Everything about Demi Vollering

Who is Demi Vollering?

Demi Vollering, born November 15, 1996, is a Dutch professional cyclist known for her climbing skills and time trials. She rides for Team SD Worx - ProTime and broke into the international cycling scene with strong performances in Ardennes classics such as Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Amstel Gold Race. In 2023, she won the Tour de France Femmes, definitively establishing herself as one of the top cyclists in the world. Her versatility makes her a formidable competitor in both one-day races and multi-day stage races.

Name: Demi Vollering
Birthday: November 15, 1996
Birthplace: Pijnacker, Netherlands
Turned pro: 2019
Height: 1.72m

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Demi Vollering Amstel Gold Race 2024

Born November 15, 1996,Demi Vollering has established herself as one of the best climbers and classics riders in the women's peloton. Vollering is part of an incredibly prestigious Dutch field and is one of the new faces of an emerging generation. Vollering currently has a contract with Team SD Worx-ProTime until 2024. It is estimated that during La Planche des Belles Filles in the 2022 Tour de France Femmes, she rode an average of 5.33W/kg for 24 minutes. Furthermore, it could be estimated that her FTP would be around 5-5.1W/Kg.

Vollering began her professional career in 2018 with the SwaboLadies.nl team in which she took her first steps towards victories in the pro peloton, finishing second in the final stage of the Tour of Uppsala and finishing inside the Top10 stages four times in the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche. Vollering was contracted by Parkhotel Valkenburg in 2019 and was an immediate success with a 7th place in the Amstel Gold Race, a 5th place in Flèche Wallone and a 3rd place in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The following month she picked up her first pro win at the Festival Elsy Jacobs where she finished second - with a 5th place in the Women's Tour immediately following.

Later in the season she would further prove her talent in hilly terrain, finishing 5th in the GP de Plouay and winning the Giro dell'Emilia ahead of Elisa Longo Borghini. So in 2020 , she was someone to keep an eye on in the peloton during the biggest races. This year she finished on the podium of the Volta Comunidad Valenciana, La Course of Le Tour de France and Flèche Wallone, and she also performed in the late cobbled classics, showing even more talent.

In 2021 , Vollering made her breakthrough at Team SD Worx. She finished second in both the Brabantse Pijl and the Amstel Gold Race, after finishing 5th in the Tour des Flandres and 6th in Strade Bianche. She concluded her spring classics with a victory in Liege-Bastogne-Liège by beating an elite group in the final sprint. Vollering then finished 3rd in the Vuelta a Burgos, but hit her stride again with a win in La Course by Le Tour de France where she again used her explosiveness to win in the hilly finale in Landerneau.

Vollering then rode to 3rd place in the Giro d'Italia, 5th place in the Simac Ladies Tour, 3rd place at the European Time Trial Championships and 5th place in the road race, as well as 7th place at the World Championships, and captured the Women's Tour late in the year where she also won the decisive time trial in dominant fashion. The spring of 2022 was not much different with a win in the Brabantse Pijl and podium finishes in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallone and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

The consistency and level were there, but she backed it up by winning all three stages and the general classification at Itzulia Women shortly after. She won the queen stage and also finished 3rd in the Vuelta a Burgos in Spain. When the Tour de France Femmes returned, Vollering was one of the contenders for victory, but she could not match Annemiek van Vleuten in the mountain stages. Nevertheless, she rode to second place in the general classification and finished second in both final stages. She finished 3rd in the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, another strong finish to her season.

2023 was the season that left a mark on Vollering's legend. The Dutch rider was the star of the season, part of a Team SD Worx that dominated much of the calendar. Vollering's climbing abilities were superior to the rest of the peloton during several races on the calendar. She won the Strade Bianche Donne and Dwars door Vlaanderen at the beginning of the year. In the Ardennes classics, she put on a tremendous performance by winning Amstel Gold Race Dames, Flèche Wallone Féminine and Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes. She had given a taste of her climbing ability, but she would go on to use it in stage races.

Vollering won the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas, the Dutch championship and the Tour de Romandie Féminin, but her triumph in the Tour de France Femmes was the highlight of her season. SD Worx was overwhelmingly dominant in the French race that has reached another level when it comes to fame. The 26-year-old won the queen stage to the Col du Tourmalet in stage 7, which was decisive in deciding the yellow jersey.

Furthermore, Vollering finished second at the World Championship and the Tour of Flanders behind teammate Lotte Kopecky, Itzulia Women and Tour de Suisse Women behind other teammate Marlen Reusser, during La Vuelta Feminina behind Annemiek van Vleuten after she was surprised during a pee break.

In 2024 the Dutchwoman would have a tough internal competition with the likes of Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes, respectively the best in their fields, for team leadership. This was notable throughout the season, with moments where it seemed clear that the team was not working for specific riders. Vollering did not win throughout the spring actually, despite podiums at Flèche Wallone and Liège-Bastogne-Liége, but returned to her victorious ways at the Vuelta Feminina where she won the overall classification but also two stages. She quickly followed that up with a stage and GC win at the Itzulia women; GC and three stage wins at the Tour de Suisse Women. 

Her big goal was the Tour de France Femmes, but she could not win it. The reasons are rather controversial: On stage 5 Vollering crashed as the yellow jersey and main favourite for the overall win, but two teammates did not wait for her. Blanka Kata Vas eventually won the stage, Lorena Wiebes finished in 8th, but the decision not to pull them back literally proved decisive in a race that Vollering lost by a mere 4 seconds. She won the race's time-trial, the final and queen stage to Alpe d'Huez with a massive raid, but Katarzyna Niewiadoma took the victory by an extremely small margin.

Vollering concluded the season with a stage win at the Tour de Romandie Féminin, a second place at the time-trial World Championships and then fifth in the road race where her questionable tactics also led to a disastrous outcome for the Netherlands.