"I will not tell my story now, I will tell you when I am ready for it" - Demi Vollering possibly hints at friction within SD Worx

Team SD Worx - ProTime is arguably the strongest team in the current peloton but this year that hasn't been so prominent. Whilst they have just signed long-term contracts with Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes, relations between the team and Demi Vollering are not the best and following the spring classics it seems the downfall continues.

Vollering's departure from the team was announced whilst... She was racing Dwars door Vlaanderen. The timing of the initial statement was rather odd, in which team manager Erwin Janssen said that "we made Demi Vollering a generous offer and indicated that this should be responded to before a certain date. Vollering's management did not respond to this. Therefore, we assume that Vollering will leave the team at the end of the year." This came after rumours of a possible millionaire contract with UAE Team ADQ. Since, contact with FDJ - Suez has also been reported. A move to neither team is confirmed or heavily implied at the time being.

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“I was a bit surprised by the team's statement but I'm not going to talk about that too much now," Vollering said in the days after, but rejected further conversations and focused on the racing. It is necessary to say that the Dutch champion had a strong spring, but it lacked the victory she looked for. She featured on the podium of the Brabantse Pijl, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but did not climb to the top step. 

"It was a different spring. Not what I hoped for.. And I know, still some nice podiums which I can be proud on, but that’s not what I aimed for," Vollering wrote in an Instagram post. "I also know that’s cycling, something you win, most of the times you lose. Last Sunday was painful. I felt so good, and to end my favorite race like this was just a big disappointment."

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Vollering was third in Liège after a difficult race tactically, but specially one where SD Worx was surprisingly absent from the front. Odd tactics were also noticed by some, where Niamh Fisher-Black dropped from the peloton to help Lotte Kopecky who had cracked; only to then accelerate once again. Vollering was left isolated, a rare scene specially in such a tough race. After her immense success in 2023, she couldn't help but to be disappointed with the lack of a victory following two months of racing.

"I thought back of my first pro year 2019, where I was so incredibly happy with a 3rd place. But it isn’t enough anymore, also because I know I can do better," she admits. "Now the focus is already on the next goals. The disappointments will not stop me, it only motivates me to do better. With the end of the spring season, I can also leave this unquiet start of the season behind me."

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However she also left words regarding her future in cycling, and although she does not tell details, her message is rather clear that she is holding something back regarding what is currently happening: "I know every one keeps asking me about my future, but I will not tell my story now, I will tell you when I am ready for it."

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