{"id":324578,"date":"2025-12-19T12:04:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T12:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/324578\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T12:04:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T12:04:09","slug":"demi-vollering-slams-motorists-who-didnt-even-ask-if-i-was-okay-after-kissing-tarmac-in-training-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/324578\/","title":{"rendered":"Demi Vollering slams motorists who \u201cdidn\u2019t even ask if I was okay\u201d after \u201ckissing tarmac\u201d in training crash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Demi Vollering has criticised the number of passing motorists who failed to stop or \u201ceven ask if I was okay\u201d after the 2023 Tour de France Femmes winner crashed hard during a training ride in Spain on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>The FDJ-Suez leader was training in Spain\u2019s Alicante province, just south of Benidorm, when she \u201ckissed the tarmac\u201d on a descent and sustained cuts to her hands and face. It appears that no other rider or driver was involved in the crash.<\/p>\n<p>In a series of Instagram stories, which included a short clip of her sitting at the side of the road beside her bike, Vollering was critical of the three motorists she claims simply drove on by her shortly after the crash, sarcastically noting that their decision to ignore her did not instil \u201ca lot of confidence in humanity\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" typeof=\"foaf:Image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/demi-vollering-crash-3.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazyload\" itemprop=\"image\" width=\"486\" height=\"749\" alt=\"Demi Vollering crashes during training ride\" title=\"Demi Vollering crashes during training ride\"\/>Demi Vollering crashes during training ride (credit: Demi Vollering\/Instagram)<\/p>\n<p>However, the 29-year-old thanked the one cyclist who \u201cstopped to check with me\u201d, before staff from FDJ-Suez arrived on the scene to take her back to Altea, where the French squad is staying during their annual winter training camp.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDay started so good,\u201d two-time Vuelta Femenina winner Vollering posted on Instagram, sharing a video of her descending one of the dozens of popular training roads dotted along the Costa Blanca.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut the day didn\u2019t finish so well. Tried to kiss the tarmac. Can tell, don\u2019t try,\u201d she continued, alongside images of her bloodied hands and chin.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" typeof=\"foaf:Image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/demi-vollering-injures-hand-during-training-crash.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazyload\" itemprop=\"image\" width=\"485\" height=\"734\" alt=\"Demi Vollering injures hand during training crash\" title=\"Demi Vollering injures hand during training crash\"\/>Demi Vollering injures hand during training crash (credit: Demi Vollering\/Instagram)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThanks to the three cars who passed me and didn\u2019t even ask if I was okay. It gives me a lot of confidence in humanity. Not. It\u2019s a reminder for me that lots of people are too busy in their own world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust very thankful to the one cyclist who stopped to check with me. And also very happy that my team was there as fast as they could.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/road.cc\/content\/news\/cycling-live-blog-30-july-2025-315197#live-blog-item-69027\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">&gt;\u00a0\u201cDemi really thinks she\u2019s in a gilded cage\u201d: FDJ-Suez boss claims \u201cdisrespectful\u201d rivals are \u201ccutting off\u201d Demi Vollering \u2013 but Visma-Lease a Bike DS hits back, telling Dutch star, \u201cMaybe you should do another sport\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Vollering\u2019s training crash comes as the Dutch superstar prepares for her second season with FDJ-Suez, following her much-publicised move from SD-Worx at the start of 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The 29-year-old continued her remarkable run of success at the French squad this season, winning the second Strade Bianche of her career, her second Vuelta Femenina, her third Itzulia triumph, and her first Volta a Catalunya.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" typeof=\"foaf:Image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20250728tdffaz1103.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazyload\" itemprop=\"image\" width=\"970\" height=\"647\" alt=\"Demi Vollering struggles to the finish of stage 3, 2025 Tour de France Femmes\" title=\"Demi Vollering struggles to the finish of stage 3, 2025 Tour de France Femmes\"\/>Demi Vollering struggles to the finish of stage 3, 2025 Tour de France Femmes (credit: ASO\/Pauline Ballet)<\/p>\n<p>However, Vollering once again failed to regain the Tour de France Femmes title she won in 2023 \u2013 a victory many assumed would usher in a period of dominance for the Dutch stage racer \u2013 finishing second behind Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot, after sustaining injuries in a high-speed crash on stage three.<\/p>\n<p>She did end the year on a high though, securing the first European road race title of her career with a superb 37km solo ride through the Ard\u00e8che.