Demi Vollering sees her pink dream disappear on shortened queen stage: “It’s a shame”

Demi Vollering had been fully focused on the women’s Giro d’Italia for some time, and had circled Saturday’s queen stage in red. She had to make up a lot of time on Anna van der Breggen, but those plans could be thrown in the bin after the eighth stage had to be shortened. She was unable to take any real time, and now the European champion is looking at things rather gloomily.

Vollering had already reconned the Colle delle Finestre last month, the decisive climb of the Giro d’Italia. Back then the pass was closed, but she still tried to ride up it. The snow on the summit ruined that plan, and the same thing happened again now: the organisers were forced to move the finish line a kilometre below the summit, rather than 35 kilometres further on in Sestrière.

Vollering was unable to ride away from pink jersey wearer Van der Breggen on the gravel climb, even though she did win the stage in the sprint. “It was a very strange day,” the FDJ-SUEZ leader said in the flash interview. “We only heard about it around seven kilometres from the line. At that point our plan changed immediately, and we tried to set a harder pace. But of course it did not go according to plan.”

With the descent of the Finestre and the climb to Sestrière that followed, there was plenty possible for Vollering, but that option disappeared. And that hurt. “I had it in my mind to give everything and take back a minute, but suddenly it was seven kilometres to the finish instead of 35: that naturally changes a lot. But it is what it is, that is cycling: you have to deal with nature and everything around you.”

That she still managed to win the stage was some consolation. Whether it really feels that way for the winner is open to question. “It is strange, because I still do not know what to make of it. Of course I’m happy that I won this beautiful stage. It is a stunning climb, but at the same time I’m naturally also a little disappointed.”

Vollering accelerated several times, but each time Van der Breggen was able to follow fairly easily. The pink jersey wearer then set the pace herself. Does that mean the leader gave more than Vollering did? “On a climb like this, you cannot sit in the slipstream, so if you are on the front, it does not really make much difference,” said the stage winner honestly. “So I don’t think it changed much.”

There is one more mountain stage on Sunday, but the hardest part comes early in the race. It may even be a chance for the race to explode, but Vollering is not optimistic. She strongly doubts she can still think about pink. “Tomorrow is not really a day where you can take back a minute, I think. It’s a shame, but it is what it is.”