Teams & Riders Demi-Goddess: The Flower of Pijnacker

[Samu Cuenca]

Having now entered the history books as the eight rider to have won all three of the Ardennes Classics and only the fourth to have also won Brabantse Pijl (as the first female rider), I felt like it was finally time to give Demi her own thread.

Coming from a family of gardeners/florists, having herself taken courses in flower arranging, and having also competed in speedskating for many years, she started to fully commit to cycling in the 2018 season, when she joined the SwaboLadies team. Her results quickly gained the attention of bigger teams, and she was picked up by Parkhotel Valkenburg. In a team which also included current teammates Lorena Wiebes and Femke Markus, she rapidly grew into one of the best riders in the peloton, and it came as no surprise that the giants from SD Worx offered her a contract ahead of the 2021 season. After forming a strong partnership with Anna van der Breggen in her first season with the team, she's continued to step up afterwards, and right now it looks like the Demination could continue for quite a while.

Fun Vollering Facts

• She lives in Basel, Switzerland, with her fiancée, former amateur rider Jan de Voogd
• She owns a Stabyhoun called Flo, who is the daugther of Pips, who I'm not sure whether belongs to her or her parents
• Her younger Sisters, Nena and Bodine, have also competed in both cycling and speedskating, but I think they have both decided to focus on their educations instead
• Like many famous Dutch people, her full name appears to be a bit longer than what she goes by. I sadly don't know the story of how Adriana Geertruida became Demi, but I can understand if she'd happily accepted it
• Has a bit of a dirty mouth, as we've heard a few times this season
• She's the inaugural winner of the Dutch national gravel championship

Her palmarès includes (among other things):
Amstel Gold Race (2023)
Flèche Wallonne (2023)
Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2021)
Brabantse Pijl (almost in 2021, 2022)
Strade Bianche (2023)
2nd Ronde van Vlaanderen (2023)
Dwars door Vlaanderen (2023)
Women's Tour (2021)
QOM Tour de France Femmes and 2nd overall (2022)
La Course (2021)
3rd overall Giro Donne (2021)
3rd overall Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta (2020)
Itzulia and all three stages (2021)

 

[Gwbert]

Great thread. The way she dieseled away today in FW was very impressive. It’ll be interesting to see if she can take this one day form into the Tour later this year, or will AVV still have the advantage in the high mountains?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I kinda really became a Vollering fan at the breakout Ardennes in 2019. I was pretty excited by her as a new and gutsy rider, though she had caught a few more clued-up fans than myself a bit earlier. In retrospect that 2018 Thüringen Rundfahrt when she made the top 10 on the Hankaberg while riding for the Swaboladies team was probably the main sign of what was to come, but after she moved to Parkhotel Valkenburg and set up camp in hilly races rather than on the flat races and crits that Swabo typically raced on the domestic circuit, she really began to show what she was capable of. That long break in the Trofeo Binda in 2019 was probably the first sign, but then winning the Volta Limburg Classic was the start of the 'real' Demi-Goddess, and then that run of form from the Ardennes through the GP Elsy Jacobs and into the Women's Tour really told us she was going to be something big.

Although Marty was wrong earlier in his excitement, it was actually Liège where she got her first podium in 2019, not Flèche. She was 5th on the Mur back then, which was nevertheless still excellent since Flèche is the one that is hardest to wave away as a matter of a fluke of positioning, making the right break or what have you, since the Mur takes no prisoners.

Since then it's been strength to strength. I was absolutely all over her breakout and was telling everybody who would listen She was originally a puncheuse who had a strong sprint finish, but now she's really expanded her strength in full length climbs, and also as we saw in the Women's Tour in 2021 also time trialling. Since moving from Parkhotel Valkenburg (because unlike Little Miss Contract Law she actually honoured hers) to SD Worx, the naïveté in terms of placement (frequently in stage races she would lose a little bit of time missing splits at the line, seeing this happen in Elsy Jacobs, in the Women's Tour and also at the Giro Rosa) and the somewhat lacking support, what with Parkhotel being a largely developmental team, meaning Demi would frequently have to expend energy to be well placed beforehand, was a thing of the past; she was now well-protected and, in Anna van der Breggen, she had a mentor figure who was the best of the best.

2021 was almost like a handover procedure at SD Worx, with Anna acknowledging where she lacked compared to Demi and working to help her at punchy sprint finishes like La Course, and also Demi kind of learning a few lessons about premature celebrations as well. It was also the last chance I had to take advantage of her being underestimated in the inaugural edition of the Prediction Game, too...

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Great thread. The way she dieseled away today in FW was very impressive. It’ll be interesting to see if she can take this one day form into the Tour later this year, or will AVV still have the advantage in the high mountains?

We'll have to wait and see, but AVV will probably have to get back to her previous level in order to have a chance. Demi's ride in the final today was the most Van Vleuten-esque performance I've seen her do. She wasn't afraid of being outnumbered, and she just rode fast from the bottom of the Mur without looking back.

