Demi Vollering struggled at the European Time Trial Championships: 'Mentally, I wasn't quite there anymore'

Reusser had already posted the fastest time two weeks ago at the World Championships in Canada and repeated that performance in Slovenia. While Vollering’s time in Montreal was somewhat disappointing, she stayed fairly close to the Swiss rider in Sencur. After 22 kilometers of cycling, the gap was only 23 seconds.

"It's hard for me to beat Reusser. We've seen that before," Vollering acknowledged afterward in an interview with DirectVelo. "But of course, I did my best. I'm very happy with second place."

Vollering admits that she found it difficult to stay focused after all the championships over the past few weeks. The fact that, unlike on Saturday, she didn’t have a team of motivated women around her didn’t help either.

"After the road race, the girls went home. To be honest, I feel like my motivation and concentration left with them. It really felt like time was crawling by agonisingly slowly until today," Vollering explains. "Mentally, I wasn't quite there anymore."

So the 2026 season is now over for Vollering, but she isn't on vacation yet. "The coming month is going to be pretty busy. We have a few days with the team. I'm also going back to California with Specialized."

In November, Vollering will finally be able to take a real break. “I have a slightly longer winter break this year. I think that will do me good. After that, I’ll have to start preparing for next season. I’m already looking forward to next year,” concludes the winner of the World Championships and the Tour de France Femmes.