"That's cycling. These things just happen" - Demi Vollering finds peace in sprint defeat on Tour de France Femmes stage 4

Just like at the Liège-Bastogne-Liège earlier this spring, Demi Vollering also failed to win the sprint of a small group during the fourth stage of the Tour de France Femmes, on parcours that were compared to a mini-Liège. This time, Puck Pieterse was too strong for the SD Worx - Protime leader.

In the final stretch it was Pieterse who launched the sprint earlier this time, yet Vollering was unable to pass her younger compatriot. "Maybe I started too late, but that's cycling," she summarized to media in a quick interview after the stage. "These things just happen."

Vollering remembers the painful defeat from La Doyenne, where she opened her sprint way too early. Hence this time she tried an opposite approach. "I've also started too early in Liège, and then of course you get overtaken. I really hoped that I could just pass Puck, but unfortunately that didn't work out," Vollering analyses her sprint with Pieterse.  

When asked if Vollering knew what to expect from a sprint with Pieterse, she indicates that they have sprinted against each other before. "I know that Puck is very talented and definitely has a strong finish. She has beaten me before, but I have beaten her before, so I knew it was a bit fifty-fifty for us."

"She also had the advantage when Kasia rode away, because I had to close that gap for the classification, which worked to Puck's advantage. But for Puck it's great, and she really deserved it," Vollering reacted cheerfully to Pieterse's victory.

Regardless of the outcome, the overwhelming GC favourite enjoys her battle with Pieterse. "It's definitely a great duel between us. Puck is a great rider who always races with her heart, she goes for it completely. It's really nice to see, and the joy always radiates from her. And after what happened at the Olympic Games, it's just fantastic that she wins such a stage," Vollering says.

Will Pieterse and Katarzyna Niewiadoma – with whom Vollering rode to the finish line – be her biggest competitors for the overall victory? "I think so. But of course we still have to watch out for other riders who can sneak away in a breakaway. Someone like Kirsten Faulkner for example. I heard she only lost 40 seconds."

While Vollering lost a battle today, the war is not over, as the old saying goes. The main objective - general classification - looks better than ever after today's stage with only five more opponents within a minute on GC. In next two stages, the biggest threat will pose large breakaways taking lots of time, however Vollering doesn't need to panic too much as she's most likely able to make up for almost any time loss in the mountains at the weekend.