Demi Vollering is going into 2025 with a new plan, “like Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel.” She talks about the disaster at the World Championships.

FDJ-Suez is starting a new season and part of Demi Vollering’s career. Recently, she talked about a lot of important things she hadn’t talked about during the season, like her terrible crash at the Tour de France Femmes and her relationships with Lotte Kopecky. Also, the questionable strategies used in the World Championships.

In March, her team told her she was leaving SD Worx without telling her first, which surprised the Dutchwoman. There were clear problems in the team’s relationships, and her feud with Lotte Kopecky was probably the worst. Due to their big budget, the team was able to hire three of the best riders in the peloton, who then had to compete for the top spot in their own personal rankings.

“That news really didn’t surprise me.” Many problems happened in the first few months of the season because of it. Vollering told NOS, “After the spring, I felt more calm, but some doubts stayed with me all year.” It wasn’t easy to leave SD Worx. The four years I spent with that team were great.

She crashed at the Tour de France Femmes while wearing the yellow jersey and lost almost two minutes on stage 5. Her team didn’t help her much when it meant the most. A mere 4 seconds separated her from winning the GC. She broke her tailbone and says that the injury kept bothering her after the TDFF, but that didn’t change her original plans.

“It needed time to heal, but I didn’t have that time because I wanted to compete at the World Championships,” she says, explaining why she didn’t put her health first but instead put pressure on herself to do well. “I had to avoid all impact, couldn’t run, couldn’t do strength training, and sprinting was also out of the question.”

It was then time for the World Championships. Two Dutch riders were in front going into the last lap, and Vollering didn’t charge until they were caught. That is until she dropped Marianne Vos, who was the only logical rider who could beat Lotte Kopecky in the spring. Vollering and the other Dutch riders didn’t make it to the top. This was because they were using race radios, which isn’t how things are done during the rest of the season.

“I was scared to lose because I really wanted to win.” She says, “I wasted my time and made some mistakes.” “I realized that right after the race was over, but there’s not much you can do then.” Failure is a way to learn. “That is what I will hold on to for many years to come.”

Now that she is with FDJ-Suez, the 28-year-old will run less in 2025 but try to win as many races as she did this year or more. “I left with a big smile on my face after the first talk.” Goals for the career are getting more attention than goals for the season. In particular, she said, “I will ride in fewer races than Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel, but I will try to be in great shape almost every time I compete.”