"I could no longer make the difference" - Demi Vollering misses out on Amstel Gold Race Ladies victory contention in a tactical race

The Amstel Gold Race Ladies is often tactic and today proved to be the case. A hard race, but one without too many massive difficulties where it is possible to make the difference. Demi Vollering was perhaps the strongest riding uphill but the best possible result was only a podium due to Paula Blasi's early attack.

“I turned out to have good legs, but I could no longer make the difference. Still, I am satisfied with the way we took the initiative as a team. Nobody saw that, but we spent a lot of time riding on the front and doing damage," Vollering said in a post-race interview, as reported by IDLProCycling.

FDJ United - Suez had responsibility and they worked throughout the day, ultimately a price that was paid later on. “It is a real, real shame that you only saw the final 50 kilometers, because from the start we rode very strongly and dominantly as a team".

"Before we reached the local lap, we rode every climb full gas. So it is a real pity, for everyone, that this was not visible. Amber and Eva rode very hard there, and Franzi (Koch, Paris-Roubaix Femmes winner, ed.) also showed herself in that phase. That was also why we did not have that many riders left in the final".

In the final kilometers FDJ didn't have as much firepower to toughen up the race and Vollering couldn't make the difference. Nienke Vinke and Paula Blasi escaped the peloton and the Spaniard had too much of a gap to cut down in the final ascent to the Cauberg.

“That was because the goal was to make it hard, so we could eliminate riders like Lorena Wiebes before the final. Amstel is tough, but not that tough. So we still had a large peloton, even though we were riding so hard.”

In the end she attacked the group with Kasia Niewiadoma and the duo rode to second and third on the day, with the European Champion taking the final spot on the podium. “Maybe next time we need to save a little bit of energy at the start," she argued.

"I could already feel it coming a little, because we were so motivated to make it a hard race. At one point I thought 'ah, maybe we started riding too early'. But anyway, that was the plan, and sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. Wednesday and Sunday are different races again.”