Annemiek van Vleuten suggests a new 2027 goal for Demi Vollering: "She can try to win all three Grand Tours"
Cycling
Demi Vollering has perhaps even surpassed Tadej Pogacar with her 2026 palmares. The Dutchwoman won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Tour of Flanders, La Fleche Wallonne, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and became both European and World road race champion. And Annemiek van Vleuten warns we might've still not seen the 30-year-old's best version yet!
Vollering finished the 2026 season with 9,325 UCI points, just 6 less than Tadej Pogacar. With a 3,600-point lead over Kasia Niewiadoma, there was no doubt that the FDJ United - SUEZ cyclist should be the rightful winner of the Velo d'Or trophy, which will be awarded on November 28.
To sum it up, Vollering has been so dominant, that she's only been defeated a total of five times throughout the entire season.
At World and European Championships, Marlen Reusser claimed both time trial titles while Vollering came in 8th and 2nd respectively. Reusser also stopped Vollering from winning the Dwars door Vlaanderen in a direct contest of sprinting qualities.
Her 2026 Strade Bianche experience has been a large rollercoaster. Vollering made the key split halfway into the race with a solid team support, but eventually suffered a mechanical and took a wrong turn alongside co-favourites Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Lotte Kopecky, after which she withdrew from the battle for victory. To make up for it, Elise Chabbey and Franziska Koch both reached the podium with the Swiss rider claiming a career-defining victory in Sienna.
Tadej Pogacar and Demi Vollering at the 2026 Tour of Flanders
Amstel broke her heart
What might've annoyed Vollering a bit more would be the biggest Dutch race on the calendar, the Amstel Gold Race, where Paula Blasi snuck away with the victory and Vollering was left with "just" a third spot.
"She has become more mature"
In the past, a lot of analysts criticized Vollering's tactical mishaps. The Dutch rider was holding herself back by attacking or choosing to play tactical games at wrong moments. And Vollering has instead done it the "Pogacar way" improved her excellent level one step further so that she can dictate the pace of the race herself, removing much of the tactical factor from equation in the process.
"She has had an incredible year. I wouldn't call her a revelation, but then again, kind of. She has become a much more complete rider and now radiates a bit more calmness. She has become more mature, I would say," analyzes former Tour de France Femmes winner Van Vleuten in an interview for WielerFlits.
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With overly successful 2026 campaign, Vollering sets the bar extremely high for herself next year. One mistake can turn the entire season upside down. "Almost everything could turn out to be disappointing next year," she says honestly.
"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. When the courses for next year are announced, she will find them quickly. The World Championships are, in any case, already tailor-made for her."
What is there to add then? How about a third Vuelta a Espana title... in combination with Giro d'Italia and Tour de France!
"Maybe she can try to win all three Grand Tours," she concludes, noting that a lot will depend on how the schedule will be built in 2027: "The Vuelta will also be positioned differently in the season schedule now, so I am very curious to see what she will do."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Congrats! It is done so now is time for CX.averagecyclist15-11-2026
- It's going to happen at some point. It will happen to Tadej as well, we all get older. Jonas was in pretty great form at the tour. I still consider him a top two or three cyclist in the world, until he's not.awp15-11-2026
- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
- That'll be one crazy rider
Rafionain-Glas15-11-2026
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