Demi Vollering set to lead a Dutch women’s 2026 UCI Road World Championship squad surprisingly lacking two former winners

Dutch national coach Laurens ten Dam has announced a strong group for the Elite Women’s road race at the UCI Road World Championships later this month, with Demi Vollering the team’s anointed leader riding both the road race and time trial.

But the team is notable for the absence of two former winners. Three-time champion Marianne Vos and Anna van der Breggen, who won the road and time trial in 2020, were not selected.

While she failed to finish the Tour de France Femmes last month, she won a stage and finished second overall at the Vuelta Femenina in May, before finishing third overall at the Giro d’Italia Women, winning the mountain time trial. The Dutch squad will certainly miss her abilities against the clock in the time trial on September 20.

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It was thought she would ride the Faun Tour Femmes, which started on Thursday, but her SD Worx-Protime squad started the French stage race with only five of the permitted six riders.

After yet another brilliant season in which she won the Giro d’Italia Women and became the first woman to win the Tour de France Femmes twice, Demi Vollering was the obvious choice for the Dutch team.

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Though she’s come close, Vollering has never won a rainbow jersey, but with her uncanny ability to target races, she is certain to start the race as the out-and-out favourite. With 2,400m of vertical ascent over its punchy climbs, the 180km race on September 26 suits her down to the ground.

Also riding both the time trial and the road race, Lieke Nooijen has recovered from a broken collarbone sustained in the recent Tour of Britain Women and proved her abilities against the clock by winning the national title in June.

Should Vollering not be able to produce the rainbow-winning goods, Mischa Bredewold is another rider who could bring the jersey back to the Netherlands. Able to cope with the climbs, she has plenty of punch, though the same can be said for Puck Pieterse.

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Femke de Fries is another top climber, finishing third on Jebel Hafeet at the UAE Tour early in the year and producing a number of top climbing performances in the Tour de France Femmes, where she finished 12th overall.

“It is remarkable to see how many Dutch riders have made their mark at the highest level this season. I am proud to be the national coach of such a strong generation,” Ten Dam said in a press release.

“Demi is our leader, but at a World Championship, you need each other to succeed. The challenge lies in bringing all those individual qualities together as a team. If we capitalise on our opportunities at key moments, we can look forward to a great World Championship with confidence.”

Over the years, the strength of the Dutch women’s team has often proved to be their undoing, with so many top riders with big ambitions struggling to come together as a team, though if Vollering is as superior as she often is, there will be little opportunity for discord.

Dutch women’s team for the 2026 UCI World ChampionshipsDemi VolleringMischa BredewoldLieke NooijenRiejanne MarkusPuck PieterseKarlijn Swinkels Femke de Vries

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