In her first race back following a training block at altitude on Tenerife, Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) finished runner-up to Marlen Reusser (Movistar) in Dwars door Vlaanderen after being outfoxed in the sprint and having to chase down late attacker Lieke Nooijen (Visma-Lease a Bike).
Vollering's runner-up performance showed good form ahead of the Tour of Flanders this weekend, but she would have preferred to stand on the top step of the podium in Waregem.
“I have mixed feelings, also because it was pretty close. In the end, there are always things you can do better in hindsight. But in the moment, you make decisions, and that’s it. I’m happy that the legs were good after my altitude camp. It was a hard race, so I enjoyed it, but of course, I would have loved to win,” said Vollering in a TV interview after the race.
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The 29-year-old European Champion was in an attacking mood, going clear with Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech), Letizia Borghesi (AG Insurance-Soudal), and Fleur Moors on the Eikenberg, but after that move was brought back, she adopted a wait-and-see approach to the final 30km of the race.
Her teammate Franzi Koch closed down several attempts to attack, but when Reusser got away solo, it was Vollering herself who reacted and chased down the Swiss allrounder. They settled into a tense cooperation until Reusser started to play cat-and-mouse on the final kilometre.
“I heard that Lieke was coming from the back. I tried to force Marlen to go in the front, but she said, ‘I have Cat, we go for a podium with Cat then’. So I was forced to do something. I gambled and gambled, and then she [Nooijen] was coming with a lot of speed. I was like, ‘if we gamble any longer, then she will win’, so I just went full gas and hoped for the best. Marlen was the strongest and the smartest today. It’s a nice win for her,” Vollering finished.
After Wednesday’s outing, Vollering will be one of the top favourites for the Tour of Flanders on Sunday.
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