"I want to keep it until the very end" - Relieved Demi Vollering into Red Jersey after first win of the season at La Vuelta Femenina

After an admittedly disappointing Spring Classics campaign, Demi Vollering fired back to an emphatic return to form on stage 5 of La Vuelta Femenina 2024, taking the stage win on the summit finish at Alto del Fuerte Rapitán.

"I felt really strong this season, but I hadn’t been able to win as of yet. I stood in some podiums, but victory was taking too long. I am very happy I could take it here," Vollering reflects in her post-stage interview afterwards. "Last year I had this beautiful Dutch national champion jersey already, but I couldn’t win with it as most days I was wearing the UCI Women’s WorldTour leader jersey. Getting at least one victory in this beautiful jersey was a goal for the year. I’m really happy I made it."

Speaking of jerseys, Vollering's win also sees her move into the overall lead of the general classification and as such take firm control of the leader's Red Jersey. "Now I’m getting the Red jersey, which is very pretty too, and I want to keep it until the very end," she says.

"As for today, it was actually quite a calm stage, not really hard in my opinion. I felt really good and the whole team put its focus on bringing me to the bottom of the last climb in the best possible position," Vollering concludes. "I expected the final climb to be harder, actually, as it looked really steep and pretty long when I checked it online. I started to pace halfway through and kept pushing because I felt Elisa was struggling on my wheel. I decided to give it all until the very end to get some time on her. It turned out nicely, and I hope for some more nice days to come too."