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Vollering retains women's Vuelta title in style
/ Photo: MIGUEL RIOPA - AFP
Vollering retains women's Vuelta title in style
Dutch cyclist Demi Vollering won a second straight women's Vuelta a Espana on Saturday, soloing to victory on the final mountain stage to seal the overall title.
The 28-year-old topped the rankings after seven stages, finishing 1min 01sec ahead of Swiss Marlen Reusser and 1min 17sec ahead of another Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen.
"I'm very happy, I also won two mountain stages. I felt very strong today, always in control. Anna tried to drop us but I still had some gas left and I waited for the last steep bit to attack," said Vollering.
Vollering held on under relentless pressure before skipping away with an attack in the last kilometre of a 10km climb where Reusser and Van der Breggen also completed the stage seven podium.
In thick fog on wet roads, Vollering was barely visible as she crossed the line alone in the leader's red jersey with her arms raised to the sky atop the summit finish.
This was a first ever Grand Tour win for her French team FDJ, who signed Vollering from SD Worx this season.
Van der Breggen came out of early retirement to race for SD Worx again and Saturday she did all she could to drop Vollering, riding on the front of the climb until she herself cracked.
Z.Franke--BlnAP
