Demi Vollering returns to Giro d'Italia after long absence, but Tour de France remains main goal

Demi Vollering returns to the Giro d'Italia after a five-year absence. Due to the calendar shift, the European champion will be able to combine the Giro d'Italia with the Tour de France in 2026. In the Giro d'Italia, she can already start ticking off items from her (ever shrinking) checklist: it is the only Grand Tour that Vollering has yet to win. 

However, the Tour de France remains her major goal, she explained at an online press conference ahead of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. "Because I need a high-altitude training camp to be at my best for the Tour, I couldn’t ride the Giro in recent years. Now that the Giro is scheduled earlier, I can do a training camp before the Giro and still have time before the Tour. That’s actually the main reason why the Giro is now on my calendar."

Vollering is also looking forward to climbing the Colle delle Finestre in the Giro, although she had already decided to race the Italian Grand Tour before the route was announced. "I have never ridden the climb before, but the Finestre just looks really cool. Everyone knows the climb and I’m curious to see what it’s like to go up there. We will recon the Finestre once more before the Giro, and I’m already really excited about that."

Fresher for the Tour de France
Since the European champion will focus on the Giro d'Italia in 2026, the Spanish block of races is missing from her schedule compared to 2025. She will not be defending her titles in La Vuelta Femenina, Itzulia, and the Volta a Catalunya, but she hopes to benefit from this later in the Tour de France.

In 2025, Vollering struggled with illness at the end of the Spanish block and during the Tour de Suisse. Back then, she already indicated she wanted fewer race days in 2026, hoping that would allow her to be much fresher at the start of the Tour de France on August 1 in Switzerland.

"I believe I can do it again, win the Tour de France. I have to believe that it’s really possible. We will do everything to achieve the best possible result. I’m happy with the route. There’s a time trial, which I think is a great discipline. We can work well on that in the coming months," she continued.

Looking forward to the cobbles
For now, it’s still classics season for the Dutch rider. This Saturday, she will start at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, followed by Strade Bianche, Dwars door Vlaanderen, the Tour of Flanders, and the Ardennes classics. For Vollering, it is a return to Flanders’ Finest after one year of absence. "I love the cobbles and I missed the race, so I will race the Tour of Flanders again. I would also like to start Paris-Roubaix once more, but right now I choose to focus on the Ardennes classics."

"I’m really looking forward to Omloop. I think it’s a fun race and a great moment to see where my form really is. I already felt good in Valencia, but this is a very different race to check my condition. The opponents are different, the climbs are shorter, and it’s much colder. I have never won Omloop, but I’m sure that will happen sometime in the future," she concluded.