The eighth stage of the Tour de France Femmes delivered another spectacular day of racing, with UAE Team L’IMAD once again among the major protagonists. On the finish line in Nice, Elisa Longo Borghini took second place, beaten only by Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ), while Dominika Włodarczyk finished seventh and Paula Blasi ninth. Another triple top 10 for UAE Team L’IMAD, who continue to prove themselves the strongest team in the race.
It was a long and demanding day, with 171.9 kilometres from Sisteron to Nice, made even more challenging by very high temperatures. The race was animated for much of the day by a breakaway featuring Maeva Squiban, already a two-stage winner at the 2025 Tour de France Femmes, and Loes Adegeest, who attacked with 144 kilometres remaining. The two riders built a maximum advantage of 6:20 over the peloton.
With 30 kilometres to go, the pace in the bunch increased significantly and the gap was gradually reduced to around one minute. Just over 13 kilometres from the finish, Squiban crashed on a downhill hairpin bend, taking a heavy impact. Despite the pain, the French rider completed the stage before being taken to hospital for further medical checks.
Adegeest was also caught on the final climb, where FDJ United-SUEZ set an incredibly demanding pace, steadily reducing the size of the group of favourites.
The decisive move came from Demi Vollering, who managed to create a gap between herself, Italian champion Elisa Longo Borghini and yellow jersey Kasia Niewiadoma. Longo Borghini fought all the way to close the gap, but eventually had to settle for second place, 17 seconds behind the winner, once again demonstrating her strength, determination and fighting spirit.
A group of chasers crossed the finish line 38 seconds behind Vollering, with Włodarczyk and Blasi finishing seventh and ninth respectively. UAE Team L’IMAD therefore secured another triple top 10 on the day, further underlining the team’s consistency and strength throughout the Tour.
The victory also allowed Vollering to take the yellow jersey. The new race leader holds an 8-second advantage over Niewiadoma, while Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team) is third at 1:12. Elisa Longo Borghini stay fourth but moves up 3:05 behind the leader, while Paula Blasi is seventh at 5:05 and Dominika Włodarczyk eighth at 5:46.
After the stage, Elisa Longo Borghini said: “I felt good today. Unfortunately, Vollering got away from me in the final 50 metres of the climb. She was incredibly strong today, she was going like a motorbike in the final kilometres, so I can only congratulate her. I tried to chase and I also asked Kasia [Niewiadoma, the yellow jersey] to help, but she had nothing left and we basically finished the race the way we had finished the climb. We were there, just 50 metres behind Demi. I moved aside, hoping Kasia could make one final acceleration to close the gap, but I immediately realised she had no more energy and that’s when I understood we wouldn’t catch her anymore. Tomorrow will be another tough day and, as I’ve said over the past few days, we will give everything we have and then see what happens.”
Tomorrow, the Tour de France Femmes reaches its final chapter with a short but extremely demanding ninth stage: 99.2 kilometres starting and finishing in the heart of Nice, with four ascents of the Col d’Èze. A tough final test that will bring this edition of the Tour to its conclusion.
(ph. Getty Sport)
