June 8 (Reuters) - Demi Vollering said she put everything on the line to clinch her first Giro d'Italia crown on Sunday after the FDJ–Suez rider became the second woman after Annemiek van Vleuten to win all three Grand Tours.
Four-time Giro champion Anna van der Breggen led Vollering heading into the final stage with Antonia Niedermaier in third place.
In Sunday's finale, Vollering allowed Niedermaier to break away, risking being overtaken in the overall standings, to tempt Van der Breggen into chasing the German rider.
Vollering then attacked with 39 km remaining and dropped Van der Breggen on a climb before reeling in the breakaway group and finishing three seconds behind stage winner Elisa Longo Borghini.
"Today was all about daring to lose," the Dutchwoman said.
"I had to dare to lose it all, so I was able to let Antonia go away, and I said to Anna, 'I'm fine with third because second or third doesn't matter to me. It's now up to you to do the work'.
"I had to try to drop her somewhere, and I really went all in on that last climb. I knew that was like the time trial of my life, I had to do there. Then it was still so long to finish, but I did it. We did it, and I can still not believe it."
The victory was Vollering's fourth in the Grand Tours following her Tour de France Femmes title in 2023 and back-to-back La Vuelta Femenina wins in 2024 and 2025.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
