"In hindsight, maybe it wasn't the right choice" - Demi Vollering regrets tactics against rivals in Kigali

Demi Vollering led a strong and diverse Dutch team at the women's elite road race in Kigali but the team was left stunned and lacking a top result. There was a tactical set of decisions that didn't work out for Vollering, who regrets the gamble she took after the winning group went up the road.

From early on the Dutch had been racing strongly and putting pressure on their rivals, with Shirin van Anrooij and Yara Kastelijn being part of early attacks, and then Riejanne Markus marking the winning attack of the day. However, the Visma rider didn't have the legs to keep up with the group of eventual winner Magdeleire Vallieres, and behind Vollering would not chase, whilst the team also lacked the numbers in comparison to the likes of Switzerland and France.

"It was good that we had Riejanne [Markus] up front. It's a shame we didn't make the podium in the end. It was a crazy race. It was quiet for a long time, but the laps crept in. When it opened up, everyone was immediately exhausted," Vollering said in words to NOS.

"I was mainly thinking, wait, wait, wait... When they've all fired their arrows, maybe there will be a moment for me. Because those arrows are expensive here. If you go too deep into the red a few times, it's hard to recover. Your heart rate is high and stays high." Perhaps this fear is what led to the conservative attitude from many riders, who saw the chance of a medal escape before their very eyes.

"You can see that clearly with the favorite group at the back: we're all completely done at the same moment. You just had to be very conscious of your energy today. That's what I wanted to do, and I did it, but in hindsight, maybe it wasn't the right choice." Vollering simply left it too late, but she was not the only one. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Katarzyna Niewiadoma and Elisa Longo Borghini dropped her in the penultimate climb of the day, showcasing just how many riders had good legs on the day but did not time their efforts well.

Vollering certainly also didn't have confidence on her side. "I didn't know how well I was going to perform. I felt really good at the beginning, but then I had some problems with my nutrition, which kept coming up. I was also a bit worried that I'd start feeling the pinch".

Ultimately the gamble did not pay off, whilst Vollering then did win the sprint for 7th place, leading in the main favourites group home ahead of Kim Le Court.

"That's why I was very frugal with my energy. Like I said: it was a gamble, a gamble, a gamble. The group at the front might just come back anyway. Then you might have a good guess. But yeah, it didn't quite work out this time. You always have a few things. Until it does, and then you can celebrate."

Should she have raced differently? "That's hard to say. I think we, as the Netherlands, simply rode a good race. If you have a slightly stronger group across the board, if Anna [van der Breggen] had also felt better, then you have one more pawn in the final" she argues. "Then you might be able to get even closer to the top group. That's a different story."

But ultimately, the team is left with a fifth and seventh place to show for in the race where they had the best chances of succeeding out of the elite races. "But under these circumstances, we rode a pretty good race with the Netherlands. I'm really proud of everyone, how they rode, and how they took responsibility at the right moments. The communication between us was excellent. The girls took care of me with water bottles and everything. I'm very happy with how we rode as a team".