Zonneveld is not done with Vollering: "She said, 'Stay with us, or else Vos will come back'"

The discussion surrounding the debacle of the women's road race at the World Championships in Zurich is far from over. Top favorite Demi Vollering made tactical mistake after tactical mistake and ended up empty-handed, much to the frustration of Thijs Zonneveld. He went off in his podcast. Now that the 44-year-old from Leiden has somewhat cooled down, he still doesn’t hold back in the latest episode of In het Wiel.

"We were quite outspoken on Saturday," Zonneveld laughed. Right after the race, he was furious about the tactics of the Dutch women, but he later gathered more information after the podcast. "When I listened to all the reactions from the Dutch women, including national coach Gunnewijk, I actually found it even worse. I really thought they would have a heated debriefing afterward, that Gunnewijk and Vollering would take responsibility and say, 'We really messed this up; we did everything wrong that we could have done." I believe that would have been the only appropriate response. Instead, I've only seen reactions that astonish me even more.

First, let’s talk about Vollering's race itself. "She wanted to race from her own strength; she wanted to make the race as hard as possible. She was absolutely convinced that she was the strongest and that she could drop everyone if the race got tough enough. Maybe that was true; she was one of the strongest in the race. But she only thought of herself, in a way that didn’t help her. If she wants to win, she also has to be willing to lose. She always says that, but she completely failed to do so in this race. She didn’t let anyone else ride, including her own teammates."

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"She’s had a terrible year at SD Worx"

"I understand where the feeling comes from. She’s had a tough year at SD Worx, and the most important goals have slipped through her fingers. She often felt that she wasn’t chosen often enough. I get that she goes into the World Championships as the leader, which has never happened for her as the sole leader of the Netherlands. She’s been preparing for weeks. There was a question raised beforehand: if Puck Pieterse becomes world champion, what then? She said, "I will have a hard time with that." That should have been the signal for the national coach to say, "Let’s talk about this. Not just for others but for yourself as well."

That didn’t happen, and thus Vollering raced around like a headless chicken, according to the gravel rider. "What she says afterward, 'Everyone rides against me,' makes perfect sense if you’re constantly riding at the front and foolishly chasing after everyone. If you’re strong enough to catch everyone back, then it should be simple racing, right? You should just sit in Vollering's wheel for as long as possible."

Zonneveld saw an anxious Vollering: "I swear it was intentional"

"She only has teammates to ride at the front for her, and even at times when it doesn’t matter. The way they burned Rooijakkers was completely absurd—totally unnecessary. The same goes for how they used Bredewold. How they put Markus and Vos in a tough spot was completely unnecessary. She herself turned against her own teammates. And I swear it was intentional, at least in part. She was afraid of Vos, and she was afraid Markus would get away. She even said that afterward."

According to Zonneveld, the rivalry with Vos was so intense that she sought help from her competitors. "Vollering said something to Lippert. I’ve heard from two people in and around the peloton that Vollering told Lippert: "Stay with us, or else Vos will come back." And you can see that moment as well. She was scared to sprint against Vos, who was completely exhausted but still super fast. I don’t think Vos would have won that sprint because she was so worn out, especially since she had to ride at the front when she got back."

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"If other women don’t respond to Vos and Markus: Perfect!"

She said afterward, "The other women didn’t respond to Vos and Markus, and that was very detrimental for me." "If the other women don’t respond to Vos and Markus, that’s perfect!" the Leidenaar asserted. "Then you win as the Netherlands; let them ride! There was obviously a huge opportunity there. If they stay away, the Netherlands has two out of four, with Markus as the strongest in the breakaway and Vos as the fastest. Then Vollering has a much better chance of becoming world champion because Longo Borghini, Dygert, and those kinds of riders would have no other choice."

According to Zonneveld, Vollering also tried to jump at the wrong moments. "What I really don’t understand is: if you’re racing like that, why don’t you go on the final lap at the crucial moment? Why do it at the points where everyone can follow much easier? On the steep little climb, she does nothing; she just waits for the rest. If there’s a moment in the race where you can make a difference, it’s on that steep climb, especially if you’re the best. I don’t get that either."