"Lotte was by far the strongest” - Demi Vollering bravely battles cramp to snatch silver in World Championships road race

Demi Vollering has had an incredibly successful 2023. Although she was unable to cap it off with a World Championships road race victory, a silver medal and second place means Vollering won't be going home from Glasgow empty-handed.

"I'm exhausted. I really gave everything. So I am happy with the second place, Lotte was also by far the strongest,” the 26-year-old said in her post-race interview, praising the newly-crowned world champion and Vollering's Team SD Worx teammate, Lotte Kopecky. “She was very strong all game and she played very well. Respect to her.”  

Going into the final 10km, things looked good for the Dutch team with both Vollering and Annemiek van Vleuten in an elite group at the front of the race. Sadly though, disaster struck as van Vleuten suffered a puncture, taking her out of the running. “That was really disappointing, otherwise we could have made it more difficult for Lotte. Then she would have to respond to both of us and we could have done more," Vollering analyses. "We raced well as a team. I am happy that we have this second place.”

Once Kopecky made her race-winning move, Vollering had no answer. “I gambled there just a little too long. That's a bit stupid. I had to plug the gap myself, but I bet someone else would. Lotte, however, surprised me with a lot of speed, I got full cramp when I was closing the gap," she explains. "That second place really came from my toes. I'm glad it worked out, it was a really tough race. Hopefully I'll pack more next year.”