Vollering wins Stage 8 to take overall lead at Women's Tour de France from Niewiadoma-Phinney

NICE, France (AP) — Demi Vollering launched a blistering attack to win the eighth stage of the Women’s Tour de France and take the yellow jersey heading into Sunday's final stage.

The Dutchwoman upped the pace on Saturday's fourth and final small climb and Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney cracked with about six kilometers (four miles) to go, sitting back down in her saddle as 2023 Tour winner Vollering surged ahead.

As Vollering zoomed along the famed Promenade des Anglais by the seaside in Nice, Niewiadoma-Phinney and former Giro d’Italia winner Elisa Longo Borghini could not close the gap.

“It’s funny but only this morning I saw myself taking the yellow Jersey,” Vollering said. “I thought it might come true, that maybe that’s the way things should be. During the day, I tried to remind myself I could do it.”

So it proved.

Vollering raised her arms triumphantly at the line, then sat on the ground and panted heavily as she tried to get her breath back.

“I was in so much pain, I can hardly describe it, but I made it happen,” Vollering said. "This goes to prove that if you really believe in something, if you dream big, it doesn’t matter how much risk you take or how much pain you have to go through.”

Longo Borghini was second and Niewiadoma-Phinney was third, both 17 seconds behind. The day belonged to Vollering, who won the Giro d’Italia this year to complete the hat trick of Grands Tour wins.

She is eight seconds ahead of Niewiadoma-Phinney, the 2024 champion, in the overall standings. The Polish rider took the yellow jersey with a brilliant solo win up Mont Ventoux on Friday, and rode a yellow bike to go with it on Stage 8.

The 172-kilometer (107-mile) route from Sisteron to Nice on the southeast coast was mostly flat for sprinters but featured four minor climbs which made it a little more tricky.

With the main title contenders initially saving energy for Sunday's tough-looking decisive stage in the hills around Nice, the yellow jersey group let Frenchwoman Maeva Squiban and Dutchwoman Loes Adegeest form a long breakaway.

Squiban slid off her bike heading into a turn on a downhill section and landed heavily on her left side. She had cuts and grazes and screamed in agony as a medic on a motorbike tried bandaging her arm while she was riding.

She carried on riding despite the pain while, up ahead, Adegeest was caught inside the last nine kilometers.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt pulled out of the race shortly before the stage after feeling unwell.

The French rider's Visma-Lease a Bike team said on X that the decision to pull her out of the race was made after consultation with the team's medical staff.

The 2024 Paris Olympic champion in mountain biking, she won the Women's Tour de France on her debut last year. But she struggled this year and was in 14th place overall before withdrawing.

Stage 9 features four sharp climbs of Col d’Èze, which is nestled in the hills overlooking the tiny Principality of Monaco.

Two years ago, Niewiadoma-Phinney beat Vollering on a final day mountain stage to win the race by just four seconds.

Vollering will have to ensure it's not a case of déjà vu.

“Tomorrow’s course is going to be super hard," she said. "We know it from the beginning of the Tour."

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Netherlands' Demi Vollering celebrates as she crosses the finish line after winning the eighth stage of the Women's Tour de France cycling race (Tour de France Femmes) between Sisteron and Nice in Nice, France, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

The overall leader Netherlands' Demi Vollering celebrates on the podium with the yellow jersey after the eighth stage of the Women's Tour de France cycling race (Tour de France Femmes) between Sisteron and Nice in Nice, France, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

Netherlands' Demi Vollering reacts after winning the eighth stage of the Women's Tour de France cycling race (Tour de France Femmes) between Sisteron and Nice in Nice, France, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

Netherlands' Demi Vollering reacts as she crosses the finish line after winning the eighth stage of the Women's Tour de France cycling race (Tour de France Femmes) between Sisteron and Nice in Nice, France, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

Netherlands' Demi Vollering reacts as she crosses the finish line after winning the eighth stage of the Women's Tour de France cycling race (Tour de France Femmes) between Sisteron and Nice in Nice, France, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

FILE - France's Pauline Ferrand-Prevot pedals during the women's Elite road race, at the road cycling World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, on Sept. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

KANO, Nigeria (AP) — For groom Haruna Bashir, this weekend's mass wedding event in Nigeria was more than a celebration — it was a hope-filled turning point after the months of pain and grief following the loss of his first wife and six children in a brutal attack earlier this year.

