Demi Vollering "very keen to get that yellow jersey back" as 2024 Tour de France Femmes heads to the Alps

Demi Vollering has had a bit of a rocky road the last few days at the 2024 Tour de France Femmes. After taking the Maillot Jaune, the Dutchwoman narrowly missed out to Puck Pieterse on stage 4, before crashing hard late on stage 5 and losing considerable time and the race lead.

After a relatively comfortable recovery day on stage 6 however, Vollering is feeling ready to begin the fight back as the defending Tour de France Femmes champion looks to overturn the 1:19 deficit she has in the general classification to the Maillot Jaune, Katarzyna Niewiadoma.

"I am very keen to get that yellow jersey back. Maybe even more than before. I hope and think that it will work out," Vollering says in conversation with NOS post-stage, knowing that the race will soon be entering her favoured territory as the roads begin to climb in the Alpine mountains. "In the Alps, you never know. So it is difficult to give a ratio. I also have the idea that Kasia has made progress again. So we will see who deserves the yellow jersey at the end of the ride."

As an added bonus, Vollering's sensations are good despite the crash and the visible resultant damage to her left hip. "Fortunately, my tailbone wasn't too bad," Vollering reflects of her feeling on stage 6. "I'm very happy that it went this way. Fortunately, it wasn't too crazy a day in that respect. I got through it well and survived everything."

"Sometimes I had to close some gaps. But luckily I was able to keep up every time, without too many problems," concludes the Team SD Worx - Protime leader with a growing sense of optimism in her tone. "I am confident that things will turn out well in the coming days."