Tour de France Femmes: Demi Vollering on Stage 4 confusion after Yara Kastelijn victory - 'I didn't know I hadn't won'
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Published 27/07/2023 at 14:47 GMT+1
SD Worx rider Demi Vollering didn't realise she hadn't won Stage 4 of the Tour de Femmes. The 26-year-old celebrated upon crossing the finishing line, but Vollering had completed the longest stage of the event over a minute slower than winner Yara Kastelijn of Fenix–Deceuninck.The result means Vollering moves up into second in GC, with team-mate Lotte Kopecky currently in yellow.
'A team victory' - Kastelijn savours 'dream' win on Stage 4 of Tour de France Femmes
Video credit: TNT Sports
Demi Vollering has admitted she "didn't know" she had failed to win Stage 4 of the Tour de Femmes on the steep uphill climb into the finish.
The SD Worx rider ended the 177.1km stage between Cahors and Rodez – the longest stage of the second edition of the tour – in second position behind Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck).
However, Vollering appeared to be unaware that she was over one minute behind Kastelijn, raising her arms in celebration upon crossing the finishing line.
Speaking after the race, the Dutch cyclist admitted her confusion.
“I didn't know that I hadn't won. I had no idea [that Kastelijn had won], and then, I wondered what actually happened. Then I thought, let's do it [raise her arms in victory] for the photo, but it's too bad I didn't win,” Vollering said.
“I'm disappointed because in the Tour de France, you want to win a stage and I haven't done that yet. The gap of eight seconds with Annemiek? Well, I was hoping for more, so I'm not that satisfied.
“I wanted to win the Tour stage.
"I was close today, but it was not enough, so I'm disappointed. I had no clue what was happening in front of me, and in the end, I caught up to Anouska Koster [Uno-X] I couldn't see anyone else in front of me, so I thought that I had everyone, but I didn't know Yara was still in front,” Vollering explained.
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'Gutsy performance!' - Kastelijn soloes to Stage 4 win at Tour de France Femmes
Video credit: TNT Sports
“I crossed the line, but I was not sure if someone from this group was still out, so I thought I would celebrate anyway; we have at least the pictures. If I didn't win, then we can always delete them, so let's delete them.”
Kastelijn pulled off a stunning solo ride to claim a famous victory, one that leaves her seventh in the overall rankings.
The Fenix-Deceuninck rider was part of a breakaway that formed after just 20km, and at one stage she held a two-minute lead over yellow jersey holder Lotte Kopecky.
She battled through a brutal final climb – which had a 13% gradient at one point – to claim the day on the tour’s longest-ever stage.
“It was a strange and hard day, and you could feel it in the finish,” Vollering said.
“You could see that it was difficult for us because we don't have so many long races, and then it's different for every rider. And some riders you don't know them, you see them [at some races], and then you forget. On such a long day as today, it was a different race because no one could make up the difference. It was exhausting today.”
Vollering's team-mate Kopecky finished 14th on the day and remains in the yellow jersey, holding a 43-second advantage over SD Worx team leader Vollering who moves up into second in GC.
“Lotte was very strong today. She rode today also, and all my other team-mates were working today and rode the whole day in front,” Vollering said.
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'We will beat some a***s there' - Vollering and SD Worx gunning for Tour de France Femmes glory
Video credit: TNT Sports
“Lorena [Wiebes], Elena [Cecchini] and Mischa [Bredewold], and we had Christine [Majerus] in the break, Marlen [Reusser] was around me the whole day. It was a privilege to have the team with me today," Vollering said.
Vollering was able to make a valuable eight-second gain on Annemiek van Vleuten, but even that felt like a bitter-sweet achievement. Van Vleuten sits in joint-third on GC, some 51 seconds in arrears of Kopecky.
“Of course, it's nice [to gain some seconds], but I had hoped for more today,” she said.
“I hoped I could do a bit more in the end on the last climb, but I couldn't make a difference anymore after such a long race.”
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Stream the 2023 Tour de France Femmes live and on-demand on discovery+ and eurosport.com
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