Demi Vollering sees important development within team after Omloop: "Amazing to see"

Demi Vollering’s spring season got off to a flying start. The European champion won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad for the first time in her career on Saturday, after a two-rider battle with Kasia Niewiadoma. Afterwards, Vollering showered her teammates with praise.

"This feels good. It’s great to finish it off," she began her story in an interview with Sporza. "It was also according to my own expectations, but to actually do it makes me proud. The team rode very well all day. We had Elise (Chabbey, ed.) in the breakaway, and Franszi (Franziska Koch, ed.) executed an amazing lead-out on the Muur. I didn’t feel like I had to do anything myself! It was truly perfect teamwork."

Switching gears
Despite the exemplary work by her teammates, the race did not go entirely according to plan, Vollering revealed afterwards. "But then you see that we keep learning to understand each other better on the bike. If something doesn’t go exactly as planned, we can adapt. Everyone knows their role and can act accordingly. That’s amazing to witness."

Vollering made her move on the cobbles of the Muur van Geraardsbergen. "The plan was also to push full gas on the Muur. I just found the space to go for it. We then opened a gap and I simply rode as hard as I could. At the top, I saw that only Kasia could still follow. After that, it was full gas to the Bosberg and the finish."

When turning onto the Bosberg, Vollering and Niewiadoma were still talking to each other. What was the conversation about? "Kasia wasn’t really pushing at first, but then she took over. That’s also to her advantage. I knew I could count on three teammates in the chasing group. So my position was somewhat more relaxed than Kasia’s. She knew what she had to do."

"In the sprint, I didn’t want to start too early. The wind wasn’t ideal, and the finish was slightly uphill. I don’t have to start early as long as I’m the first to launch my sprint. [...] This is really a fantastic start to the season. I had a premonition already, but you still have to do it and stay healthy with all the viruses going around. That’s the most important thing and I’ve managed it so far."