"I think I've lost some of my fear" - Demi Vollering pulls through the day after her crash safely
Cycling
Despite her hard fall previous day, Demi Vollering was back in action on stage 4 of Tour de France Femmes. And while she had to battle pain and discomfort, the FDJ - Suez was able to cross the line with main group which was enough to keep her, at least virtually, in the running for overall victory.
"This morning I had so much neck pain. I sat down on my rollers and could barely keep my head up," Vollering begins the story of her day at Sporza. "Luckily, it went better on the bike. That gave me a good feeling. I also didn't have a headache and I couldn't feel my knee or back. So my neck was a bit sore. It started this morning. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow."
At least, the damage wasn't bad enough to not allow the Dutch cyclist to continue. "It was still exciting, because it was another typically chaotic final. You always feel a bit of tension there. It was going really well until a rider rode right into my side and I was parked. I got through again and luckily didn't lose any time. I think I've lost some of my fear now."
Vollering admits that yesterday's fall still bothered her. "I was a bit scared at first, but my teammates were always there for me. That was really great."
Lotte Kopecky
Vollering's previous team SD Worx - Protime have been able to win their second stage thanks to European champion Lorena Wiebes. She could enjoy a support of her whole team which includes a world champion Lotte Kopecky. Despite the Belgian clearly not being in her best self, she still gave it all to assist her leader.
"We won two of the four stages, so that's quite nice, but it's Lorena who keeps the team going," Kopecky admitted to HLN that she shouldn't be given too much credit for victories of her teammate. "I took the lead, but I didn't have the legs to keep going. The credit goes to Lorena and the other girls."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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