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/road.cc\/content\/news\/wiebes-hit-and-run-316899\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">&gt;\u00a0\u201cSee how many cyclists get killed by cars\u201d: Lorena Wiebes struck by hit-and-run driver<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Vollering isn\u2019t the first pro cyclist to be involved in a training crash this winter \u2013 and nor is she the first to publicly criticise motorists in the aftermath.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of November, Vollering\u2019s former SD-Worx teammate <a href=\"https:\/\/road.cc\/content\/news\/wiebes-hit-and-run-316899\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Lorena Wiebes revealed that she had been struck from behind by a hit-and-run driver<\/a> while riding her e-mountain bike at home in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" typeof=\"foaf:Image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/screenshot-2025-11-19-092620.png\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazyload\" itemprop=\"image\" width=\"499\" height=\"882\" alt=\"Lorena Wiebes hit and run\" title=\"Lorena Wiebes hit and run\"\/>Lorena Wiebes hit and run (credit: Lorena Wiebes\/Instagram)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the person who hit me and didn\u2019t stop \u2013 luckily I\u2019m quite okay but this could be way worse, especially because I got hit from the back,\u201d the five-time Tour de France Femmes stage winner posted on Instagram, alongside a photo of her damaged bike.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThanks to the two [people] who stopped to check I\u2019m okay. Also more frustrated if you see how many cyclists get killed by cars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the same week, French pro Thibault Guernalec spoke out about the inherent risks associated with life as a professional cyclist after <a href=\"https:\/\/road.cc\/content\/news\/pro-cyclist-struck-head-driver-breaks-back-316981\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">admitting he came \u201cwithin a hair\u2019s breadth of being in a wheelchair\u201d following a high-speed head-on collision with a motorist during a training ride<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The 28-year-old, who is set to join TotalEnergies in 2026 after spending his entire professional career with the soon-to-be-defunct Ark\u00e9a-B&amp;B Hotels team, was riding in his home region of Brittany when he was hit by an oncoming driver on a slight downhill.<\/p>\n<p>Guernalec, who admitted he doesn\u2019t remember anything about the crash, suffered fractures to his lower back and finger, as well as concussion and a broken eye, his team confirmed at the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier in November, Belgian cyclocross champion <a href=\"https:\/\/road.cc\/content\/news\/marion-norbert-riberolle-hit-car-316789\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Marion Norbert Riberolle required stitches for a deep leg wound and warned drivers to \u201cbe careful\u201d<\/a> after she was struck by a motorist during a training ride.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" typeof=\"foaf:Image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/zoe-backstedt-breaks-hand-and-cracks-helmet-training-crash.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazyload\" itemprop=\"image\" width=\"970\" height=\"621\" alt=\"Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt breaks hand and cracks helmet in training crash\" title=\"Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt breaks hand and cracks helmet in training crash\"\/>Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt breaks hand and cracks helmet in training crash (credit: Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt)<\/p>\n<p>Riberolle\u2019s cyclocross rival Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt\u2019s winter campaign was also derailed a few weeks earlier, <a href=\"https:\/\/road.cc\/content\/news\/zoe-backstedt-says-helmet-saved-her-life-after-crash-316639\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">when a training crash left her with fractures in her hand and wrist<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 and a cracked and badly scuffed helmet which she claims \u201csaved my life\u201d, the rising British multidisciplinary star taking to Instagram to urge her fellow cyclists to \u201cwear a helmet, please\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In October, former Tour de France white jersey winner Pierre Latour was denied the opportunity to finish his career on his own terms after <a href=\"https:\/\/road.cc\/content\/news\/pierre-latour-crash-retirement-316289\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">being hit by a lorry driver\u2019s rear-view mirror while training for what would have been his final race<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>And in June, Visma-Lease a Bike rider <a href=\"https:\/\/road.cc\/content\/news\/visma-lease-bike-pro-hit-hard-driver-314657\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cian Uijtdebroeks said he was \u201chit hard\u201d by a motorist during a training ride, leaving him hospitalised<\/a>. Though he escaped without sustaining any serious injuries, the 22-year-old called on motorists to \u201cpay attention to vulnerable road users\u201d, telling them: \u201cIf you don\u2019t, you\u2019re playing with lives\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Demi Vollering has criticised the number of passing motorists who failed to stop or \u201ceven ask if I&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324579,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-324578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}