Vollering Eyes Alps ⁣as​ Tour de France Femmes Heads East

Demi ‍Vollering is looking ahead to the mountainous stages of the‍ Tour de France ‌Femmes avec Zwift, believing her strengths will come to the ‌fore as the race progresses into the Alps.

The Dutch ⁤rider,a pre-race favorite,acknowledged ‍the challenging opening weekend in Brittany,where she lost a small amount of time to key rivals Marianne Vos and Katarzyna Niewiadoma.

“You ‌need to spread your focus a little bit as you can’t really stay focussed the whole three hours. So you need to dose it a little bit,” Vollering ⁣commented on the demands of​ the early stages.While Vollering finished among her rivals on the uphill finish in Quimper, she shed a handful of seconds‌ to Vos and Niewiadoma in Plumelec on day one. However, she remains optimistic about her current position.

“My biggest rivals also look good, but they’re a bit more punchy than I am,” Vollering admitted. “I hope that, as it gets a bit tougher over longer distances, I’ll be closer to the front.”

Her best days, she believes, will lie ahead, with the longer climbs of the Alps – including the Col du Granier, Col de la madeleine,⁤ and Col de Joux-Plane -⁣ playing to her strengths.

Navigating the Early Stages

Vollering described the opening‍ weekend’s racing as “chaotic” and “tricky.” She highlighted the importance of remaining vigilant⁢ to attacks from ⁢other ‌General Classification contenders.

“Today was a really chaotic, tricky race,” she said. “You saw at one point where Pauline and Kasia were out [attacking]. That’s something you always need to keep an​ eye out for and keep in mind – that other GC contenders ‌can still⁤ try something on a course‌ like this. On the other​ days, that’s a bit less of a ‌factor, of course.”

Sprint Stages Offer Respite

As the Tour heads eastwards ⁢out of Brittany to flatter ground on Monday, the focus turns to the sprint favourites, including stage 2 runner-up⁣ Lorena ⁤Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime). Vollering anticipates these flatter⁣ stages will offer⁤ a welcome respite for herself and her ⁣fellow GC contenders.

“The days after this are also about staying in front,” Vollering explained. “But maybe‌ the roads are a bit more decent, so you can stay as a team in front instead of being⁤ ‘in the mix’ all day or‍ grabbing a⁤ bidon and needing to fight⁣ for 20km to come to the front again.”

She concluded with a hopeful outlook: “I think⁣ it will⁣ be a bit easier in the⁤ next days.”

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