Demi Vollering celebrates Tour of Flanders win with Namaste gesture and explains what it means to her

Just as Tadej Pogacar had already demonstrated in the men’s race that the strongest rider in 2026 wins in Flanders, Vollering proved the same point a good hour and a half later on the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg in the women’s race. Wearing her European champion’s jersey, she surged away from the competition, whom she didn’t see again until after the finish in Oudenaarde.

Demi, when did you feel you were the strongest?
‘That’s a good question. I think it was on the Kruisberg, where there were still four of us and I still had some energy left. The Oude Kwaremont is usually a longer climb, and that’s what I was banking on. The fact that it actually worked out is very special to me. It’s hard to put into words exactly what it means, but believe me, it feels amazing and I’m very happy.’

How did the race go?
‘Up until the Koppenberg, the pace wasn’t that fast, but you can still feel at the end that it’s in your legs. I felt good and in control, but with that headwind, positioning wasn’t easy. You’re riding very close together, and in the wind, you lose a lot of power from your teammates.’

‘With a headwind, it’s actually both boring—because it’s not going very fast—and dangerous, because you’re riding so close together. I was really thinking: this is so boring, come on, let’s make something of this. But you still have to stay focused, because something can happen at any second.’

How great is it to ride for this team, after the work your teammates put in?
‘The plan revolved around me, and that’s different from a few years ago, though I have to say I really enjoyed that back then too and did it with all my heart. Back then (at SD Worx, ed.), it was maybe easier to sacrifice myself, whereas now the pressure was on my shoulders. Although that also made me even more motivated.’

‘As a person, I also really enjoy sharing these moments with my teammates, because they sacrificed themselves for me so I could achieve this result. And I really need that to be able to win at all. Over the past few days, I could already see how nervous and tense they were—in a positive way. Because it makes them better.’

‘Elise Chabbey told me after Strade Bianche that she used to be happy with second or third place, but that she was now really going for the win because she felt that drive after I joined the team. That’s how you can help each other grow, which gives us all an incredibly special feeling.’

Your way of celebrating was also special. Can you tell something about that?
“I did the Namaste gesture because it’s the International Day of Calm. I really wanted to participate in that because I truly enjoy meditating and I feel like it really helps me grow. We train our bodies so hard, but you’d almost forget that it almost always happens here (points to her head).”

‘Staying calm in a race like this is also something you have to train for. Since the beginning of this year, I’ve started meditating more again, after doing it a bit less after 2023. Now I know it’s something I need to keep doing and need to keep paying attention to. I do it almost every day, with one golden rule: never skip two days in a row.’

Do you talk about that with your competitors in the peloton?
'When I talked about it after last year's Vuelta, quite a few girls came up to me to say they appreciated that I’d mentioned how there are always people who are struggling. It’s good to keep the conversation going.’

Final question: will we see you in Roubaix next Sunday?
‘When we were making our schedule, Lars Boom already asked: do you want to do Roubaix? One day I’d love to compete, but whether we should go this year wasn’t something I was sure about.’

Lars said: if you win Flanders, you have to do Roubaix too. But... I don’t think I’m going to do it. We’re sticking to the plan, and it’ll have to wait for another year.'