Lars Boom reveals Mont Ventoux scenarios for Demi Vollering in Tour de France Femmes

Demi Vollering is ready for Mont Ventoux. That was the message from both sports director Lars Boom and the team leader herself after stage 6 of the Tour de France Femmes. The Dutch FDJ United-SUEZ leader came through a tricky transition stage relatively comfortably and now has her sights firmly set on Mont Ventoux. What the plan will be there on Friday depends on several factors.

First, though, there was stage 6. Although Vollering is very much FDJ’s main leader at this Tour, there was still room on Thursday for one of her teammates to join the breakaway. Celia Gery did not have to save anything for the days ahead and was given the freedom to attack from start to finish. She eventually made an eight-rider leading group that contested the stage victory, with Gery finishing fifth.

“It didn’t unfold the way a lot of people might perhaps have expected,” Vollering smiled when discussing the way the stage had developed, with an FDJ rider up the road. “We really wanted to win here with Celia in her home race, and we were in a position to do that. We had a good day,” she said afterward.

“We were hoping for a slightly easier day for Demi, and I think we managed that,” Boom also explained in an interview with NOS. “We wanted to win the stage with Celia, who comes from this area. She knows these roads well, and for a 19-year-old French champion and top talent to come so close... She did a very good job.”

Gery herself was grateful for the opportunity the team had given her, despite the fact that Vollering has a Tour de France Femmes to try to win on Mont Ventoux on Friday. “I gave everything and I can’t have any regrets. I didn’t make any mistakes, I simply didn’t have enough freshness left for the sprint. I attacked a lot early in the race, but many teams were controlling,” the French rider said.

“Tomorrow [Friday], we’ll be ready to support Demi,” Gery stressed. “I’m really happy that I was given this opportunity today. I don’t think that would be possible in every team. Now, together with my teammates, I’m going to do everything I can to support Demi as well as possible and try to take the yellow jersey.”

That will be music to Vollering’s ears. The Dutchwoman was able to recharge her batteries during stage 6, although she did launch one short attack in the finale. “I just wanted to try something and have a look, and we also couldn’t let the gap get too big,” she said with something of a shrug. Asked whether she was ready for the following day, the answer was emphatic: “Yes!”

Boom also believes his team is ready, although he sees several factors they will need to take into account. “Kasia [Niewiadoma] is riding incredibly well. I’m really impressed by her. She’s riding even better than in previous years. We still need to take 12 seconds back from Marlen [Reusser], and she looks good as well. Although you could see today that when she was put under pressure, she did make a few mistakes on the descents.”

The Swiss yellow-jersey wearer had hoped that positioning herself towards the front would allow her to negotiate the descents more calmly, but after a few slips, that approach could end up having the opposite effect. “You can see that she is right on the limit downhill, and that is useful for us to know. Demi rode the descents well. That’s something we’ll also take into account tomorrow,” Boom predicted.

Tactics on Mont Ventoux will also depend heavily on the weather conditions. “You have to look carefully at the wind. In the section without trees, it can be a headwind, a tailwind or come diagonally from the side. If you’ve got it head-on, you’d rather already be on your own. And it is always hot in the forest, so we’ll do a lot of cooling and have soigneurs positioned along the climb to help keep Demi cool.”

And what did performance manager Lieselot Decroix tell Sporza about the Ventoux stage? “Mont Ventoux is the mountain pass Demi first climbed as a teenager. It was the first mountain she ever rode up. That makes this stage extra special and emotional for her. I’m not going to hide our ambitions: we want to win the stage today and take the yellow jersey.”