Marlen Reusser wins Tour de France Femmes time trial; Vollering second

What Happened

In the fourth stage of the Tour de France Femmes, a time trial held in Dijon, World Champion Marlen Reusser claimed victory. Dutch cyclist Demi Vollering finished in third place, fourteen seconds behind Reusser.

Key Facts

• Marlen Reusser won the time trial stage in Dijon.
• Demi Vollering finished third in the time trial, 14 seconds behind Reusser.
• Vollering was more than two minutes faster than last year's winner, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.
• Anna van der Breggen, another competitor, was over 50 seconds slower than Vollering.
• The time trial was 21 kilometers long.
• The Tour de France Femmes consisted of nine stages, with the final finish in Nice.
• Demi Vollering won the overall Tour de France Femmes, finishing 1 minute and 18 seconds ahead of Kasia Niewiadoma.
• Lorena Wiebes won the green points jersey, and Puck Pieterse won the mountains classification (polka dot jersey).
• The race began in Switzerland and concluded in Nice.

Background

Vollering expressed satisfaction with her performance, having mentally prepared to lose time to strong time trial riders like Reusser and Anna van der Breggen. She was pleased to limit her losses to Reusser, anticipating greater challenges in mountain stages for Reusser. For Pauline Ferrand-Prévot's team, the time trial presented a starting point to assess their position, with team management stating they had prepared thoroughly and could live with the outcome.

What Happens Next

Despite the time lost, Ferrand-Prévot's team sees opportunities ahead, referencing her strong performance in the 2025 Tour Femmes where she gained significant time on Vollering in later mountain stages, including a comparable climb to the Mont Ventoux featured later in the current race.