"We showed what we can do" - FDJ - Suez shakes off criticism after Demi Vollering's victory at Strade Bianche Donne

Demi Vollering's current and former teams were targets of criticism after a stand off at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad WE cost them a shot at victory. Since then, both parties have proven that they have not forgotten how to win. In a head-to-head clash with her former sports director Anna van der Breggen, Vollering came out on top at Strade Bianche. Part of that victory goes to the selfless work of her new FDJ - Suez teammates.

Vollering spoke openly after Strade Bianche about the support she feels within her team and the role she takes on as a leader to motivate the likes of Labous and Évita Muzic to give her their all as loyal domestiques. "Everyone has to be part of the process," the Dutch rider said with confidence. "The girls need to know how grateful I am."

"I’m happy, our collaboration is good and we have a strong bond together," Labous said of the time she’s spent alongside Vollering so far this season. "I feel this and it’s special, for me as a rider it’s nice as I have less pressure on my shoulders – I can be more aggressive which is a new style of riding for me and I can try to go to attacks while before I held myself back in case it didn’t work."

Behind victorious Vollering, Labous battled her compatriot Pauline Ferrand-Prévot for third place, which would've been a cherry on top for FDJ - Suez. "It was amazing, we had this really good plan and everyone was fully committed. We had struggles with Évita crashing in the first sector and it felt like it took forever for her to come back but we kept calm and it was amazing today. We did everything perfectly," she stated after the race.

"Me and Demi had great communication, keeping the gap close to the front group so that she could bridge at the right moment. I really tried to keep her calm and see how strong she was. I gave her motivation. I’m looking forward to watching the replay as we had a really great race, especially if you compare it to last weekend where we got some criticism. Today we showed what we could do."