Vollering ended his victory at Itzulia 2024 by winning the final stage

The Dutch Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime)dominator of the international peloton and great favorite for the final victory, He gave up his expected victory this Sunday and took the final victory, besides in the last stage on departure and arrival in San Sebastián, of Itzulia Women 2024.

The winner of the 2023 Tour de France and recently of the 2024 Vuelta a España thus confirmed his absolute dominance In a test, it seems to be adapted to him and, moreover, it motivates him especially. He completed the 114.9 km route of the final stage in 3 hours, 3 minutes and 34 seconds, at a speed of 37.6 km per hour.

Vollering already won the first edition of Itzulia in 2022, and also its three stages; In 2023 he surrendered the final victory to his Swiss teammate Marlen Reusser in the last km of the final stage when he controlled the race after winning the first two days; and in 2024 he allowed another teammate, his compatriot Mischa Bredewold, to win the first two stages before launching the final blow in the third.

This victory for Vollering also confirms the total dominance of SD Worx in Itzulia, where the Dutch team won, yellow jerseys and overall winners in the three editions and the nine stages held in the Basque race.

Vollering’s unstoppable attack

Today’s victory, in a replica of the Classic San Sebastián-San Sebastián, was given to the ascent of Mendizorrotz, the Murgil wall (4.1 km at 7.3 percent gradient and sections close to 20 in a very difficult second km), which the summit is located 38.5 km from the finish line.

There he ended the breakaway of 15 cyclists that marked the second third of the stage and launched an attack that was impossible for his rivals. Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fénix-Deceuninck), also from the Netherlands, tried to follow her, but gave up and settled into a chasing group of nine runners that formed behind her.

Among them were some of the most active of the day, such as the Australian Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek), who entered the first break, and the French Juliette Labous (DSM-Firmenich).

Vollering managed a one-and-a-half-minute lead, although he eventually crossed the finish line in Donostia with a 44-second gap within a peloton of around 20 units after the first two chasing groups merged.

In that sprint, Thalita de Jong (Lotto Dstny) achieved second place on the stage and third place for hitherto leader Bredewold on the all-Dutch podium of the day.

In the general classification, the 27-year-old Pijnacker won with 34 seconds over his teammate and countryman Bredewold and 52 over Frenchwoman Labous.

Along with Mavi García (Liv-Alula-Jayco), second on Saturday in Basauri, now far from the best, the most outstanding Spanish runners are the Guipuzcoan Ane Santisteban (Laboral Kutxa), twelfth on the stage and thirteenth overall, 1.07 from Vollering.

Getaway at 15

The stage, which sometimes rained heavily, was marked by a breakaway of 15 runners who left at km 37, with the Czech Nikola Nosova (Cofidis) as the best classified, twenty one, 29 seconds behind of Bredewold. The yellow jersey, however, has a companion on the run, another popular member of SD Worx, also the Dutch Blanka Vas.

The Guipuzcoan Usoa Ostolaza (Laboral Kutxa) tried to join that leading group, accompanied by Carmela Cipriani (Bepnik), but he did not succeed.

The breakaway was quite successful, it stayed alive for many kilometers and managed to break two minutes ahead of the peloton. Movistar’s Briton Claire Steels even attempted a solo adventure, attacking 42 km from the finish line.

But the Murgil wall came, its ramps close to 20 percent, and the race was rescheduled with Vollering’s expected attack leaving him alone at the front in search of his second Itzulia and the his sixth stage victory, out of nine contested, in the Basque race.