"It was a sh*tty situation... all I could think about on the final podium" - Demi Vollering recalls Tour de France heartbreak and costly stage 5 crash

Just four seconds... that was all that separated Demi Vollering and a second successive Tour de France Femmes success earlier this summer. Although the Team SD Worx - Protime distanced race leader Katarzyna Niewiadoma on Alpe d'Huez on the final climb of the race, it turned out not to be enough to complete the GC overhaul. 

"Deep down I felt it wasn't going to be enough because I had heard the time gap just before. I crossed the finish line and I sat down on the ground and I watched the time go by on the top of the finish line," recalls Vollering in conversation with The Athletic. "All I could think was: 'Let the time fly. Let Kasia stop. I just wanted time to move forward because it can, you know?". The moments were tense. Victory was slipping away. It was a different feeling. And then I saw her coming around the corner and I knew it wasn't going to happen."

"My family said I raced with my heart, that it was an incredible race and that they still loved me," she continues. "It was everything you want to hear. It was also what you don't want to hear because at that moment you only want one thing and that is the yellow jersey."

Although the Alpe d'Huez climb almost saw Vollering catapult back into the race lead, it wasn't enough. In truth though, that was not the moment the race was lost. On stage 5, the 27-year-old was caught up in a late crash, just outside the 3km safety marker. In an decision that caused uproar online, Team SD Worx - Protime opted against sending the team back to support the Maillot Jaune in her desperate chase back, as Blanka Kata Vas eventually took the stage win. 

"It was a strange roundabout," Vollering recalls. "It was a shitty situation. I had so much pain in my lower back and leg that I had no strength. It took me quite a while to get up. However, then I realised I couldn't bend down to get my bike. By the time I picked it up and put the chain back on, the clock was ticking."

In the end, Vollering lost a total of 1:47 on that stage and despite regaining most of that, it ultimately proved too much to overcome. "I was so close and the way I lost was really painful," she concludes. "(The crash) was stupid and that was all I could think about on the final podium. However, then very quickly, the next morning actually, I could see how proud my family and friends were of my performance in the race. I saw how excited the fans were. Positive energy, no doubt."