Demi Vollering grabs yellow jersey after ironclad individual time trial

Demi Vollering grabs yellow jersey after ironclad individual time trial

"Taking yellow in my own region is special"

14/08/2024

After the two stages in one day in the Tour de France Femmes, Demi Vollering somewhat surprisingly already has the yellow jersey around her shoulder. The defending champion rode the 6.3-kilometre-long time trial through the centre of Rotterdam at an average speed of 50.95 kilometres per hour, striking a double blow in her own region: the stage win and the yellow jersey. "This is super special. I'm never going to forget this. We are going to defend this jersey tooth and nail."

Linked race Tour de France 2024 - Linked cyclists Demi Vollering - Gekoppelde ploegleiders: Anna van der Breggen Danny Stam

Demi Vollering: "I didn't see this win coming. I thought the time trial was too short for me. I was also very relaxed. I thought: just a bit too relaxed maybe, because I did two small powernaps between the two stages. For such a short time trial you really have to be awake and alert. But it worked out well. Taking the yellow jersey in my own country was a dream of mine. That's why I was emotional on the podium. I saw so many friends and family standing and everyone was shouting my name. Sport is emotion. You work so hard for your goals. There are many people around you who support you and do a huge amount for you. Then when you take the yellow jersey, that comes out on top."

"I will definitely try to defend this yellow jersey. On Wednesday, the stage with start in Valkenburg to Liège is scheduled. The finale is a copy of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. This is an important stage for the general classification on the programme anyway. I had thought beforehand that the Tour would only really start here. My teammates Mischa Bredewold, Blanka Vas, Christine Majerus and Niamh Fisher-Black have been riding in the wind continuously for two days to keep us safe. So I want to thank them for all the work. Hopefully they have recovered from the efforts. I am already looking forward to starting in yellow in Valkenburg."

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