Tour de France Femmes: Demi Vollering wins climbing skirmish on stage 5 in three-rider sprint

Key Points:

• Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) won stage 5 of the Tour de France Femmes after outsprinting Marlen Reusser (Movistar) and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM) from a late breakaway on Mont Brouilly, with Reusser retaining the yellow jersey.
• Vollering's team played a crucial role in chasing the breakaway and setting her up for the decisive attack on the Col de Durbize and Mont Brouilly, where she dropped several rivals before the final sprint.
• In the general classification, Vollering closed the gap to Reusser to 12 seconds, while Niewiadoma-Phinney moved up to third place, 1:17 behind the leader, setting up a tight battle for the overall victory in the remaining stages.
• The demanding 140km stage featured multiple climbs and a large breakaway group, with Puck Pieterse extending her lead in the mountains classification and Lorena Wiebes maintaining her lead in the points classification.
• The stage saw significant time gaps form as key GC contenders were dropped on the climbs, with Vollering's aggressive riding causing splits and ultimately leading to her stage win and improved GC position.