DEMI VOLLERING tried her best up the iconic Lagos de Covadonga climb to the mist-shrouded finish of the seventh and final stage of the Vuelta Femenina, the women’s tour of Spain, today, but was unable to claw back enough time to beat Annemiek van Vleuten in the overall race.

Van Vleuten managed to establish a lead in Saturday’s penultimate stage in controversial style, capitalising on a nature break taken by some riders, including then race leader Vollering. 

It’s a move that is generally frowned on among the peloton unless it is executed as part of a prepared plan: but Van Vleuten argued that it was precisely that, an attack at a point in the race where her team could take advantage of crosswinds.