Demi Vollering claimed her ninth win of the 2025 season in dominant fashion on the queen stage of the Volta a Catalunya Femenina, breaking clear on the final kilometre of the brutal 19.1km ascent of Coll de Pal. Visma | Lease a Bike’s Marion Bunel held on for second, with teammate Femke de Vries snatching third in the final metres from Elise Chabbey, who lost both the sprint and the leader’s jersey.
The 73km stage packed in three climbs, with the summit finish at Coll de Pal looming large. The day started with Stine Dale (Coop-Repsol) forcing the early break, cresting the Coll de Merola first before opening a gap of more than a minute. A group containing Loes Adegeest, Rosita Reijnhout, and others briefly bridged to Dale over the Collet de Cal Ros, but FDJ-Suez were already setting up their cards behind.
With Movistar driving the chase, the lead was kept under control, and the stage truly ignited as the bunch hit the lower slopes of Coll de Pal. Elise Chabbey pushed the pace early, thinning the group before handing over to Vollering with just under 11km to go.
Vollering’s attack split the favourites, with only Bunel and De Vries able to follow. The latter soon dropped back, leaving just the 20-year-old French rider clinging to Vollering’s wheel. That pairing built a gap of over a minute on the chasers, with Chabbey and Ane Santesteban marking time behind. In the final kilometre, Vollering accelerated once more, finally shaking Bunel off to take a solo win and the race lead.
Photo Credit: Cor VosPodium breakthrough for Visma’s young duo
For Bunel, the climb confirmed her growing status as a top GC contender. “This was a stage I had been looking forward to all week,” she said. “Especially because of the final climb. I felt good and focused on wasting as little energy as possible before the final ascent. The team helped me a lot with that, and I’m incredibly thankful. I managed to stay on Demi’s wheel for a long time, but eventually I had to let go. Still, I’m really happy with second place and with how we raced as a team today.”
De Vries made the most of a well-timed late attack from the chase group to grab third on the line. “I felt great today. I was well-positioned throughout and that gave me confidence heading into the tough final climb. Fortunately, I still had plenty of energy left. In the chasing group I felt strong, but held back a bit because Marion was up front with Demi. Toward the end, I launched an attack when the others lost focus for a moment. The sprint for third was one I’m really happy with. I felt very strong today and I’m very pleased with this third place.”
The result reshuffles the overall standings. Vollering now leads Chabbey by 2:08, with Bunel in third, a further 21 seconds down. De Vries sits fifth heading into the final stage towards Barcelona. For Vollering, the GC now looks within her control, but the depth of Visma | Lease a Bike’s young talent has also clearly emerged as one of the stories of the race.
2025 Volta a Catalunya Femenina Stage 2 result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Getty
