IN BRIEF
At 29, Dutch rider Demi Vollering was crowned road world champion for the first time in her career on Saturday 26 September in Montréal, according to franceinfo. She beat Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney in the sprint, with Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini completing the podium, the same one as at the 2026 Tour de France. The race was marked by a big crash around 95 km from the finish, which ended the race of Paula Blasi and of defending champion Magdeleine Vallières. According to Velo, the UCI then fined the new world champion 1,000 Swiss francs for a non-compliant position on the bike.
The elite women’s road race at the Montréal Worlds, 180.1 km between Brossard and Montréal, kept everyone guessing until the final metres. Demi Vollering at last won the rainbow jersey, at her eighth attempt according to Velo. According to Velo, she becomes only the second woman to complete the Tour, Giro and Worlds treble, four years after her compatriot Annemiek van Vleuten in 2022.
Demi Vollering attacks from afar, then wins the sprint
As the race approached the final fifty kilometres, the French team opened hostilities, reports franceinfo, with attacks from Cédrine Kerbaol and then Maëva Squiban. Vollering responded with a big attack 38.5 km from the finish, on the third-to-last ascent of the voie Camillien-Houde, according to Velo. Her lead was still only 22 seconds with two laps to go, again according to Velo. Elisa Longo Borghini and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney caught her 15.2 km from the line, according to Velo.
According to Velo, Niewiadoma-Phinney attacked hard 4 km from the finish, without dropping the Dutch rider. With Longo Borghini and Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser lying in wait, the Polish rider launched the sprint in the final few hundred metres, but Vollering countered to raise her arms, Radio-Canada reports. Niewiadoma-Phinney crossed the line clutching her thigh, apparently suffering from cramp, according to Velo.
“I think I still cannot believe it,” Vollering said, quoted by Velo. “I truly believed I had this dream in my heart for a reason. I worked so hard towards this goal.”
A crash that takes out favourites
Around fifteen riders went down in the middle of the peloton, around 95 km from the finish, on the Montréal circuit, according to Velo. Spain’s Paula Blasi, one of the revelations of the season, had to leave the race; Canada’s Magdeleine Vallières, the defending champion, set off again before abandoning. American Kate Courtney also crashed, before continuing on a spare bike, according to Velo. Sweden’s Caroline Andersson lay motionless after the crash and was fitted with a neck brace on the spot, according to Velo. According to a Swedish team staff member quoted by Velo, she has an open fracture of the collarbone, which will require surgery.
A UCI fine after the race
According to Velo, the UCI commissaires fined Demi Vollering 1,000 Swiss francs for using a non-compliant position or point of support on the bike. She also received a yellow card and lost 25 UCI points, while her victory earned her 900. Austria’s Katharina Sadnik received the same sanctions for the same offence.
