Vollering battles to maiden Tour de France Femmes title with a dominant final time trial

Marlen Reusser clocked 29 minutes 15 seconds to win the time trial, with Vollering finishing second fastest in stage eight to claim a comfortable victory, though the earlier stages of the race were far from smooth sailing for the Dutch rider.

In stage five of the race, Vollering got a 20-second penalty for riding in the slipstream of her SD Worx team director Danny Stam's car, with Stam later being banned for "dangerous" overtaking and making "inappropriate comments".

Despite the setback, Vollering roared into the lead in the penultimate stage, claiming a commanding victory to enter the finale with a sizeable 1:50 advantage.

Vollering, who finished in second place behind compatriot Annemiek van Vleuten last year, defended her lead with ease to claim a first Grand Tour win.

Vollering's teammate Lotte Kopecky of Belgium finished second in the overall standings, while Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon–SRAM) took third to match her finish in last year's edition.

Movistar's Van Vleuten, who is set to retire at the end of the season, was in third place after stages six and seven but finished 14th in the time trial to end up fourth overall.

"Of course, I'm disappointed that I was not good the last two days," said Van Vleuten, who was looking to add a Tour de France Femmes title to her La Vuelta Femenina and Giro Donne crowns this year.

"I was in the battle and I gave it my all. I didn't make any mistake that I can think was not smart or that I did something wrong so I do not know what happened. I was obviously not myself so that's a bit sad in your last Tour de France."