Bashir was among 1,500 couples being married on Friday and Saturday in a state-sponsored mass wedding organized by Abba Kabir Yusuf, the governor of the Kano state, in northern Nigeria.

For Bashir, the ceremony marks an opportunity to begin rebuilding his life after the tragic loss of his immediate family.

“Since the tragic incident, he hardly interacted with people. Today, he is gradually returning to normal life,” said Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, commander-general of the Kano State Hisbah Board, which coordinated the ceremony.

The mass wedding, the second organized under Yusuf’s administration, brought together widows and young women as part of a government effort to ease the financial burden of marriage on vulnerable families.

Daurawa said all the couples had undergone screening and counseling before the ceremony and that all religious and legal requirements had been fulfilled.

Similar marriage ceremonies were held simultaneously across Kano’s 44 local government areas, according to the state government.

Each bride was to receive 200,000 naira ($145) as a dowry and to provide startup capital for a small business. The couples also received household items, including beds, mattresses, blankets, bed sheets and rugs.

Yusuf described the initiative as a “bold social intervention aimed at restoring hope and supporting dignified family life in Kano.”

“The program was designed not only to assist women who might otherwise struggle to afford marriage, but also to strengthen families and promote social stability in the state,” Yusuf said.

He said the mass wedding was part of his administration’s broader social welfare efforts to strengthen family institutions and promote a more peaceful and cohesive society.

Kano Chief Imam Prof. Sani Zahraddeen offered prayers for the newly married couples, asking for divine guidance, blessings and lasting harmony in their homes.

Some beneficiaries expressed gratitude to the state government, describing the program as an opportunity to begin a new chapter of their lives with dignity and hope.

Malama Ainau Mudi, a 38-year-old widow, said: “Today’s date will never be forgotten in my life. My husband died four years ago, and today I wed my new husband whose love and caring will ease my years of being a widow.''

Kano, Nigeria’s most populous state and a major center of Islamic culture, has organized mass weddings for years as part of efforts to support widows, divorcees and young women facing economic hardship.

The practice gained prominence under successive state administrations, with governments providing couples with wedding necessities and financial assistance.

The initiative comes amid broader economic pressures facing families in northern Nigeria, where the rising cost of living has made marriage increasingly difficult for young people and vulnerable households.

Dr. Musa Abdullahi, a university lecturer and social welfare expert, described the initiative as a measure that could help address some social challenges in society.

He said programs that reduce the economic barriers to marriage could contribute to family stability, particularly among vulnerable groups, but cautioned that such initiatives should be accompanied by broader economic and social support programs.

Kano's government has portrayed its mass-wedding program as part of its broader social intervention policies aimed at reducing economic hardship and supporting vulnerable residents.

Yusuf, who assumed office in 2023, has made social welfare programs a prominent part of his administration’s agenda.

For Bashir, the support came at a moment when rebuilding a life after profound loss may have seemed impossible.

Like many of the other hundreds of couples, the ceremony has given him a chance to start again.

Nigerian brides and grooms arrive for a mass wedding ceremony in Kano, Nigeria, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Sani Maikatanga)

Nigerian brides attend a mass wedding ceremony in Kano, Nigeria, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Sani Maikatanga)

Nigerian grooms attend a mass wedding ceremony in Kano, Nigeria, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Sani Maikatanga)

Nigerian brides attend a mass wedding ceremony in Kano, Nigeria, Saturday, Aug 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Sani Maikatanga)