"She wanted a place where we respect the rules, the contract and above all the riders” - FDJ-Suez boss explains how Demi Vollering signing came around

After emerging as arguably the leading general classification rider in the women's peloton over the course of her four seasons at Team SD Worx - Protime, in 2025, Demi Vollering will be the leading light of FDJ - Suez and the main rival of Team SD Worx.

“We have big ambitions and we are really excited about the future. After 19 seasons we’re always improving to be step-by-step one of the best teams,” FDJ - Suez’s manager Stephen Delcourt tells Velo, revealing how once the ball started rolling with Vollering, a transfer actually came about quite quickly. “One year ago I could not have imagined having Demi, but we started discussing in the spring and one month later it was finalized."

Although Vollering was immensely successful at SD Worx, winning Grand Tours, stage races and even big one day races, there have been murmurs of discontent behind the scenes. The lack of support for the Dutchwoman when she crashed in the Maillot Jaune and was left basically without help to try and limit losses at this summer's Tour de France Femmes, was for some, proof that all was not well amongst the team.

Upon speaking to Vollering though, Delcourt had no issues at all. “We had a good conversation about what she wanted and expected, her dreams, and when we compared and shared our values, our story and our vision for the future, we were naturally really motivated to sign her," the team boss explains. “She has the same values as us – our mission is to inspire the next generation – and she wanted a quiet place, a place where we respect the rules, the contract and above all the riders.”

“Demi is the best rider. The best GC rider definitely. She lost the Tour de France this year but we need to remember the atmosphere and the context – SD Worx knew there was no deal [for her staying]," Delcourt continues. "It was a complicated year for her but if we analyse, we see she won the Vuelta, all the other Spanish stages races, and though crashes are part of cycling, for me she was the best in the Tour de France.”

If Vollering could reclaim the Maillot Jaune in 2025, she would be doing so for a French team. A potentially massive moment for cycling in the country. “It’s a great day for French cycling in general because it’s the first time in the modern cycling era that a Tour de France winner has signed for a French team,” Delcourt explains. “We want to be able to win the three Grand Tours for the next four to five years and to win the Classics also. Signing Demi is a big step towards that. For sure we are on paper one of the best teams, but the best answer will be on the road. We’ll have a feeling of our ranking after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Strade Bianche. But the main goal of course in the Tour de France and the Vuelta is also important.”