🎥 Footage shows Vollering's journey from 'a house as small as a closet' to leading lady of French project

Demi Vollering seems completely at home with FDJ-SUEZ so far. After her controversial transfer from SD Worx-Protime to the French project, the big question is: How will she fare there? She appears to be enjoying herself based on footage of the team and a candid interview in De Telegraaf.

In recent years, Vollering has emerged at SD Worx-Protime as the leading lady of the women's peloton, especially after Annemiek van Vleuten's retirement. After a tumultuous year with the Dutch team, full of tactical issues and disappointments, Vollering called it quits. She headed to FDJ-SUEZ, where she was welcomed in as a great leader. No more Lotte Kopecky as a teammate, something she already felt like a liberation recently.

In a vlog from her new team, Vollering appears at home with FDJ-SUEZ. It is known that through yoga and mental health, she is trying to make a difference in the sport. Or as she puts it: "Some people see us almost as puppets on a bicycle, and I think they sometimes forget that we are also persons with struggles, feelings, and thoughts and that we have to make decisions in a split second. They don't see what we have to do and do for it. Everything is a process that continues throughout an entire athletic life.

Read more below the video

Vollering leads the way at FDJ-SUEZ

The FDJ-SUEZ video begins tellingly with a sunrise yoga session during training camp in Altea. We further see Demi joking during training, doing pranks during 'Secret Santa,' and leading the way during a run. The team is also testing on the track with leading lady Vollering.

It indicates the status of the Dutch, who nevertheless knows very well where she is coming from. With the support of my friend Jan, she built a life in Switzerland, starting from scratch as an unknown pro. "Our first house was like a broom closet, haha. We didn't even have a kitchen, and the toilet and bathroom were in the hallway. It was a storage loft with two beds pushed together. We ate mostly lettuce with noodles then because we couldn't prepare anything else."

Read also

Evenepoel shares unpleasant detail of December crash and responds to 'extreme' rumors about him and Oumi

Visma's biomechanist gave Jorgenson a reality check: "Like this you're one of the least efficient in the peloton"

Alongside Muys (17) there was also an 18-year-old Danish rider clinging to Pogacar’s wheel during KOM attack: "Toughest kilometers of my life"

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get every week the latest news about CYCLING in your inbox!

Subscribe