Demi Vollering speaks out on limited TV time: 'Especially when Pogačar is solo again'

Demi Vollering won Liège-Bastogne-Liège for the third time in her career on Sunday. The Dutch FDJ-SUEZ rider was guest of honour at the post-race press conference in the early evening as the winner of La Doyenne. As the de-facto leader of the women's peloton, she had plenty to say.

"I wanted to give everything for this win and have no regrets afterwards. So we made a plan to go on La Redoute. We actually wanted to have a teammate up the road first — but that didn't quite work out. Even so, I went. It was a long way, but I made it," a delighted Vollering said immediately after the race.

The win was the crown on a brilliant spring that includes victories in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the Tour of Flanders and La Flèche Wallonne. "We know each other so well in the team. We know how strong we are, and what each rider's strengths are in a race. We make a plan around that and execute it again and again. I'm so proud of everyone for sticking to the plan and not being afraid to give everything."

"After Liège, I'll have time to reflect. It was already a beautiful season — but this win makes it even more special. The spring Classics were a huge goal, and we did brilliantly. We can take a moment for that before we head off to altitude to prepare for the Giro."

"When I was still a club rider, we often used to ride in the Ardennes. Those were our first proper outings in the hills, and I can still remember one of my clubmates saying on the Redoute: 'Can you imagine — they ride up here at full speed?' Back then there wasn't even a women's race here yet, so it really makes you realise how far we've come in women's cycling.

"And how far we still have to go — because I don't know if you were even able to see my attack on the Redoute? Or maybe you just caught it, but everything that happened before that was also really interesting. We have to keep fighting for more TV time."

"Every year I've stood on the start line, I've thought about it. But each time we decided to wait for the Roche-aux-Faucons, because that climb suits me even better and it's easier to ride to the finish from there. This year, the team came up with the plan to go on the Redoute already, and I was straight in.

"I got my teammates on board with that plan, and that's a beautiful example of how we work together and how we lift each other to a higher level. The girls did fantastically again. We know each other so well in the team."

"I have lots of dreams beyond cycling, but I can't make them all happen. The most important one for me is that I can remind people how important it is to move and to get outside — for physical health, but especially for mental health.

"In the future, with Nike's support, I hope to be able to do more on that. For now I try to speak up and to show what we're capable of. I see a lot of young people around me who can't always find a goal for themselves and struggle with that, partly because of social media. It makes your brain lazy. But you can rebuild that mental strength through sport and being outside."

"That's a difficult question. We used to start very early but the live broadcast was longer. Now we only get short coverage on TV, because the stream only begins after the men's race. But it really doesn't have to be that hard. If the timings stay as they are now, you could either show both races at the same time or switch between them.

"To me, that should be entirely doable — especially when Pogačar is solo up the road again and you already know what's going to happen," she laughed. "Why can't they switch between the two races? The most important thing is that we keep speaking up. I hear from a lot of people that they're really disappointed with the short broadcasts. I hope that changes."