"I think it’s the highest on my list that I want to do" - Demi Vollering not daunted by prospect of Alpe d'Huez at the 2024 Tour de France Femmes

The 2024 Tour de France Femmes will climax on one of cycling's most historic and notorious climbs, Alpe d'Huez. Rather than being daunted by this prospect however, reigning Maillot Jaune winner Demi Vollering is incredibly excited.

“I look so much forward to Alpe d’Huez," she told GCN and other media from the presentation of the race on Wednesday. “Because this is the mountain I heard about for the first time when I was a little kid. The Alpe d’Huez was the mountain in Holland. I always wanted to ride the mountain, I think it’s the highest on my list that I want to do. I’ve never done it, but I’m really excited that we finally go there now.”

Dutch corner on Alpe d'Huez isn't the only thing that will give Demi Vollering a taste of home on the 2024 course either with the race's Grand Depart set to take place in Rotterdam. “I was waiting for today to see the route, to see if we go through my backyard, maybe past my grandma’s house, things like this,” she reveals. “So now that I’ve finally seen it, I recognise all the training roads that I do, and then of course we go to Limburg, also a special place for me. And then to Belgium and Liège - I don’t have to explain, that’s one of the races I love the most. I’m really excited.”

“I think the first two days will be also pretty hectic, because it’s flat, and I know the roads there, it’s a lot of cities, maybe not such nice roads to race on,” she said. “But I’m happy that I know every corner there, so that will help me a lot of course. I hope it’s not too crazy, not too hectic there. I hope that there’s a lot of wind and that it’s a really nice race, but then after it will be really hard and hilly races. I think it has a bit of everything, so that’s nice."

"It will put a lot of pressure on my shoulders, but most important is that I can also enjoy it a lot,” Vollering concludes. “This is something that’s only once in a lifetime, so I need to keep reminding myself that I need to enjoy it.”