We are 12 months on, and Demi Vollering is once again disappointed at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. For another year in a row, the FDJ-Suez rider has finished in second place, and the yellow jersey dream has eluded her. However, it feels different this time, as she tells the media in her post-race press conference, because she believes that there is nothing else she could have done. This was a fair fight, and the best rider won the bike race. Sometimes, it is as simple as that. In 2025, the gap to victory was not four seconds, but almost four minutes.
“Now I am more happy because I know we fought everyday we did everything we could whereas last year – while I did always fight until the end – I lost so much time with the crash that made it hard,” she admits.
Her position on the podium may be the same as in 2024, but her demeanour after the final stage could not be more contrasting. Today, Vollering appears at peace with what she has done this year – there are no tears, there is very little emotion and in its place is a rider who is defeated, but understanding. She had done all she could, but the yellow jersey is not hers.
“Yesterday when I couldn't follow Sarah [Gigante] and Pauline [Ferrand-Prévot] afterwards, I was pretty sure that it was not possible anymore to win yellow, but still wanted to move up the general classification and aim for a stage win,” the 28-year-old reflected.
That stage win, in the end, did not transpire, and all that is left for Vollering and FDJ-Suez to do now is look ahead. The Dutch rider was able to reflect on the generational, game-changing performance of Visma-Lease a Bike’s French champion and said that this will drive her forward towards further success. Pragmatically, Vollering pointed out that with a different route that was more suited to her strengths, rather than those of the pure climbers, the yellow jersey dream could be as alive as ever next year.
“We need to recover and rest, go back to the drawing board and see what happens,” she she said. “If we have a Tour next year and it is an echelon day, for example, it is good for me because I profit from that. A time trial is also good for me. We saw Gigante lose a lot of time today so it is not only being a good climber that makes you a good rider, you need every skill. This Tour was more for the pure climbers and we don’t know about next year. Never say never.”
Despite her positivity, one thing that is evident in Vollering’s answers is that she is tired. This is, of course, understandable after nine days of racing, but it isn’t just from a physical standpoint that the FDJ rider is craving a break. She has also been under constant scrutiny during this Tour after Jos van Emden, lead sports director of Visma-Lease a Bike, made comments to the press that Vollering wanted to be in a “gilded cage” and be given special treatment in the peloton after her crash on stage three. The controversy that has come with this, naturally, has had an effect on Vollering.
“I am being hunted for this a little bit, especially in the Netherlands. I have the feeling I have this stigma around me that I am a drama queen or however you want to put it, but if you ask my teammates they will always say different,” she said. “It is people who don't know me who say things like this. [Van Emden] can say that from the outside, I don't blame him for that, he doesn’t know me.”
As a rider who has repeatedly been vocal about the importance of mental health for professional athletes, Vollering is acutely aware that the added attention that comes with being in the media spotlight could have had an impact on her race in 2025. What has got her through, however, is the unwavering support of FDJ-Suez. It is this that will help her return to the Tour de France Femmes again with a solid structure behind her – whether she wins or loses.
“A stage victory was what I missed in this Tour de France, I came close a few times,” she concluded. “But we fought as a team this whole day and for this whole race and I am proud of that. Everything went well in a new team and at this moment, that makes me very happy.”
