Demi Vollering won the Giro d’Italia Women 2026 after a dramatic final-stage reversal around Saluzzo, turning a 49-second deficit to Anna van der Breggen into overall victory on the last day of the race. The Giro had looked set for Van der Breggen after her dominant Nevegal time trial and controlled defence on the shortened Finestre stage, but Vollering’s final attack on the Colletta di Brondello changed the race completely.
Elisa Longo Borghini won the final stage in Saluzzo, outsprinting Niamh Fisher-Black, Antonia Niedermaier and Vollering after the race had been blown open in the hills. Niedermaier’s aggression after Montoso pushed the whole GC battle into a different shape, while Vollering’s decisive acceleration finally separated her from Van der Breggen and carried her into pink at the last opportunity.
It was a Giro that kept changing identity. Elisa Balsamo dominated the sprint stages and sealed the points jersey, Van der Breggen looked in control after Nevegal, Vollering grew stronger through the mountains, Niedermaier turned consistency into a final podium, and Isabella Holmgren confirmed one of the biggest young-rider performances of the race by winning the white jersey.
For more context on the final weekend, our GC and jerseys after Giro d’Italia Women 2026 stage 8 covered the standings before the Saluzzo finale, while our Giro d’Italia Women 2026 stage 9 preview set out why the final hilly stage still gave Vollering one last route back into the race.
How the Giro was won
The Giro began with immediate drama when Lorena Wiebes was disqualified after stage 1 for an underweight bike, promoting Elisa Balsamo to victory and putting the Lidl-Trek rider into pink. Balsamo then backed that up with further sprint wins, turning the opening part of the race into a showcase of finishing speed, positioning and team execution.
The overall battle changed on stage 4, the uphill time trial from Belluno to Nevegal. Van der Breggen produced the ride that appeared to define the race, taking the stage, moving into pink and putting clear time into the main GC contenders. At that point, she had the race where she wanted it: a meaningful lead, visible climbing form and enough experience to control the days ahead.
Vollering responded in the mountains. She won stage 5 at Santo Stefano di Cadore from the key GC group, then took another victory on the shortened stage 8 finish on the Colle delle Finestre. Those wins did not immediately put her into pink, but they narrowed the gap, sharpened the pressure and ensured the race was still alive before the final day.
Stage 9 delivered the reversal. The Saluzzo route was not a summit finish in the traditional sense, but it had enough climbing to expose fatigue. Niedermaier attacked hard after Montoso, Van der Breggen began to lose control of the race, and Vollering finally found the separation she had been chasing. By the finish, Longo Borghini had the stage win, Niedermaier had climbed to second overall, and Vollering had won the Giro.
Photo Credit: RCSFinal general classification
- Demi Vollering, FDJ United-Suez, 29:54:19
- Antonia Niedermaier, Canyon SRAM zondacrypto, +0:30
- Anna van der Breggen, Team SD Worx-Protime, +1:37
- Elisa Longo Borghini, UAE Team ADQ, +2:44
- Niamh Fisher-Black, Lidl-Trek, +3:26
- Femke de Vries, Team Visma | Lease a Bike, +5:07
- Isabella Holmgren, Lidl-Trek, +7:10
- Urška Žigart, AG Insurance-Soudal, +12:39
- Valentina Cavallar, Team SD Worx-Protime, +13:12
- Lore De Schepper, AG Insurance-Soudal, +13:29
Vollering’s final margin was only 30 seconds, which reflects how close this Giro remained until the final climb of the final stage. She did not win it through one isolated performance. She won it by refusing to let Van der Breggen’s time trial advantage become decisive, taking stage wins in the mountains and then committing fully when the Saluzzo stage cracked open.
Niedermaier’s second place was one of the defining rides of the race. She had been present throughout the decisive mountain stages, but stage 9 elevated her Giro from strong podium challenge to genuine near-victory. At points on the road she was close to the virtual lead, and her final second place confirms her as one of the standout GC riders of the week.
