"There were so many moments I thought I went too early" - Demi Vollering conquers rainbow jersey at long last
Cycling
Dem Vollering has become World Champion for the first time in her career at the Montréal World Championships. The FDJ-Suez rider was the strongest in the Canadian road race and managed to beat Katarzyna Niewiadoma and Elisa Longo Borghini to take the victory.
"I think I can still not believe it. Like I said before, I truly before, I had this dream in my heart for a reason. i worked so hard towards this goal, it takes guts to truly believe in it with your whole heart and to gather a team around you with such strong girls..." Vollering said in a post-race interview.
The Dutch team took control of the race early on and it was Maeva Squiban who was the first to put real pressure. With three ascents left to the end of the race Vollering went on the attack, launched by a Puck Pieterse that sacrificed her chances to win the race.
"They all sacrificed for you, maybe they also have a chance and go for it. But only for you, it's a lot to ask for them, but I'm so proud for every rider from the team, we took the race into our hands, whole race in the front, then Puck did an amazing leadout and I could just not finish the job," Vollering admitted.

Demi Vollering won the Montréal World Championships
Vollering caught but still victorious
But the road into the finish line was not smooth sailing. Elisa Longo Borghini and Katarzyna Niewiadoma united on several occasions and managed to reel her back in still far from the finish.
"There were so many moments I thought I went too early, it stayed so close the whole time, I had to turn around and look back because I was like 'I feel like they're almost in my wheel already'. Then it was 20 seconds, 22, 15... At one point they came back and I was like 'oh shit', but I had to believe in it," Vollering continued. "I just dared and tried again, and never game up at the finish line".
Vollering wins another duel with Niewiadoma
The finale was a matter of who could resist the high pace the longest. Vollering attacked the final ascent and went off the front with Niewiadoma. Between the two, Vollering was the strongest in the final sprint.
"I was not planning on giving it away anymore from that moment I was like 'no, it's mine'," Vollering said following the finish.
"I think it was an amazing race to watch, I'm very proud to be part of that, I cannot wait to watch it back".
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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- Great win.However will the world champions jersey be simply a domestic for the season which will some what tarnish the jersey. I hope he is given free rein to try and win some races.paultryan200206-11-2026
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santiagobenites06-11-2026 - Throws an elbow, but crashes afterwards and he's upset.
Front24206-11-2026 - There should be nothing but praise for them: 1. Trying to make things safer, and 2. Trying something "new".acem8206-11-2026
- And a bit of a malcontent on top of it all that doesn’t help.mij06-11-2026
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