Vollering deeply disappointed, yet sportsmanlike after missing the Tour's overall victory: "Alpe d'Huez was a battle with myself"

Earlier in the race, Demi Vollering had already mentioned that she would no longer apologize for her many tears, regardless of her emotional state of mind. And so it happened later in the grand tour: after missing out on the overall victory of the Tour de France Femmes, the Dutch cyclist from SD Worx-Protime was visibly emotional.

Only four seconds separated Vollering from the overall winner, Kasia Niewiadoma, in the general classification. In short, it was a nail-biter to the very last meter. "At this moment, it feels very bitter to lose the Tour by just four seconds," said the Dutch rider in a post-race reaction. "Especially knowing that the yellow jersey was safely on my shoulders before that stupid fall on stage five. That's when I unfortunately lost everything."

Vollering reflected on Alpe d'Huez participants during the Tour de France Femmes finale

It was an extremely tough blow for Vollering, who, as a small consolation, did win the final stage. "It's incredibly painful to realize that my performance in this last stage wasn't enough. Under normal circumstances, I should have been able to win the overall classification. I must say that I had a lot of back pain. On the Alpe d'Huez, it was really a big fight with and against myself."

Vollering, a born winner, showed great sportsmanship and social awareness. Last year, after her overall victory, she mentioned that she wants to be an inspiration for young children. "I am proud of what I have shown, because many Dutch people battle with this mountain to raise money for cancer research. All these people fight their way up here for a good cause. That's what I mostly thought about. I could never give up. I didn’t, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough."