Demi Vollering (SD Worx) secured the yellow jersey at the Tour de France Femmes with a stunning time trial performance that saw her only 10 seconds short of also claiming stage 8 victory.
Finishing in a time of 29:25, she was 10 seconds behind teammate Marlen Reusser and 28 seconds clear of third place Lotte Kopecky. Kopecky's performance was enough to move her from fourth to second in the overall classification, where she finishes the race 3:03 behind her teammate Vollering.
Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM) was painfully close to securing a second place in the overall standings, but her ninth-place finish and 45-second deficit to Kopecky saw her move into third position on the identical time of 3:03 to Vollering - separated by only 21 hundredths of a second.
Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), who finished the stage in 14th position, slipped down to fourth in the overall standings at a margin of 3:59 to the race winner Vollering.
Behind Van Vleuten, Juliette Labous (DSM-Firmenich) made a passionate attack on the podium, finishing sixth overall on the stage. It was only enough to move her up to fifth overall, though, at a margin of 4:48.
She leapfrogged Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance–Soudal–Quick-Step), who lost 2:52 to the stage winner Reusser, and in so doing slipped out of the top five to sixth place at a distance of 5:21 to the yellow jersey.
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Suez) moved up one spot from eighth to seventh overall, finishing 9:09 in the overall order. She overtook Ane Santesteban (Jayco-AlUla), who finished 62nd on the stage and saw her gap to the yellow jersey stretch out to 9:36.
Rounding off the top 10 are Ricarda Bauernfeind (Canyon//SRAM) and Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) who finish the race in 9th and 10th respectively, at gaps of 9:56 and 10:14.
In the other jersey competitions, Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM) will take consolation from her narrow gap to second place with a win in the overall polka dot climber's jersey competition.
In the white jersey competition, for young riders, Cédrine Kerbaol (CERATIZIT-WNT) took the overall honours, while Lotte Kopecky sealed the coveted green points jersey with 243 points.
With two jerseys and the top two spots on the podium, the 2023 Tour de France Femmes represents a triumphant display for SD Worx and sets the scene for an interesting GC battle in years to come.
Results powered by FirstCycling
The Tour de France Femmes classifications
Here is a rundown of all the jerseys on offer at the Tour de France Femmes.
Yellow Jersey/Maillot Jaune – The yellow jersey is worn by the overall race leader on the general classification who has completed the stages so far in the lowest accumulated time.
Green Jersey – The green jersey is the points classification. Riders accumulate points at intermediate sprints during stages and also at stage finishes, and the woman with the most points leads the ranking.
Polka Dot Jersey – The red and white polka dot jersey is the mountain classification. Points are handed out to the first riders over certain hills and climbs during the Tour de France Femmes, with the hardest mountains giving the most points. Once again, the rider with the most points leads the ranking.
White jersey – The white jersey is the best young rider classification. It works the same way as the yellow jersey, but only riders under 23 years of age are eligible to win.
