"Either the ultimate bluff or pure self-confidence": Demi Vollering reveals how she outfoxed Anna van der Breggen

Where the men's Giro d'Italia was a simple affair of Jonas Vingegaard, ladies provided one of the most epic comebacks in the race's history. In the end, it was Demi Vollering who prevailed over her former sports director Anna van der Breggen after a breathtaking tactical battle on the final stage where an earthquake struck the overall standings.

With nearly 100 kilometers to go, the race blew up on Montoso climb and third overall Antonia Niedermaier got up the road with a group of three. Vollering, second overall behind Van der Breggen at the time, stuck to her rival's wheel, waiting for a chance to strike while not taking any pulls:

"At the time I said: 'I'll happily settle for second or third place, it doesn't matter to me at all. It's up to you now.' That's what I said to Anna, for context," she explains on Jan Frodeno's Frodeno Going Mental podcast, a former Olympic champion and world-record holder in triathlon.

"She's my former teammate, but also my former coach. She knows me — and certainly my physiology and where I've come from — better than anyone. So a statement like that is either the ultimate bluff or pure self-confidence," Vollering says. "It was a bit of both, of course. At first she didn't really start riding, because she was thinking: 'Yeah, right, I don't believe Demi.' But at a certain point she did start to ride. I think that's when she realised: 'Oh dear, she means this deadly seriously.'"

As the two ladies share quite a bit of history, it becomes increasingly difficult to surprise one another. But Vollering, who is often being criticized for her in-race tactical decisions, had played her hand perfectly that day to win the 2026 Giro d'Italia Women.

"It's sometimes really interesting because we know each other so well. I know Anna very well too, of course; I know how she trained and how she used to train me," Vollering explains the dynamics between the two of them.

"It's fascinating. I learned so much from her; she was the one who sat behind me in the team car for years, coaching me. It's really very strange to be battling each other like this again, but that's exactly what makes it even more interesting. She brings out the best in me, because I have to keep improving in order to beat her. Otherwise it simply isn't possible, precisely because she knows me so inside out."

However, Vollering has learnt to use the fact that people at SD Worx - Protime know her so well to throw them off with false signals at times.

"For instance, I know what they say to Anna over the radio when we're on a climb and they see me riding like that — you know, mouth wide open and a contorted face. Then they'll definitely shout over the radio: 'Come on Anna, Demi's about to crack, so don't give up!'"

"I know exactly how it goes, because they simply know me so well from my former team. So yes, they really do know when I'm in trouble," says Vollering. "But sometimes I also think: 'If I pull that kind of face on purpose, then they'll be sure I'm at my limit.' So sometimes I try to think the opposite, just to play with them a little. Because you can play the game the other way around too."