Tour de France Femmes: Tearful Demi Vollering admits defeat 'feels really sour' as she rues 'stupid' crash

Published 18/08/2024 at 21:01 GMT

Demi Vollering gave an emotional interview after missing out on the Tour de France Femmes title by just four seconds, describing the loss as "really sour" and attributing it to her "stupid crash" earlier in the race. Despite claiming victory on the final stage at Alpe d'Huez, the time lost in the Stage 5 crash, where her team-mates surprisingly did not support her chase back, proved too costly.

Vollering calls Tour de France Femmes defeat 'really sour' after costly Stage 5 crash

A tearful Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) admitted losing the Tour de France Femmes by four seconds "feels really sour" as she was left to rue a "stupid crash" earlier in the race.

Vollering rode clear on the final stage to triumph on Alpe d'Huez in Sunday's final stage, but saw Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) cling onto the yellow jersey after an epic conclusion.

The Dutchwoman held the overall lead after winning Stage 3 in Rotterdam, but saw her title defence dented as a late crash on Stage 5 saw her drop to ninth in the general classification.

Tour de France Femmes

'I hated everything' - Niewiadoma 'lost faith' before sealing famous triumph

18/08/2024 at 20:14

Vollering was among a number of riders to hit the deck on Thursday's run to Amneville but, bizarrely, she was left to chase alone, bloodied and bruised, after her team-mates failed to drop back to assist her.

She gamely battled on, taking back a few seconds on Saturday's first test in the mountains, but needed to overturn a 1'15" deficit to Niewiadoma on the final stage. Despite claiming another victory, she came up just short.

"At the moment, it feels really sour that I lost just by four seconds, knowing that before the yellow jersey was very secure around my shoulders," Vollering said afterwards.

"But then the stupid crash... and I lost it there. It's really painful to know now that it was not enough today.

"I think normally I would also be able to do it, but today I had a lot of pain in my back and it was a big fight against myself on Alpe d'Huez."

Vollering wins final stage but Niewiadoma saves yellow in epic finish

Vollering's second place will inevitably spark more questions about SD Worx-Protime's unusual response to their leader crashing.

Speaking after Thursday's stage, Eurosport expert Dani Rowe said on The Breakaway: "The fact that Demi Vollering was on her own is crazy, in my opinion.

"The big drama and the big talking point with this crash was the fact that there were no team-mates with Demi Vollering. Lorena Wiebes was one of those up the road, Blanka Vas, who went on to win the stage.

"This is the Tour de France and this is the yellow jersey. They came into this race with [sports director] Danny Stam saying, 'our No. 1 focus and goal is the yellow jersey, yes it’s nice if we can get a stage with Lorena Wiebes'. If that is correct, then where were they?"