Captain Vollering will be in full control at the World Championships women's road race: 'Exactly what I thrive on'
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Follow us on Google"A year older, and therefore another year wiser," Demi Vollering said during her press conference at the Dutch team's hotel. The FDJ-Suez rider has clearly gained confidence and seems determined not to let anything throw her off her game ahead of Saturday's women's world championship road race in Montreal.
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Is Vollering the Netherlands' out and out team leader in Montreal on Saturday? No problem, it seems.
"I think it's a positive thing, in any case. And I think I've also gotten better at dealing with it over the past few years—that label of being the top favourite. But it does make things exciting, of course," she explains. “But on the other hand, I’ve shown in the past that we have a solid game plan, and that I perform really well when we stick to it.”
Vollering explains how it works. “Because I can’t hide behind other strong riders. And I also kind of like that certain pressure, so to speak—the fact that all those riders are doing it for you, too. Ultimately, that gives me that extra bit of energy on the course, right there during the race, to be able to finish it strong. Normally, that’s exactly what I thrive on.”
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Demi Vollering is pleased with the composition of the Dutch World Cup roster.
Vollering praises Ten Dam's role in forging a cohesive TeamNL
“It’s also a bit of a way of showing accountability to the girls, you know, to reward them for their hard work. That usually helps me do even a little better,” says Vollering, opting for the same approach that FDJ-Suez followed in the major races this season.
How has Vollering—five of whose teammates, for example, ride for the French team—been shaping things behind the scenes lately? “I think Laurens (national team coach Ten Dam, ed.) has done a really, really good job with that. He’s been in close contact with everyone, and he’s passed a lot of that information on to me.”
"We have a great lineup here, and the Netherlands is really in a privileged position, because even though Anna van der Breggen and Mischa Bredewold are out, I don't necessarily think we have a weaker team here. That’s certainly something very special for the Netherlands—that you can, so to speak, pick from such a large pool and still always field a strong team.”
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Demi Vollering during the press conference at the hotel in Montreal.
What about Vollering's competitive framework?
So Vollering is relying on her own strength, but due to the lack of preparatory races, she has little basis for comparing herself to her competitors. “That’s always difficult, indeed. The Tour was a while ago, so you don’t know how the others are shaping up. Only the riders who did the time trial, for example.”
In that race, Vollering herself finished in a somewhat disappointing eighth place, but she also learned from the performances of her competitors—with winner Marlen Reusser leading the way. “Judging by the time trial, for example, Longo Borghini also seems to be in very good form. But my time trial wasn’t necessarily what I expected of myself—that’s also a fact.”
How long did it take Vollering to make up for that time trial? “Pretty quickly, actually. Unlike last year. Last year, the feeling was very different, too, because it felt so awful back then. This time, I felt like things went well, but it was just an average result. Although I had put a lot more preparation into it last year, so maybe I was a little too relaxed this time around.'
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Demi Vollering had a disappointing time trial on Sunday.
Vollering sees 'a Demi-style course' in Montreal
So while Vollering doesn’t have a frame of reference compared to the others, she might not know exactly where she stands herself after the time trial. “You never know 100%. I think I’m in good shape, but ultimately you only really feel that once you’re out on the course and you see the competition.” When you really go all out for once, you get that feeling of, “Oh yeah, my legs feel great today,” or “It doesn’t feel at all like I’d hoped.”
"In principle, it’s best to just rely on your own strength all the time, of course. We definitely have a solid plan in place, so we can execute it, and hopefully I’ll feel good enough. I also think this is the kind of course where, even if you don’t have the very, very best legs, you can still go a long way. We must never let our heads hang low.”
Unfortunately, Vollering doesn't want to reveal anything about that "great plan." “Anyway, I think I’ve shown this year that I can make a difference on different types of courses—on longer climbs, but also on shorter ones. So I think this course here in Montreal could definitely be a ‘Demi’ course, so to speak.”
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Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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