After rounding out one of her most consistent and decorated seasons yet, Demi Vollering has already shifted her focus towards 2026, where she will once again aim for victory at the Tour de France Femmes and the World Championships.
Her first year with FDJ-Suez brought immediate success. Across a long campaign that began in February, she won Strade Bianche, the Volta de la Comunitat Valenciana, the Vuelta España Femenina and Itzulia Women, before adding the European Championships road race title in September. She capped her year with second place at Tre Valli Varesine, confirming her position as one of the most successful riders of 2025.
Yet, for Vollering, the year was not without its frustrations. Losing the Tour de France Femmes to Pauline Ferrand-Prévot of Team Visma | Lease a Bike was the one major setback in an otherwise superb season. A seventh-place finish at the World Championships, where the main contenders misjudged the early breakaway, also left her feeling that there was more to be achieved.
Speaking to L’Équipe, Vollering reflected that the year had been an outstanding one by any measure but acknowledged that her competitive nature leaves her always wanting more. While she was proud of her consistency and the range of races she won, the missed victories in France and at the Worlds remain strong motivators for the coming season.
The Dutch rider’s focus for 2026 will centre on reclaiming her Tour de France Femmes title, which she last won in 2023, and on taking a first career rainbow jersey. She described the Tour as one of the most exciting parts of her season, both for the prestige and the months of preparation it demands. The prospect of returning to those familiar summer roads, she said, already fills her with anticipation.
Vollering also reflected on how 2025 marked a turning point for women’s racing, with a wave of team changes and the return of several big names reshaping the peloton. Among them was Ferrand-Prévot, whose comeback to the road added another layer of intensity to the season. Vollering viewed this as a positive, seeing the rise in competition as essential to pushing her own performance to higher levels.
Her move to FDJ-Suez had also required a period of adaptation, particularly as she took on clear leadership within a new environment. Entering her second year with the French team, she expects to benefit from greater familiarity with her teammates and staff, saying that their growing understanding of each other will make it easier to refine strategies and execute them in major races.
Among the highlights of her 2025 season, Vollering singled out her Strade Bianche win as a particularly satisfying moment. The team delivered a near-perfect performance that day, setting her up to claim victory on the gravel roads of Tuscany. That level of cohesion, she believes, is a sign of what the team can achieve together in future seasons.
Looking beyond her own results, Vollering praised FDJ-Suez’s younger riders, notably 19-year-old Célia Gery, who won the U23 World Championships road race in Kigali. Vollering described Gery as a rider with rare determination and natural winning instinct, qualities she expects will take the young Frenchwoman far.
After a year that brought triumphs, lessons and a renewed sense of purpose, Vollering ends 2025 with clear ambitions. With the Tour de France Femmes and the World Championships now firmly in her sights, she heads into the new season intent on turning consistency into outright dominance.
