fourth overall, confirming her status as one of the revelations of the race.
There was late movement further down the GC too, Riejanne Markus slipped from fifth to thirteenth after struggling on the final climb, while Yara Kastelijn and Nienke Vinke both broke into the top 10.
Visma-Lease a Bike’s Marion Bunel also stood out on the day, hanging on for ninth place on the stage in her first-ever grand tour. “It’s great when it actually works out,” Bunel said. “It gives me a lot of confidence for the future.”
As for Vollering, her second La Vuelta title joins back-to-back stage wins and a dominant week-long display. “We were always in control,” she said of her team. “I’m really happy about the whole performance.”
2025 La Vuelta Femenina Stage 7 result
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2025 La Vuelta Femenina GC result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Unipublic/Rafa Gómez/Sprint Cycling Agency
