Wednesday, August 14, 2024 at 5:44 PM
Video Just like in the most recent Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Demi Vollering was unable to win the sprint of a small group during the fourth stage of the Tour de France Femmes. According to the yellow jersey wearer, it was a fifty-fifty-sprint between her and Puck Pieterse. The SD Worx-ProTime rider did not want to talk about the same mistake as in the spring, “That is cycling”.
“Maybe I started too late, but that’s cycling. These things just happen. I’ve also started too early in Liège, and then of course you get overtaken. I really hoped that I could just pass Puck, but unfortunately that didn’t work out,” Vollering analyses her sprint with Pieterse.
photo: Cor Vos
Puck Pieterse
When asked if Vollering knew what to expect from a sprint with Pieterse, she indicated that they had sprinted against each other before. “I know that Puck is very talented and definitely has a strong finish. She has beaten me before, but I have beaten her before, so I knew it would be a bit of a fifty-fifty was for us.”
“She also had the advantage when Kasia rode away, because I had to close that gap for the classification, which worked to Puck’s advantage. But for Puck it’s great, and she really deserved it,” Vollering reacted cheerfully to Pieterse’s victory.
“It’s definitely a great duel between us. Puck is a great rider who always races with her heart, she goes for it completely. It’s really nice to see, and the joy always radiates from her. And after what happened at the Olympic Games, it’s just fantastic that she wins such a stage,” Vollering says.
photo: Cor Vos
Competition for the ranking
When asked whether Pieterse and Katarzyna Niewiadoma – with whom Vollering rode to the finish line – are her biggest competitors for the coming week, the overall winner of the previous edition of the Tour de France Femmes is clear. “I think so. But of course we still have to watch out for other riders who can sneak away in a breakaway.”
“Someone like Kirsten Faulkner for example. I heard she only lost 40 seconds,” Vollering continues. “So it will be crucial to control those situations well and to stay very alert as a team. We can’t give such riders too much space.”
