If Brandon McNulty’s win at the Montreal World Championships came off the back of perfect teamwork, then the same could be said of Demi Vollering’s European Championships victory on Saturday.
It might have been less dramatic, with a smaller peloton racing on a less dynamic course, but the Dutch team executed their plan in Slovenia as well as the American men did theirs in Canada.
The big difference, of course, was Vollering’s status as the outright favourite on a punchy course which suited her, so rather than a patient ride, as the US did, the Dutch took control from the flag drop. And they never let go until the jersey was on Vollering’s back, with teammate Puck Pieterse next to her on the podium, a silver medal round her neck.
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When the attacks started as the race headed north from Ljubljana, the Dutch made it clear who they would let go, Lorena Wiebes pivoting from sprinter supreme to domestique de luxe, chasing moves then sitting on the front for 60km, holding the break at a short arm’s length.
Everyone took their turn, Amber Kraak providing Wiebes some relief, Riejanne Markus and Karlijn Swinkels leading into the first ascent of the climb before Femke de Vries ripped the bunch apart as the gradients became ever steeper. It was a repeat performance the next time round, Vollering with four teammates as the final lap began. De Vries reduced the group to just four, before Pieterse provided the final jabs for Vollering’s knockout blow.
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“It was really nice, and I think again we showed a perfect race here, Vollering told Cycling Pro Net after the race. “I really enjoyed the race here and also to finish all the hard work, and also Puck who took second here, that’s just a big dream for all of us.
“I was never worried about anything, and I know I can trust them all with all my heart now. It was such a pleasure to race like this again today, and we were in control from the start to the very finish, so I’m very proud of everybody who took part today and I think it’s so nice that all the girls have their own part of this race, like everybody was part of the win and the second place, so I think this is really satisfying for all of us.”
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With wins and a handful of solid performances in one-day and stage races, Pieterse showed herself as far more than a domestique long ago, and her second place just added to that. A multi-discipline winner, she is successful whatever she’s riding, whether that be her cyclo-cross bike or mountain bike, and surely she will have her opportunity to lead the Dutch squad in future road championships.
She led out Vollering to make her race-winning move and was then able to sit on wheels until the final, where she was easily able to out-sprint Marlen Reusser (Switzerland). But she too was full of praise for her teammates.
“Almost the whole day there was a Dutchy on the front today, Lorena, Amber, all the other girls they did a super job,” Pieterse told Cycling Pro Net. “It was just great feeling the support of the girls and then me and Demi finished it off.”
“I think I can be really proud of how I rode and then to finish it off one-two is super cool. Those two weeks with the Dutch team, it was a lot of fun, the vibe was good and so I really enjoyed it.
“Of course it’s always the goal to aim as high as possible, but this also feels like a victory and I think when you work like this for each other it always pays back,” she said, suggesting her future ambitions.
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