Strade Bianche Donne: Demi Vollering drops Anna van der Breggen to win first battle of new rivalry in Tuscany

Just a few months ago, Anna van der Breggen was advising Demi Vollering from the SD Worx-Protime team car. Flash forward to 2025 and the Dutch superstars are rivals on the road after Van der Breggen ended a three-year stint as sports director and Vollering moved to FDJ–Suez. It was Vollering who won their first showdown of the new era after cracking Van der Breggen at Strade Bianche.

Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) took the upper hand in a newly-established rivalry between herself and former team-mate Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) to win Strade Bianche after a tense head-to-head finale that exploded on the Via Santa Catarina.

It was an attritional day on the white roads of Tuscany as the women's peloton sought to avoid a repeat of last week's shock breakaway victory at Omloop Nieuwsblad, and despite some early attempts to escape from the bunch, nothing stuck as it seemed the top teams had learnt from the mistakes of Opening Weekend.

With no early break, it came down to the favourites to shape the race. With each successive gravel sector, the peloton was winnowed down, as the undulating Tuscan landscape and the rough road surfaces took their toll. There were a number of crashes, including a nasty spill for Tour de France Femmes winner and former world gravel champion Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), whose race ended after she slid out on a corner and collided with a barrier.

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Pre-race favourite Vollering’s race did not go without incident – she was forced to the roadside with a puncture with just over 60km remaining in the race, but she had ample time to rejoin the group.

Niewiadoma was not the only favourite unable to compete in the day’s final, with 2017 winner Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) clearly not at her best, and dropping away from the lead group in the latter stages of the race.

As the bunch headed onto the first of two finishing circuits, SD Worx-ProTime’s Femke Gerritse moved clear and established a gap, and it was the first of a number of attacking moves that were launched over the following few kilometres, with Mavi Garcia (Liv AlUla Jayco) the next to fire off of the bunch. It was the move of Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Visma-Lease A Bike) with 40km remaining though which cemented the lead group’s advantage.

'Like the old days' – Triumphant Vollering on renewing Van der Breggen rivalry

Video credit: TNT Sports

The second of two former road world champions returning to the peloton for 2025, along with Van der Breggen, Ferrand-Prévot had looked lively throughout the race, and her acceleration drew out a group of seven riders which began to accumulate a significant gap over what remained of the bunch.

It looked for a moment as though the Frenchwoman’s breakaway effort might be short-lived as she slid out on a corner and crashed, but she was quickly back up and on her bike, seemingly unruffled by the impact. Ferrand-Prévot and her group built a lead of a minute-and-a-half over the peloton, and with a lull in proceedings ahead of the final gravel sectors, there was a moment at which it looked as though the race might go the same way as Omloop.

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FDJ-Suez had other plans however. With Evita Muzic in the lead group, they began to up the pace in the chasing peloton courtesy of French champion Juliette Labous, and over the following 8km, the gap was completely eviscerated by the pace of the French racer, reducing the chase group to just six riders with 16km remaining. With the two groups joining forces, it was advantage FDJ-Suez, who now had three riders in the lead group of 12.

Not to be outdone on the final gravel sector of the day, Le Tolfe, van der Breggen made her move, opening up a small gap, and though Vollering quickly tried to launch a counter-move, a slipped chain halted her progress temporarily. Labous came to the aid of her teammate, taking up the chase once again, and Vollering quickly regained her composure and launched a second move, catching and passing her former DS, who was able to latch onto her wheel heading into the final 10km.

Vollering wins 'battle royale' with Van der Breggen to clinch second Strade Bianche crown

Video credit: TNT Sports

From there, there was nothing to separate the two, and with a gap opening up behind them, it was clear the race would come down to a head-to-head battle up the iconic Via Santa Catarina climb.

Though Van der Breggen launched first, Vollering was equal to her acceleration, and she counter-attacked with 500 metres remaining, pulling away from the senior Dutchwoman to ride solo onto the Piazza del Campo. She had time to celebrate before the line as she headed for her second victory at the event.

Labous and Ferrand-Prevot sprinted for the final podium place, with Ferrand-Prevot able to secure third, a fitting reward for an animated season debut for the French rider.

Vollering was jubilant at the finish, and today’s thrilling race promises much more to come from an evenly matched women’s peloton in 2025, including a continuation of a brand-new rivalry between SD Worx ProTime and FDJ-Suez that looks set to define the shape of the season as a whole.

Katy Madgwick

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