"I tried to give her a lot of confidence during the race" - Demi Vollering and Lotte Kopecky show much better cooperation than last year at Strade Bianche

The SD Worx - Protime ladies were once again beyond the reach of their competitors, always in full control of the situation, never outnumbered, never in any danger. At the end of a muddy day around Siena, it was Lotte Kopecky who celebrated her Strade Bianche triumph, while Demi Vollering sat back, neutralizing all counter-attacks to arrive third herself.

"We were in an ideal situation with Lotte Kopecky and Elisa Longo Borghini at the front. I could sit there and hope that Lotte could break free, which eventually happened. Lotte indicated that she was not feeling well, but it shows that you can also win if your legs are not good. I tried to give her a lot of confidence during the race," Vollering revealed in an interview after the race.

After the finish, there was a warm embrace between the teammates. A contrast with last year. "Last year we didn't know what happened to us, but afterwards we also hugged. It is a fantastic team to ride in as a rider. Hopefully there will be more such races this year." Although the Dutch woman remained in the dark about her future at SD Worx-Protime. "We'll see about that."

Vollering now seems to take a bit of a break from racing until the end of March, when she'll be back in action at Dwars door Vlaanderen. Opposed to that, her teammate Kopecky will race a couple more Belgian races before the 'killer duo' re-unites at the Belgian appetizer ahead of Tour de Flanders.