Go again.

A love letter to the Tour de France Femmes and its champion.

Aug 10, 2026

Mantra: Go again.

The attack was violent.

As the peloton rounded a sharp bend and came onto the steep pitch in the road, Demi Vollering was on the front giving everything she had. For a moment, she had a gap. And then, the riders behind bridged back to her wheel. When she looked back, they were right there.

“Another dig from Vollering,” the announcers shouted on the live stream, lamenting what looked like a valiant but unsuccessful attempt to create separation. The attack was covered. The yellow jersey was on her wheel. It hadn’t worked.

And then, Demi went again.

And everything changed.

In what I imagine was one of the deepest digs of her life, she fought her way back out of the saddle and charged up and over the final 100 meters of the climb. Kasia Niewiadoma struggled to hold the wheel and then, in an instant, lost it. Demi was alone.

She pedaled flat out for the next six kilometers, taking not only the stage win but the overall lead in the Tour de France Femmes. She would start the final stage in the coveted yellow jersey, with everything still to fight for on the road to Nice. It was brilliant.

In an interview after the finish, Demi said with tears in her eyes, “I think this is the proof that if you really believe in something, if you really dream big about something, then it doesn’t matter what it needs to take.”

I had tears in my eyes too, deeply inspired as I watched from an Airbnb in Girona, where I had spent the week exploring a possible European base for next season.

As the dream of racing for the best team in the world has become a reality, so too have the sacrifices that come with pursuing it. Among them is spending the better part of the year away from home, often alone, in a foreign country.

There have been plenty of moments this past week where riding through the Spanish countryside and taking pictures of aesthetically elite coffees has made life feel very “Emily in Paris.” In those moments, I find myself in disbelief at how lucky I am to have this opportunity.

But there have also been moments when this big leap feels considerably less glamorous. Like when I made a wrong turn and thought I might be permanently stuck in my too big rental car on the tiny medieval streets of Old Town Girona (there were tears). Or when I got an unfixable flat hours from town in one hundred degree heat (new friends came to the rescue).

In moments like those, and in the many more that are sure to come, I will think back on this Tour de France Femmes and one of the most inspiring weeks of bike racing I have ever watched.

I will think about the unwavering commitment and belief of an entire team giving everything in pursuit of a dream, moment by moment, stage by stage. I will think about the plans that didn’t work. The attacks that seemed destined for failure. The moments when they reset and went again.

Most of all, I will remember the inspiring words and courageous attacks of Demi.

And how, after giving everything to take yellow on Stage 8, she woke up the very next day and went again, crossing the finish line first to seal a second overall victory in the Tour de France Femmes. Magic.

Her race was a beautiful reminder that success is not about things going perfectly. It is about the willingness to keep trying long enough to figure it out.

When the dream is big enough, it doesn’t matter what it takes.

Reset. Go again.