Delayed flight a blessing for Vollering, Who faces two more Olympic days after Switzerland-National Championships

This year, the Swiss mountain village of Villars-sur-Ollon had the honor of hosting the first two stages of the Women's Tour of Switzerland. On Saturday, there was a line-start stage that the Dutch team leader of SD Worx-Protime immediately dominated. The following day saw a climbing time trial on partly the same course, again won by Vollering.

After her victory, award ceremony, and press conference, she spoke about her busy schedule for the following week. Last year too, she made the journey from Switzerland to the Netherlands for the national time trials. "Back then, we drove the camper because it was quite a distance to the airports in both Switzerland and the Netherlands. It really didn't go very smoothly."

"Now we finish quite close to Geneva Airport. I'll be flying that evening with Mischa Bredewold to Schiphol, and from there it's not too far to the time trial location. My parents live about halfway, so I can spend the night there. But, I must say: I'm not entirely sure yet if I'm going to do it," Vollering admits honestly.

Ultimately, she was there. Cycling a lot and well, that's just her nature. "That's kind of my style. Ever since I turned pro, I've been very consistent in my results. I've been lucky with that because it means I'm not very erratic and I don't really have huge off days. Somehow, I always manage to perform well in the races," she noted with satisfaction.

The four-day WorldTour race in her home away from home—Vollering lives in Switzerland—has just ended, and Vollering knows she doesn’t have much time before her flight to her homeland takes off. As a result, she had already urged the Tour of Switzerland organizers to forgo a press conference, which they complied with.

However, Vollering—visibly rushed—still had to complete a few interviews in the mixed zone. "I just hope I make my flight soon!" she laughed, seizing the opportunity at the next question—"what's your next goal?"—to make her exit. "The national time trials tomorrow, so I need to go."

We caught up with Vollering on Wednesday after the podium ceremony of the national time trials, where she had just placed third. The logistical puzzle had been laid out. "We finished after five o'clock and the flight was at seven, plus it was an hour's drive. It was madness, of course, to catch my flight right after the Tour of Switzerland," Vollering could laugh about it. "I was very lucky my flight was delayed, or else I wouldn’t have been here. I made it, though it was a short night’s sleep, but ultimately I'm happy."

Her competitors also tried to play into the urgency of the leader of the Tour of Switzerland. "It was quite funny: a few girls in the peloton knew because I had jokingly said the day before that we needed to keep moving on Sunday because I had to catch my flight. For example, during the last day, Elise Chabbey would say when things quieted down, 'Demi, you're going to miss the flight,' haha. So there was a bit of joking about it, but luckily, I somehow made it."

"I could walk straight onto the plane and luckily it wasn’t busy at security, or else I wouldn’t have made it," she reflected on her journey. "Otherwise, I wouldn’t have ridden the nationals because it would have turned into such a weird travel plan. I would have had to drive with the mechanics and maybe sleep a few hours along the way, so it would have been a crazy situation. But ultimately, I was home by half-past ten, so it was still an okay night."

The national time trials were not a specific goal, Vollering explained. "A time trial is always good to take part in because you can’t really train for it in the same way. Now we have two days at Papendal on the Olympic team on Thursday and Friday, so that’s going to be quite challenging after the Tour of Switzerland. Saturday is my only day of rest this week; that's all there is."

"I rode for the first time with national coach Loes Gunnewijk behind me in the car, so it was also nice to practice that for once," she continued her rationale for competing in the national championship against the clock. "She will be there during the Olympics, so I saw it more as training and good preparation for the Olympics."

And a third place isn't too bad, she rightly concluded. "Making it to the podium is quite nice. It means you haven’t gone through all that effort for nothing, so to speak. I was hoping for it, just like last year. But I had no idea, because the Tour of Switzerland was really quite a bit tougher this year."

Next Sunday, there's also the national road championship, where Vollering will defend her title. "I'm really looking forward to the road race, although I must admit I haven't been very focused on it yet. With the team, we will definitely aim to defend that jersey, and I've been proud to wear it for the past year."

So, what's the plan of action for Sunday in Arnhem? "We have a large and strong team, including Lorena Wiebes and also Mischa Bredewold from the local region. And then there's Femke Markus, Femke Gerritse, Chantal Van den Broek-Blaak, and Lonneke Uneken: all cards we can play. We're in a good position." And after that race? Hopefully, a bit of rest. The Olympics and Tour are just around the corner before she knows it.