FDJ-Suez introduces Demi Vollering and Lars Boom: from "closing the laptop with a smile" to "bonjour, croissant"

Vollering has already had several busy weeks after the season. After a vacation in Turkey, she headed to the United States last week to visit Nike and Specialized, which, in her wake, will also supply the bikes to FDJ-Suez. Directly from America, she flew to France, where she was presented to FDJ-Suez stakeholders on Saturday.

The Dutch rider, who will officially be an FDJ-Suez rider as of January 1, appeared on stage with a big smile. She explained why she chose the French team. "I felt ready for a new challenge, so I started looking for a new team. After the first meeting with FDJ-Suez, I immediately was very comfortable with it."

"I saw the passion and fire in the team, which felt very unique," she continues. "After that first meeting, I closed my laptop with a smile, so that's when I knew this was the team I wanted to sign for. I immediately saw my future with the team," Vollering informed the French audience in English.

Of course, the Tour de France Femmes, the race Vollering won in 2023 and missed by an inch this year, is the big goal at FDJ-Suez. "They never made a secret that the Tour would be the big goal. However, that just gave me a good feeling. FDJ-Suez wants to win the Tour, but I want to achieve that again. That's exactly why I felt a connection with this team."

Vollering is not afraid of the pressure that will undoubtedly be there again next season. 'But of course, I also look for the fun. This is a very nice team. I saw everyone for the first time, which was very nice, but I am also looking forward to getting to know everyone better at the training camp in Spain. So far, it feels like a warm welcome; I already feel at home.'

Following in Vollering's footsteps, team manager Lars Boom is also moving with him from SD Worx-Protime to FDJ-Suez, and he also spoke at the team presentation. "When I first met Stephane Delcourt, of course we talked about the future of this team. He showed his plans, and I immediately saw a good structure with many great and motivated people. That impressed me, so that made me want to work here."

Boom explains what his role will be with the French team. "Obviously, I'm going to be at the races a lot and work on the tactics so we can tick off our big goals and the smaller races. And, of course, we want everyone to work well together," the sports director said.

Finally, Vollering and Boom - both not skilled in French - had to say a few words in FDJ-Suez's native language. "Bonjour, merci, merci beaucoup, croissant, paraplu...," laughed Vollering, who concluded with 'je t'aime la team FDJ-Suez' and then taught the room the Dutch "dankjewel" with a big smile on her face.

Boom had to giggle when asked that question. "From my time as a rider, I still know some words that are not so nice," said the man from the village of Vlijmen. "But I know words like merci and au revoir. I know some words, but I can't make a sentence yet. So I will work hard on that in the next few months."