Van der Breggen’s third place will feel very different to how the race looked 24 hours earlier. She had defended pink on the Finestre and still had 49 seconds in hand before the final stage. The Giro slipped away on the final day, but her podium still marked a remarkable return to the highest level of stage racing.
Vollering turns pressure into the overall win
Vollering’s race was built on persistence. She lost time in the Nevegal time trial, then had to spend the rest of the Giro trying to claw back a gap against one of the most experienced stage racers in the peloton. Her first mountain win at Santo Stefano di Cadore kept the contest alive, and the Finestre victory made the final stage genuinely dangerous.
The decisive point was that she kept forcing Van der Breggen to answer. On stage 8, the shortened finish limited the damage she could inflict, but it also confirmed that Vollering had the legs to challenge in the high mountains. Stage 9 then gave her the road layout she needed: hard climbing, a final ascent far enough from the finish to reward commitment, and enough tactical pressure to stop the maglia rosa from simply following wheels.
This was not a controlled GC win. It was a victory won by pressure, risk and the willingness to keep attacking even when the race looked almost out of reach.
Niedermaier confirms her stage-race level
Antonia Niedermaier finished second overall, 30 seconds behind Vollering, after one of the most complete GC performances of the race. She was consistently present with the best climbers and then used the final day to force the issue rather than simply protect a podium place.
Her stage 9 aggression changed the whole race. By attacking after Montoso and keeping pressure on through the decisive terrain, she helped break the defensive rhythm that had protected Van der Breggen for much of the final weekend. She was not just a passenger in the GC fight. She actively shaped it.
Second overall, third on the final stage and runner-up in the mountains classification make this a major result for Canyon SRAM zondacrypto. Niedermaier leaves the Giro looking like a rider ready to challenge for more than podiums in future Grand Tours.
Van der Breggen loses pink late but still proves her level
Van der Breggen’s Giro will be remembered for both control and collapse. The Nevegal time trial was one of the performances of the race, and it gave her the lead that shaped the entire middle section of the Giro. She then managed the Dolomite stage, limited the damage on the Finestre and went into the final day in pink.
But the Saluzzo stage exposed the risk of defending a lead on a route with repeated climbing and a long, tactical finale. Once Vollering and Niedermaier had the race moving beyond simple marking, Van der Breggen no longer had the same control. The final climb to Colletta di Brondello became the point where the Giro turned away from her.
Third overall is still a significant result, especially given the level of riders around her. The disappointment is that it briefly looked like something even bigger.
Photo Credit: RCSBalsamo dominates the points classification
Elisa Balsamo won the points classification with 152 points, well clear of Vollering on 73 and Célia Gery on 63. That margin reflects how dominant Balsamo was across the flatter stages, where she repeatedly turned sprint opportunities into victories.
- Elisa Balsamo, Lidl-Trek, 152 points
- Demi Vollering, FDJ United-Suez, 73
- Célia Gery, FDJ United-Suez, 63
- Lara Gillespie, UAE Team ADQ, 60
- Elisa Longo Borghini, UAE Team ADQ, 55
Balsamo’s Giro started with the unexpected promotion to stage 1 victory after Wiebes’ disqualification, but there was nothing accidental about the rest of her race. She continued to win when the road suited the sprinters, and Lidl-Trek repeatedly delivered her into the right position.
The mountains ultimately decided the overall, but Balsamo was the dominant sprinter of the race. The points jersey was not a narrow survival job. It was built early, defended comfortably and won with authority.
Photo Credit: RCSVollering also takes the mountains jersey
Vollering completed her overall victory by also winning the mountains classification. She finished on 67 points, ahead of Niedermaier on 55 and Van der Breggen on 53.
