Vollering alters Tour de France Femmes build-up following draining Giro d'Italia Women

Demi Vollering had a phenomenal spring and followed it up last week with overall victory in the Giro d'Italia Women after a thrilling final stage. Her big goal lies in July, where the Dutchwoman from FDJ-SUEZ hopes to claim the Tour de France Femmes for a second time. In her quest for that goal, she'll need to make a few adjustments.

Vollering was the woman to beat throughout spring. She won the Flèche Wallonne, the Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and plenty more besides. At the one-day classics races, she was only beaten at Strade Bianche, the Amstel Gold Race and Dwars door Vlaanderen. She began her first Giro d'Italia as the clear favourite, among plenty of tough competition.

Defending champion Elisa Longo Borghini was there, as was 2025 runner-up Marlen Reusser. But Anna van der Breggen proved the biggest challenger in Italy. The Dutchwoman from SD Worx-Protime won the mountain time trial in dominant fashion, and defended her lead well over the following days, including on the (shortened) queen stage to the Colle delle Finestre.

On the final day, however, Vollering turned the Giro on its head. She launched her attack with 100 kilometres to go, after which rival Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon//SRAM) slipped away. Van der Breggen found herself in a difficult position, and that played right into the hands of the European champion: she accelerated on the final climb, joined the leaders, and rode her way into the pink jersey for the first time.

A brilliant win, full of clever racing and tactics. But it had also been an extremely tough week. Super-domestique Eva van Agt said that Vollering and her teammates had gone "absolutely flat out" in pursuit of the overall win. That appears to still be playing a role, as the Dutch star has had to make a change to her racing schedule ahead of the Tour de France Femmes.

Speaking to IDL Pro Cycling, FDJ-SUEZ confirmed that Vollering will not start the Tour de Suisse. "We've jointly decided to introduce a recovery block, in order to prepare her as well as possible for her upcoming goals," the statement reads. "We'd like to thank the organisers for their understanding."

The Tour de Suisse was, as last year, set to be Vollering's final race before the Tour de France Femmes. That year, she finished second in both Switzerland and France. With some extra rest, the team are now hoping for a better result in France. The Tour de France Femmes begins on 1 August. Whether Vollering will race at all before the Tour remains unclear for now.

Instead of the Tour de Suisse, Vollering has opted for a quiet training block in... Switzerland. The European champion lives there, and headed out with her boyfriend and her dog. She clearly hasn't forgotten the Giro d'Italia just yet, either, as she rode around in a pink jersey and wore pink sunglasses too.

Author: David Bavin-Hobbs | LinkedIn | Email