Demi Vollering sat in entrance of the worldwide press with all smiles and an air of confidence as she answered questions on her yellow-jersey defence on the upcoming Tour de France Femmes that begins on Monday on residence soil in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
She stated that whereas she feels stronger than final yr, she is going to wait till the race hits the mountains earlier than making any predictions about her possibilities of profitable two total titles in a row on the finale stage 8 atop Alpe d’Huez.
“I really feel good. I am excited and I advised the ladies this morning, ‘I am too hyped, I have to calm down’. It is particular for me. All of my buddies, household, and shut ones are excited to get it began, so I am very motivated,” Vollering stated.
She arrived in Rotterdam after competing on the Olympic Video games in Paris, the place she completed fifth within the particular person time trial and thirty fourth within the street race after supporting her compatriot Marianne Vos to the silver medal.
She has not competed in a stage race since profitable the Tour de Suisse in June, the latest of a stage-race-winning streak that additionally included securing total titles on the Tour de Romandie, La Vuelta Femenina, Itzulia Ladies, and Vuelta a Burgos.
“I do not know if I am stronger than final yr. I feel, for positive, a bit. However we have to see that within the race as a result of it has been fairly a while since I did lengthy climbs, for instance, so I have to see the way it goes within the final a part of the Tour,” she stated.
The third version of the Tour de France Femmes will host eight levels over seven days between August 12 and August 18. The race is about to start out within the Netherlands, journey south into Liège, Belgium, after which into France, ending atop the fabled Alpe d’Huez.
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For some riders, it has been a jam-packed summer time schedule that has taken the skilled ladies’s peloton throughout the Giro d’Italia, the Paris Olympic Video games and the Tour de France Femmes. Vollering opted to skip the Giro and as an alternative focussed on altitude coaching in her camper van, additionally visiting key factors of the Tour de France course forward of her predominant objectives on the Olympics and Tour.
“I did a great altitude camp for 3 weeks earlier than the Olympics, after which we had the Olympics, so it was somewhat bit completely different than I usually have; usually, I’d focus solely on the Tour and have an enormous coaching block for the Tour, however now we had the Olympics in between, and that made it somewhat bit completely different,” Vollering stated.
“We had two weeks [ahead of the Olympics] to relaxation earlier than the time trial and the street race, so it was a bit like, ‘how do I do this greatest?’ since you wish to relaxation but in addition wish to prepare onerous in between. I hope I’ve good legs this week.”
She felt that the peloton might be stronger on the Tour de France Femmes than it was on the Olympic Video games, primarily as a result of the Video games had smaller discipline sizes with riders competing for his or her nationwide groups, and never all riders competed in each occasions.
“That’s the way it feels. You’re feeling that everybody is worked up to return to the Tour de France and everyone seems to be focussed on it. A number of ladies have been at altitude camp earlier than and everyone seems to be making an attempt to be on their greatest on this interval, additionally to take the Olympics with it,” she stated.
“However there should not so many ladies right here on the beginning line for GC, for instance, who additionally did the Olympics. Quite a bit, however not all. It is going to be attention-grabbing to see if this may affect the shape for some riders on this Tour.”
Nonetheless, she named a number of of her predominant rivals within the common classification: Juliette Labous (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Kasia Niewiadoma and Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM), Évita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ), and Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek) that she and SD Worx-Protime teammates will maintain a detailed eye on when the race heads towards the mountains.
A part of her altitude and pre-Tour de France coaching included driving up Alpe d’Huez, which she stated she did thrice as a part of Alpe d’HuZes, an occasion hosted by the Netherlands to lift cash within the combat towards most cancers.
“It was particular. The primary time I did it was two or three days earlier than the occasion that we known as Alpe d’HuZes. It is a large occasion in Holland to lift cash for most cancers charities. It is a particular feeling as a result of all of the individuals come there with a narrative. All of them go up the mountain for members of the family of family members they misplaced as a consequence of most cancers. A particular feeling was within the air, and I’ll have this in my ideas when racing up there,” Vollering stated.
As for the beginning in Rotterdam, the positioning of the primary three levels, Vollering revealed that it’s a particular place with reminiscences of her earlier profession as a florist, talking with native farmers and greenhouses, all earlier than she signed knowledgeable contract to race bikes in 2019.
“All my household and buddies shall be there. I additionally grew up subsequent to the greenhouses with the flowers. Tomorrow we’ll see [the greenhouses and flowers] so much as a result of we come by means of this a part of Holland the place they’ve numerous greenhouses for both flowers or greens,” Vollering stated.
“Just a few years in the past, after I was nonetheless a flower pupil, I got here to the greenhouses. I do know numerous them as a result of I’d ask in the event that they wished to sponsor us for varsity initiatives and stuff like that.
“It is humorous to be right here on this approach once more on this space. It looks like a distinct lifetime; me as a pupil asking farmers for flowers and me as a bicycle owner coming by means of this space; it makes me proud.”
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