🎥 Demi Vollering crashes hard in training and lashes out at motorists: 'Gives me a lot of confidence in humanity...'

With a European Championship title and victories in the Vuelta a España, the Volta a Catalunya and Strade Bianche, Demi Vollering can look back on a successful season. Still, the defeats at the World Championships and the Tour de France Femmes will have hurt. Plenty of motivation for next year, of course - but it makes it all the more painful that her preparations have not gone entirely smoothly.

Following her split with SD Worx–Protime, Vollering joined FDJ-SUEZ. At the French team, a fresh start was required, and that initially went well, with early-season victories in Valencia and Strade Bianche. A winless Ardennes campaign was followed up strongly with overall victory in the Vuelta a España, while wins also followed in the Basque Country and Catalonia.

The main objective, the Tour de France Femmes, once again ended in disappointment. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot proved far too strong, and the next target, the Road World Championships in Rwanda, also turned into a setback. Vollering had to concede victory to surprise winner Magdeleine Vallières. After claiming the European title, she was finally able to take a well-earned break.

A season like that takes its toll on Vollering, something she has always spoken about openly. After a period of rest - camping in the mountains, returning home to Switzerland and a visit back to the Netherlands - it was time to begin preparations for the new season. Together with her French team, the European champion travelled to Altea, Spain.

Training camps like these are vital: meeting new teammates and laying the foundations for the year ahead. That makes it especially frustrating when things go wrong - and that is exactly what happened to Vollering. During a training ride through the beautiful Spanish landscape, she crashed heavily, as she shared on Instagram. Photos show injuries to her arm and face. “I tried to kiss the asphalt. I can tell you: don’t do it,” she joked alongside the images.

Such periods are of course important: you meet your new teammates, and lay the foundation for the next year. Then it is extra annoying when things go wrong there. And that happened to Vollering: during a training ride through the beautiful Spanish countryside, she went down hard, she shares on Instagram. The photos show damage to the arm and face. "I tried to kiss the asphalt. I can tell you: don't do it," she jokes with the snaps.

Later, her tone became more serious. Vollering shared footage of herself sitting by the roadside after the crash and was sharply critical of passing drivers. “Thanks to the three cars that drove past me and didn’t even ask if I was okay. It really restores my faith in humanity… #not,” she wrote.

Later, though, she is a lot more serious. For example, she shares footage of how she sat on the side of the road after her crash. There she is quite critical of motorists. 'Thanks to the 3 cars that drove past me and didn't even ask if I was okay. It gives me a lot of confidence in humanity.... #not," she wrote. "It's a reminder for me that lots of people are too busy in their own world.'

Fortunately, several cyclists did stop to help. "Just very thankful to the cyclists who who stopped to check with me! And also happy that my team was there as fast as they could." All in all, not the ideal training camp for the European champion.