One kilometer to go, Demi Vollering leads a peloton of the 22 remaining riders, in the service of her teammate Lorena Wiebes. Vollering drops off the group for the final sprint and moments later sees Wiebes cross the finish line with her hands in the air. But the sprinter cheers too early and counts on the last energy in the legs of Marianne Vos, the first woman to win the Amstel Gold Race twice. A year ago, Vollering rode the last kilometer solo, on her way to one of the many victories in her unprecedented successful season. This Sunday she will be 22nd.
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The confusion at the finish is typical of this tenth edition of the Amstel Gold Race, which was shortened considerably due to an accident with a police motorcycle. The public is ready on the Cauberg for the first passage of the riders when reports filter through that the race has been stopped. It takes almost an hour before the women can continue, and it soon becomes clear that a restart is planned at the finish. The Bergseweg, where the accident happened, is closed for investigation. Moreover, the men's race is hot on the heels of the women's race.
The toughest hilly zone, including the Eyserbosweg and the Keutenberg, is skipped, and the local lap around the finish is held not four, but three times. About a third of the route will be deleted this way. To the advantage of the sprinters, to the disadvantage of the climbers. But at the finish the riders appear to be understanding about the solution. It is clear that concerns about the health of the motorcycle officer – who is doing well under the circumstances – are greater than the racing interests.
Shortening the race is disadvantageous for Vollering, who has to rely on her climbing legs and her ability to recover. In the final phase of the match it becomes clear that Vollering is not going for her own opportunities, and her form remains a guess. She said about this last Wednesday in conversation with the Belgian sports channel Sporza after the Brabantse Pijl – where she came second, just like last season – that she expected more. “But I also know that my matches are coming up and that I have to stay calm.”
A million euros
While the victories are not coming, Vollering is mainly talking about her expiring contract with SD Worx-Protime this season. At the beginning of February, former cyclist Marijn de Vries made this clear in her column NRC a rumor went public that a million had been offered for Vollering by UAE Team Emirates.
Later that month, Vollering's teammate Lotte Kopecky, the Belgian world champion, signed a contract until the end of 2028. In March it was announced that Vollering would not re-sign. Sports director Danny Stam gave on cycling platform GCN admits that there is no place for either Kopecky or Vollering at SD Worx-Protime: “It's about the budget. You have to make a choice. I think it is clear that we cannot have two riders of that level in our team.”
Kopecky is particularly strong in the early spring classics and one-day races, Vollering excels in the hill classics and in the lap work. However, the team, with the Belgian SD Worx as main sponsor, now seems to be focusing on Kopecky's ambitions in the Tour de France Femmes. Or has Vollering made the choice for her team management easy by signing elsewhere?
In the meantime, Vollering himself has not released anything about a possible new team. We will hear more on August 1, Vollering says to everyone who asks her a question about this. That is the day on which teams can announce their new riders. Whether it can be concluded from this that Vollering has signed elsewhere remains to be seen.
Big shoes to fill
Anyone who is the best rider in the Netherlands is also one of the best in the world. In a few years, Vollering took over that role from Anna van der Breggen – who is now her team leader – and Annemiek van Vleuten. Big shoes to fill. Yet Vollering radiates from everything that he wants to fulfill that role. In 2021, when she was still behind Van der Breggen in the rankings and had just won her first major race, she expressed her ambitions in conversation with the NOS: “I especially want to be a great rider. Of course that means winning a lot. But above all, inspire people and touch people with sport.”
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She seems very aware of her role model and of the pressure that comes with her performance. In an interview with NRC at the beginning of last season, she said about her role in the team: “I found carrying that burden complicated in my first season as leader last year, especially with the increased attention for women's cycling.”
Yet she does not cover herself to reduce that pressure. In the same interview she noted: “It is inevitable that everyone will put me next to Annemiek van Vleuten, but I mainly think that I am one step closer to winning the Tour de France.” Five months later, she left the same Van Vleuten on a foggy Tourmalet, and finally secured the yellow jersey a day later.
Although she has not yet won a match this season, she is also taking on the role of leader this season with dignity. After the finish of the Amstel Gold Race, she offers comfort to a deeply disappointed Wiebes, and then hides her disappointment when she speaks to the assembled press.
Vollering has two more chances to win a spring classic in the coming week, Wednesday in the Flèche Wallonne and Sunday in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. And in two weeks she will be at the start of the Tour of Spain. This is not Vollering's season yet. But with the Olympic Games, the start of the Tour de France in your own country and the world championships on the horizon, there is still a lot to win.
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