Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx - Protime) took the victory on the third stage of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift with a sublime ITT performance in Rotterdam, to seize control of the Yellow Jersey. Vollering’s best time of 7’25”14 gave her the win by 5”21 from World time trial champion Chloe Dygert (Canyon//SRAM Racing), whilst Loes Adegeest (FDJ-Suez) was third by 5”38 from her compatriot Vollering. The superb time trial exhibition by Vollering around Rotterdam’s city streets puts her back in the Yellow Jersey again as she now leads by 3” from her colleague Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx – Protime) with Dygert third overall, trailing Vollering by 5”.
Adegeest sets down a marker
147 riders took part in the ITT, after a crash this morning during the 2nd stage meant the Frenchwoman Dilyxine Miermont (St-Michel-Mavic-Auber93) could not take part. That was the 6th abandon since the start of the Tour. Just under an hour into the time trial Dutchwoman Loes Adegeest (FDJ-Suez) became the first rider to complete the course at an average speed of over 50 km /h, going provisionally top with a time of 7’30”, which put her 14” ahead of previous leader Elena Pirrone (Roland).
World time trial champion
As the 101st rider to start, World time trial champion Chloe Dygert (Canyon//SRAM Racing) moved into the provisional lead by just 0.17s, taking over from Adegeest in the lead. The winner of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx - Protime) then took over at the top as she completed the course 5" faster than Dygert, with the ‘Oranje’ fans cheering her on.
The big stars do battle
The final riders to start were of course those who had performed best in the opening two stages, with the excited Dutch crowds eager to see who could potentially outpace Vollering. In the Yellow Jersey in front of the vociferous spectators who lined the course in Rotterdam, Charlotte Kool (Team dsm-firmenich-PostNL) was the last rider to start. However, Kool would ultimately finish 25” down on Vollering in 33rd place, ceding the Yellow Jersey to her fellow Dutchwoman.
