Vollering completes Liège hat-trick with La Redoute demonstration

Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) won Liège-Bastogne-Liège for the third time in her career after going solo on the Côte de La Redoute.

The European champion demonstrated her climbing strength on the crucial climb with 34km remaining, launching an acceleration that nobody was able to follow. 

Behind, Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech), Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto), Niamh Fisher-Black and Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) formed a chasing group, but were unable to close the gap to Vollering, who hammered her advantage back to Liège. 

The Lidl-Trek duo were distanced, and Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) joined Pieterse and Niewiadoma in the finale.

In the end, Vollering had more than enough time to plan her celebration, finishing 1:29 ahead of the chasing trio. It was Pieterse who won the sprint for second, while Niewiadoma took third. A change in the style of victory for Vollering, who won in 2021 and 2023, both in a sprint finish.

Victory rounds out a resoundingly successful Classics campaign for Vollering, adding to victories in Omloop Nieuwsblad, the Tour of Flanders and Flèche Wallonne.

“I really wanted to go all-out for this victory and not have any regrets afterwards. We made a plan to go from the Redoute," said Vollering in her post-race interview. 

"We wanted to have a teammate in front before, but that didn’t really work out. Still, I went, and it was a long, long way from there, but I managed to finish it off."