Did Demi Vollering make tactical mistake at the World Championships? "It's always easy to say that afterwards"

Demi Vollering showed herself to be possibly the strongest woman in the race at the World Championships in Zürich on Sunday, but she couldn’t turn that into a victory for the KNWU (Royal Dutch Cycling Union). The Swiss-based rider raced very eagerly, maybe even too eagerly. "I have to launch my own attacks somewhere, which I may have done too late this time," she said after the race.

It has to be said: the fact that Vollering still wanted and was able to speak to the press in the mixed zone in Zürich was impressive. Shivering from the cold and sobbing from disappointment, she still stopped. "But I do want to shower quickly," she understandably added beforehand.

Alright, her race story: "I felt really good, so I was happy about that. But the race wasn't tough enough. I think I should have made my move earlier," she admitted right after the women’s road race, which was won by Lotte Kopecky.

For a long time, the Dutch team had a numerical advantage, though the emphasis was on 'numerical'. "That was tricky. I had to launch my own attacks somewhere, which I may have done too late. Riejanne Markus and Marianne Vos were there on the longer climb."

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Vollering: "They only react to me"

Still, Vollering and a few other riders made the jump, though it wasn’t captured on camera. "Liane Lippert accelerated on that steep little climb. I, Elisa Longo Borghini, Lotte and Chloé Dygert went along, after which I had to push on the longer climb. But it wasn’t fast enough there, and I think they knew I was going to make a move, so they kept things calm. That was unfortunate."

So, was there a tactical mistake? "It's always easy to say that afterward," Vollering responded. "It’s just tough because the pace wasn’t high enough either. Do you know what makes it even harder? Those girls don’t react to Riejanne and Marianne anymore because they’re riding to make me lose. They only react to me, because that's what they think our tactic is."

On the footage, it looked like Vollering dropped Vos, but the team leader defended herself afterward. "I was constantly looking back on the descent to see if I could spot Marianne. On that last little climb, I wanted to give it one more shot, but then Longo Borghini came over the top. I had to chase her, because otherwise, it would’ve been over for sure," she explained.