'Expectations are sky-high’ - Annemiek van Vleuten warns Demi Vollering that her successful 2026 could be hard to match

Demi Vollering had a stunning year in 2026, winning the Tour de France Femmes for the second time, and taking maiden titles at both the UCI Road World Championships and the Giro d’Italia Women, while riding for an FDJ United-SUEZ team built around her.

There were a host of other successes too, but Annemiek van Vleuten, the woman Vollering succeeded as the World’s best female cyclist, has cautioned that such success could be hard to match.

For years Van Vleuten was the preeminent cyclist in the women’s peloton, herself winning Classics, World titles, Olympic gold and all three Grand Tours. In 2022, when she won the inaugural edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift riding for Movistar, Vollering was second, the race somewhat of a handing over of the baton to the next generation, the younger woman winning the race the following year.

Since then Vollering has become ever more prolific, bagging a total of 71 wins, with 16 of those coming in 2026 alone. She began her victorious streak in mid-February, winning two stages and the GC at the Volta Femenina de la Comunitat Valenciana, the first race of her season, and finished in early October with the UEC European road race title.

But, according to Van Vleuten, who has her own fair share of success, following such a brilliant season could be very difficult.

"She has had an incredible year. I wouldn't call her a revelation, but then again, kind of," Van Vleuten said at the De Laatste Etappe cycling gala in Utrecht, reported Wielerflits. "She has become a much more complete rider and now radiates a bit more calmness. She has become more mature, I would say.

"The expectations are sky-high. From herself, especially, but also from the outside world, it will also be very difficult for Demi Vollering to match this season and find new goals. The World Championships are, in any case, already tailor-made for her."

The courses for both the Tour de France Femmes and the Giro d’Italia are already published, and both suit Vollering’s skills to the ground.

And if Vollering proved anything this year, it’s that victory at the Giro d’Italia Women and the Tour de France Femmes in the same season, a feat Van Vleuten completed in 2022, is entirely possible, especially now the Giro has moved from early July to early June, providing more time to recover and refocus. Now, after the Vuelta Femenina changed from its early May spot on the calendar to after the men’s Vuelta a España, winning all three in a single season is also possible, the 2027 race will taking place in early October.

"Maybe she can try to win all three Grand Tours. The Vuelta will also be positioned differently in the season schedule now, so I am very curious to see what she will do," Van Vleuten finished.

Vollering is not only hugely talented, but also incredibly ambitious, and though her race programme is yet to be made public, a historic assault on all three women’s Grand Tours and a successful defence of her rainbow jersey is very much possible.

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