Demi Vollering expressed her satisfaction after the sixth stage of the Tour de France Femmes. The Dutch rider, who suffered a hard crash near the finish of stage five on Thursday, managed to stay out of trouble and counter all attacks during the race.
“It went without too many problems,” she told NOS after the stage. The 27-year-old leader of SD Worx-Protime had been worried about the aftereffects of the crash before the start but found it wasn’t as bad as she feared. “It went quite well. My coccyx wasn’t too bad, thankfully. I’m happy about that. Today wasn’t too crazy either. I survived the stage well.”
Vollering, currently sitting tenth in the general classification, 1:19 behind Kasia Niewiadoma, was not concerned about her rivals attacking her. “I wasn’t afraid they would (attack me). If Kasia (Niewiadoma) wants to do that, she will also waste energy. I had to close some gaps, but I could keep up without too many issues.”
Looking Ahead to the Alpine Stages
Vollering is now looking forward to the two remaining stages through the Alps. “I trust it will be okay. I’m very determined to reclaim the yellow jersey, maybe even more than before.”
When asked about the competition, she admitted, “You never know the dynamics. I feel Kasia has improved in the mountains. We’ll see who is the best.” Vollering will face plenty of climbs on the way to Le Grand-Bornand on Saturday and Alpe d’Huez on Sunday, including two significant climbs in the final stage. This provides ample opportunity to make a difference in the standings.
Main photo credit: Getty
