"It was mainly wet and cold today" - Demi Vollering shivers her way to victory on the opening stage of the Itzulia Women

Continuing her brilliant 2023 season, Demi Vollering was the stage winner on a cold and wet opening day of the 2023 edition of the Itzulia Women.

“I felt good on the climbs, but otherwise it was mainly wet and cold today,” said the Team SD Wor leader post-race. “The circumstances were an opponent in themselves. Hopefully, it will be a little drier in the coming days, but it seems to stay rainy for the next few days. Hopefully, we stay fit.”

Finishing 47 seconds ahead of the second-placed rider, her teammate Marlen Reusser, both Vollering and the Team SD Worx set-up in general continued to show their dominance. “We had already explored this climb in the past few days. So we knew it was me. My goal was to start as early as possible and to gain as much time as possible," she analyses. "The team did a good job, right up to the bottom of the climb. That was very nice."

So is she confident of taking the overall victory? “It will be very difficult to do as well as last year," Vollering suggests. The Dutchwoman took all three stages and the general classification win twelve months ago. "But I will do my best to make it a good race."