Bredewold and Kopecky on SD Worx-Protime's spring season and Vollering;s grief: "Getting into the flow sometimes takes time"

For Kopecky, it was her first time competing in La Doyenne, finishing strongly in 38th place. "Considering it was my first Liège-Bastogne-Liège, I think I did pretty well," she reflected afterward. "Could I come back and win in the future? I believe it's possible, but it would require a different approach. It’s been a long season, and I would need to be fresher at the start. I struggled a bit on the Roche-aux-Faucons climb, which is always challenging for me, but I learned a lot."

All in all, Kopecky had a great spring, including victories in Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix. "Overall, I'm very pleased with this spring," the Flemish world champion from SD Worx admitted. "We've learned a few things as a team, but overall, In terms of results, I can't complain. I was able to show my rainbow jersey many times. I don't regret anything and I'm not disappointed."

It was Vollering, the team's lead rider, who missed out on her much-desired first personal victory of 2024, and she was visibly upset about it. Anger, disappointment, and guilt were the emotions she expressed after the race. "I heard everything over the communication until the last kilometer, but then no more. Demi and I haven’t really had a chance to discuss how it went, but it seemed overall just okay. This just highlights again how difficult it is to win a race," Kopecky said regarding her teammate's missed opportunity.

Then there's Bredewold. The European champion rode a strong race and at one point found herself in a sort of elite group at the front. She had to drop back from this group but was still immensely valuable to Vollering. "It was a tough day, especially because the other women were climbing incredibly hard. I dropped from the lead group but managed to work effectively in the group behind. I think we executed our race plan as we intended. Even though things didn't perfectly fall into place, we can be proud of how we raced," concluded the always cheerful lady from Amersfoort.

Bredewold also witnessed Vollering's emotions after the race, as she crossed the finish line in 67th place herself. "It was tough for Demi. This race is very special to her. She rode strongly, and it's unfortunate when you miss out on a win. I gave her a hug right after the finish. She was very sad, but I am super proud of how she rides. It doesn't seem to be a problem with her legs. It's also about getting into the right flow. Hopefully, we'll find that again as a team. Sometimes that takes a bit of time," she said, showing herself to be a supportive teammate and friend.

According to Bredewold, Vollering is handling everything well, despite her victory count still standing at zero. "Demi is really doing well. Our team's 2023 was so ridiculously successful that now we can only do worse. But if you look at the podium and places of honor this year, that's also very good. So we shouldn't be too negative about it. And the same applies to Demi. She hasn't won yet, but she's always close. And that's not easy. It's bound to come together for her eventually."

Finally, the tall, curly-haired woman concluded that her 2024 has been reasonably good so far, with its ups and downs. "This spring has been a bit marred by bad luck here and there. In some races, I had the chance to compete for myself, but that's exactly when something would happen. I'd crash, or I'd get sick. For example, in the Strade Bianche, I took a hard fall. I crashed badly on my ribs and was affected by that for a long time. I am a bit disappointed about some races. It's hard to give a concrete final score, but I feel like I haven't always been able to show my true level. In short, I'm feeling somewhat uncertain and have mixed feelings, although the predominant thought is positive. I'm heading into the next races with confidence." For Bredewold, this means participating in the Vuelta a España.