Friday is here, which means it’s going to be a wild day at the Tour de France Femmes. The peloton is headed one of the most famous, and brutal climbs in cycling: Mont Ventoux. It is going to be a day where the GC gets all shook up, big time. And Demi Vollering will surely do all she can to snag the maillot jaune.
The Dutch star hasn’t said much ahead of Mont Ventoux, but her FDJ-SUEZ teammates have made one thing clear: they’re expecting fireworks.
On Ventoux
Team head of performance Lieselot Decroix wasn’t exactly going to tell the press the team’s plans, obviously, but she sounded confident about Vollering and the squad.
“I’d rather not say too much about the tactics yet,” she said to Wielerflits. “We’re also keeping quiet about exactly how good Demi is. But I think everyone has seen over the last few days that she’s in pretty good shape. She’s riding with confidence and has a big smile on her face.”
Decroix said the team will focus on its own strengths rather than its rivals.
“We’re going into this stage with a lot of confidence. We have to race to our strengths, and then we’ll see where it takes us,” she said.
Is today the day for Vollering?
Teammate Franziska Koch said something similar. The German said Vollering has already shown her form throughout the race. And it’s true–the European champ and former Tour winner looks pretty darn good at all the right moments.
“Demi has already shown how strong she is during this Tour, so this is definitely a stage to look forward to,” Koch said. “We don’t feel any pressure. We can go into it relaxed because we know our strengths. We know how good we are, and we’ve had this plan for several weeks. Demi has been working toward it even longer.”
Asked what fans should expect on the iconic climb, Koch simply said:
“A big show! It’s going to be a very tough climb.”
For the Canucks, all eyes will be on Lidl-Trek’s Isabella Holmgren. The Oro-Medonte, Ont., rider sits seventh overall, and Friday will be a great opportunity to show off her climbing legs. Victoria’s Sarah Van Dam went all in yesterday, so she may not have another big day in her legs, but the Visma-Lease a Bike rider has already shown she’s got what it takes in the hills at the Tour de Suisse. The same can be said for national time trial champion Nadia Gontova of Richmond, B.C. The Liv AlUla Jayco rider was impressive on the climbs at the Giro d’Italia.
The race is on Flobikes.com starting at 9:20 a.m. EDT. Check back here on Canadian Cycling Magazine for a report and analysis after! Allez les Femmes!
Affiliate links present. Canadian Cycling Magazine may receive commissions