Vollering had to avoid all impact and refrain from sprints after the Tour: "But I didn't have time for that"

For Demi Vollering, 2024 was a year to quickly forget — not because of her performance, which was strong, but due to all the controversies and unrest that surrounded her. The World Championships became the pinnacle of these problems. "Apparently, I’m selfish. I wanted to win so badly that I was too afraid to lose," the Dutch rider told the Dutch NOS.

The year started off turbulently: in March, just before the Tour of Flanders, her team SD Worx announced that the team leader was in her final season with them. "I wasn’t ready for that news at all. It caused a lot of stress in the first months of the season. After the spring, I found some calm, but some uncertainties stuck with me throughout the year. Leaving SD Worx wasn’t a small thing. I spent four great years with that team."

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Vollering was too eager to win, and it cost her dearly

After a cautious recovery in the Vuelta, Vollering went all in on the Olympics and the Tour de France. However, both events went far from smoothly. In Paris, she failed to compete for Olympic gold. Her attention then shifted to the Tour, where she started off in a promising way and won the time trial in Rotterdam. But later, she crashed, breaking her tailbone, as was discovered afterward. Ultimately, she lost the Tour in a nail-biting battle that came down to mere seconds.

The injury from the Tour prevented Vollering from fully preparing for the World Championships. Nevertheless, she was determined to perform and lined up at the starting line in Zurich. "It needed time to heal, but I didn't have that time because I wanted to compete at the World Championships. I had to avoid all impact, couldn’t run, couldn’t do strength training, and sprinting was also out of the question."

Vollering rode strongly but made strategic mistakes, which allowed Lotte Kopecky to take the overall win. "I wanted to win so badly that I was too afraid to lose. I wasted my energy and made some mistakes. I realized that immediately after the finish, but then there’s nothing you can do. No matter how big the mistakes are, you learn from them. That’s what I will hold on to for the coming years." However, Vollering faced a wave of criticism afterward. On social media, she was vilified, and traditional media were very harsh on her performance.

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Vollering to follow Pogacar and Van der Poel’s example at FDJ-Suez

Now she gets a fresh start at FDJ-Suez — a clean slate, as they say. Vollering immediately felt good about her new team. "After the first conversation, I walked out the door with a big smile." In 2025, Vollering hopes to win the biggest races again. "We’re focusing more on career goals and less on seasonal goals. Specifically, that means that I will ride fewer races, like Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel, but will aim to be in top form almost everywhere I compete."

Ultimately, this approach should lead to victories in the Ardennes Classics and the Tour de France, which are Vollering’s main goals for 2025.

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