Demi Vollering claimed victory in stage five of the Tour de France Femmes on August 5, winning a sprint finish against Marlen Reusser and Kasia Niewiadoma after a demanding 140km race from Macon to Belleville-en-Beaujolais [1, 2, 3]. The route featured the steep climb of Mont Brouilly, with gradient sections reaching 14% [1, 2].
Reusser kept the yellow jersey, leading the general classification by 12 seconds over Vollering after the stage [1, 3]. Kasia Niewiadoma finished third on the stage and remains third overall, about one minute behind the leaders [1, 3].
Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot lost significant time, dropping over two and a half minutes on the stage and falling to 17th place, five minutes behind Reusser in the overall standings [1, 2, 3]. Ferrand-Prévot described her time deficit as "unrecoverable" and said, "There's no hiding from it, it's too much to get back by the look of it. But I'm above all glad I got the time-trial behind me and my Tour starts now, I'll give it everything" [2, 3]. She was dropped on the slopes of the Col de Durbize after an acceleration from Vollering [2].
Anna van der Breggen, a former dominant rider, also lost more than two and a half minutes on stage five and fell out of contention [1].
Vollering said of her win, "Today it was really cool race. The whole team, every single rider was part of it. I enjoy those victories the most, when everybody put their hard work into it, it makes it more special and beautiful" [1]. She added, "I gave it everything to the line. It was a very long sprint and I needed every single metre in the finish straight, but I managed to do it - I am very happy about that" [1]. Reflecting on the sprint finish, she said she thought she might not make it but managed to hold on, knowing both Kasia and Marlen would make early moves [2].
Vollering also noted that Reusser will be a tough rival in the remaining stages: "Marlen has not won a Tour yet, and she will have to work for it. I'm sure it will be a hard battle, because she is not the rider who you can beat easily, because she is very strong" [3].
Despite wildfire risks and restricted access near Dentelles de Montmirail, the next stage on August 7 remains scheduled to include the climb to Mont Ventoux [2].
