27/04/2024

Demi Vollering leads Team SD Worx - Protime at La Vuelta Femenina, looking to put to bed ghosts of last year's controversy

After finishes of 3rd and 2nd overall in her last two attempts at La Vuelta Femenina, Demi Vollering returns for the 2024 edition determined to finally get her hands on the prestigious Maillot Rojo at the first Grand Tour of 2024.

"Demi has shown in the Ardennes classics that she is in top form. After the denouement last year, where Vollering lost the classification because the competition took advantage of a pee break to go on the attack, Demi will be keen to perform here," previews Team SD Worx - Protime sports director, Danny Stam in conversation with the team's official website, referencing the controversial and eventually race-winning attack by Annemiek van Vleuten in the 2023 edition.

Profiles & Route La Vuelta Femenina 2024

Alongside Vollering, Swiss star Marlen Reusser also is expected to play a key role on her return from a recent injury. "Marlen is back in action after her bad crash in the Tour of Flanders. It will take some time to see how she stands," assesses Stam. "Niamh Fisher-Black is an asset in the two stages with the steep uphill arrivals. She already proved that in Valencia in the spring. Mischa Bredewold and Blanka Vas start in a free role, where they can look for stage success. When it comes to working for the classification riders, they have to settle into that role. Just as Elena Cecchini and Barbara Guarischi will also race in the service of the team."

"It's a very tough Tour. Very challenging for our team. After last year, the team and especially Demi Vollering want to put things right here," Stam says. "You sometimes see such a tough course in the Giro Donne, but in the Tour de France Femmes we haven't seen that yet. I think it's beautiful. In this way, the Tour, Giro and Vuelta are starting to occupy the same important place on the women's calendar as with the men the three grand tours get a lot of attention."