Also one thing we don't know and might not even get to know before the Tour, is how good she can time trial now. She destroyed everyone in the Women's Tour in 2021, but apart from the very short prologue in the Elsy Jacobs Festival last year, where she finished second, we haven't seen her in an ITT since.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Although Marty was wrong earlier in his excitement, it was actually Liège where she got her first podium in 2019, not Flèche.

I'm shocked to read this, cause it suggests that he might actually have been trying to recall the race and wasn't just skimming through her PCS profile.

 

[yaco]

Think she's a certainty for the TDF - I suspect that the Giro will be the weakest of the three GT's, so this is the one where we could get a surprise result.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Chapeau to Demi, but it seems like her sponsors have some controversial opinions!

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Chapeau to Demi, but it seems like her sponsors have some controversial opinions!

Wva fans will start quoting this now thanks

 

[johnymax]

Wva fans will start quoting this now thanks

WvA fan spotted

 

[FrancesWilson]

Chapeau to Demi, but it seems like her sponsors have some controversial opinions!

Yayyyyyyy. I am a big fan. I’m seeking Russia Essay Ideas, and while I’m browsing, I visit company website where I found several interesting essay subjects. Topics for Russia help me to compose my essay quickly. Now, I can easily write essay assignments on my own.

Yayyyyyyy. I am a big fan.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Forget Pijnacker. She is the queen of the Basque Country.

 

[JosefK]

No one else might win a Basque Country stage for the next ten years!

 

[yaco]

Vollering yet again being sabataged by her teaam - Once Reusser came back on the descent to AVV and Vollering, then she merely had to ride on the front of the group of five, instead of attacking the group - There was always a chance that the other riders would sit up seeing their GC positions could not change.

 

[JosefK]

Vollering yet again being sabataged by her teaam - Once Reusser came back on the descent to AVV and Vollering, then she merely had to ride on the front of the group of five, instead of attacking the group - There was always a chance that the other riders would sit up seeing their GC positions could not change.

Good points, Yaco. But clearly the actual reason Demi lost today's stage was my jinx post above.

 

[KZD]

Very dominant with in La Vuelta!

Vollering is by far the best stage racer in the current women's peloton, a true successor to Van Vleuten though with a more Indurain/Dumoulin style.

Can see her winning the Vuelta, Giro and the Tour in the same season though I don't know if she has planned doing the Giro this season.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Very dominant with in La Vuelta!

Vollering is by far the best stage racer in the current women's peloton, a true successor to Van Vleuten though with a more Indurain/Dumoulin style.

Can see her winning the Vuelta, Giro and the Tour in the same season though I don't know if she has planned doing the Giro this season.

It's not fully confirmed before their team is announced, but I doubt she'll be riding the Giro this year. She hasn't done it the past two seasons, but it will of course be easier to win it now that Van Vleuten has retired, and also due to the race only being 8 stages instead of 9 or 10. However I think the Giro will clash with her Olympics (she's probably only going to ride the road race) and Tour preparation. Her "home" WC in Switzerland is also a big goal for her.

We also know that Kopecky will be riding the Giro, although it might not be for GC.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

will clash with her Olympics (she's probably only going to ride the road race)

Actually she probably is going to ride the time trial as well. I assume they'll select her, Vos and Wiebes for the road race, unless one of them is injured, and then the last spot will be given to either Riejanne Markus or Ellen van Dijk, who'll then also ride the ITT.

 

[Monte Serra]

Actually she probably is going to ride the time trial as well. I assume they'll select her, Vos and Wiebes for the road race, unless one of them is injured, and then the last spot will be given to either Riejanne Markus or Ellen van Dijk, who'll then also ride the ITT.

Am I crazy to think that Dutch squad has a higher chance of Gold in the road race if they don't bring Vollering? The hills in Paris are probably too short for her to make a significant difference, and she hasn't been the best team player in championships. I would select Van Dijk, Markus, Wiebes and Vos, that probably also maximizes the chances in the TT.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Am I crazy to think that Dutch squad has a higher chance of Gold in the road race if they don't bring Vollering? The hills in Paris are probably too short for her to make a significant difference, and she hasn't been the best team player in championships. I would select Van Dijk, Markus, Wiebes and Vos, that probably also maximizes the chances in the TT.

In theory that would probably be a more well-rounded/oiled team, especially if they want to avoid another Tokyo like disaster. It would have been easier if Vos hadn't been able to get back to such a high level, cause having both her and Wiebes there is a potential issue as well.

 

[Netserk]

Clown.

Balancing the karma of how her trade team has ridden for her.

 

[Pantani_lives]

I feel a bit sorry for Vollering. All those negative reactions! Maybe she'll win it next year - if they play it a little smarter.