- Demi Vollering, FDJ United-Suez, 67 points
- Antonia Niedermaier, Canyon SRAM zondacrypto, 55
- Anna van der Breggen, Team SD Worx-Protime, 53
- Isabella Holmgren, Lidl-Trek, 28
- Valentina Cavallar, Team SD Worx-Protime, 24
This was a fitting secondary classification for the way Vollering won the race. Her Giro was defined by repeated mountain pressure, from Santo Stefano di Cadore to the Finestre and then the final stage around Saluzzo. The blue jersey did not come from collecting minor points on quiet days. It came from being one of the strongest climbers whenever the GC group was reduced to its essentials.
Niedermaier and Van der Breggen finishing second and third in the mountains standings also says plenty about the race. The same riders who fought for pink were also the riders shaping the high-point climbs.
Photo Credit: RCSHolmgren wins white after a major breakthrough
Isabella Holmgren won the young rider classification, finishing seventh overall and 6:19 ahead of Lore De Schepper in the white jersey standings.
- Isabella Holmgren, Lidl-Trek, 30:01:29
- Lore De Schepper, AG Insurance-Soudal, +6:19
- Viktória Chladonová, Team Visma | Lease a Bike, +27:24
- Rosita Reijnhout, Team Visma | Lease a Bike, +29:01
- Marion Bunel, Team Visma | Lease a Bike, +29:13
Holmgren’s race was more than a white jersey win. She finished second on the Finestre, held her own against the strongest climbers and remained inside the top 10 overall after a brutal final weekend. That is a serious Grand Tour performance, not just a promising youth classification result.
Lidl-Trek also had depth across the race. Balsamo dominated the sprints, Fisher-Black finished fifth overall, Holmgren won white, and the team also won the Super Team classification. It was one of the most complete team performances of the Giro.
Longo Borghini salvages final-stage glory
Elisa Longo Borghini did not get the GC race she would have wanted, but her final-stage win in Saluzzo gave UAE Team ADQ a major result and moved her to fourth overall. Winning in the Italian champion’s jersey on the final day was a strong way to end a Giro that had not fully gone her way in the high mountains.
Her stage 9 victory also underlined the tactical complexity of the finale. While the GC race exploded behind and around her, Longo Borghini still had the strength to sprint from the front group and beat Fisher-Black, Niedermaier and Vollering. It was not a consolation prize in a quiet stage. It came on the day the whole Giro was overturned.
Fourth overall, a stage win and a final-day show of strength still make this a productive race, even if the podium moved out of reach.
Photo Credit: RCSLidl-Trek win the team classification
Lidl-Trek won the Super Team classification ahead of AG Insurance-Soudal and FDJ United-Suez.
- Lidl-Trek, 90:29:10
- AG Insurance-Soudal, +3:23
- FDJ United-Suez, +10:02
- Team Visma | Lease a Bike, +22:38
- UAE Team ADQ, +24:03
The classification reflects the range of Lidl-Trek’s Giro. Balsamo carried the sprint side of the race, Fisher-Black was fifth overall, Holmgren won the young rider classification, and Lucinda Brand played a major support role across different terrain.
FDJ United-Suez won the race outright with Vollering, but Lidl-Trek were the broadest team across the nine stages. They had results in sprints, mountains, GC, youth and team depth, which is exactly what the Super Team classification tends to reward.
What the final standings show
The final standings show how quickly a Grand Tour can turn when the last stage is still hard enough to punish defensive racing. Van der Breggen looked secure after stage 8, but 49 seconds was not enough once the Saluzzo stage became a true GC fight. Vollering did not just take bonuses. She took the race apart.
Niedermaier’s second place gives the final podium a fresh shape, while Van der Breggen’s third adds complexity to the story. She was the best rider in the time trial and led deep into the final weekend, but Vollering and Niedermaier were stronger when the race became most unstable.
Behind them, Longo Borghini and Fisher-Black both ended strongly, De Vries confirmed a top-six finish for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, Holmgren turned white into seventh overall, and Žigart, Cavallar and De Schepper rounded out a top 10 that mixed established climbers with riders still building their Grand Tour profiles.
Fina Giro d’Italia Women 2026 GC result
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