"The communication was only one-sided" - Demi Vollering opens up about internal issues with Lotte Kopecky at SD Worx

Recently Tour de France Femmes winner Katarzyna Niewiadoma talked about the epic day ending at the Alpe d'Huez and how Demi Vollering was inconsolable despite winning the stage (but missing out on the yellow jersey by 4 seconds). However Niewiadoma was not the only big rider having an issue with the Dutchwoman, as she also admits that over the 2024 season it became very difficult to talk with teammate Lotte Kopecky.

This is a tension that had already become quite obvious to the public, but mostly the result of a team that had such overwhelming dominance in the sport and whose superior leaders led to calendar and tactic clashes. Vollering being a pure climber and Kopecky being a classics specialist above all else (although both are very versatile), it led to a split in the team regarding how to race in some events. They actually finished first and second at the 2023 Tour de France Femmes but with little issue as Kopecky wasn't expected to fight for a top place initially and wore yellow most of the race, whilst Vollering then won the race in the mountains.

This year Kopecky evolved as a climber and her ambitions directly clashed with Vollering's. "Very different from last year. I think she tried to avoid me a bit, she was more focused on herself. I understand that too, with all the expectations they have of her in Belgium," Vollering said in words to NRC. "But she was very focused on next year, when I'm no longer there."

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Vollering had her space to lead the team and won aplenty in 2024, but did have issues in some races such as Romandie where she was beaten by Kopecky herself, the World Championships where the Belgian also won (although Vollering's issues there were with the Dutch team that also raced with several leaders and no set tactic); but also the Tour de France Femmes where she suffered a hard defeat in the overall classification, largely due to the lack of support after crashing on stage 5 where she lost almost two minutes and the yellow jersey at the time.

It proved too much and Vollering wanted to leave in order to have sole leadership, she has now signed a two-year contract with FDJ-Suez. "The entire season, when I rode a race with Lotte, we raced with two plans. A plan for Lotte, a plan for Demi. But I just need a strict tactic," she justified. She will now have to race against her former team, but will still have strong support to chase the big wins.

Her communication with Kopecky suffered throughout the year and it's something she laments. "I tried that all season, but I noticed that the communication was only one-sided. In Romandie we avoided each other a bit. Then I thought: now it's just over," Vollering lamented.

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