SD Worx ready to 'go to war' at Tour de France Femmes as Demi Vollering hunts yellow jersey
Published 19/07/2023 at 19:54 GMT+1
Annemiek van Vleuten, beware. The Dutch superstar may have dominated the inaugural Tour de France Femmes last year, but Demi Vollering is determined to wrestle the yellow jersey off her shoulders in 2023. Vollering is part of SD Worx's super squad, who are also hoping to dominate the sprints through Lorena Wiebes. Vollering and Wiebes sat down with 'The Power of Sport' ahead of the Tour.
'We will beat some a***s there' - Vollering and SD Worx gunning for Tour de France Femmes glory
Video credit: TNT Sports
SD Worx are ready to "go to war" and "beat some a**es" at the Tour de France Femmes as Demi Vollering plans to end Annemiek van Vleuten's domination of stage races.
Vollering finished second at the rebooted women's Tour last summer, 3'48" down on Van Vleuten (Movistar), but has claimed some big results in 2023 to suggest she has closed the gap on her fellow Dutch superstar.
Vollering landed a historic Ardennes triple in April and also triumphed at Strade Bianche and Vuelta a Burgos Feminas, while she gave Van Vleuten an almighty scare at La Vuelta Femenina in May after almost pulling off a thrilling comeback on the final stage.
The 26-year-old opted to skip the recent Giro d'Italia Donne, unsurprisingly won by Van Vleuten, to focus on claiming a first yellow jersey in France.
"When I saw my team-mates they were saying to me: 'OK, Demi, good luck for your next training period and we’ll see you in the Tour de France. We will beat some a**es there'," Vollering told Eurosport's ThePower of Sport.
"And it's just really nice to feel that the whole team is getting so motivated and so ready to go to war there. That's really special for me that my team-mates are as ready as me.
"If I win the Tour de France, then it will be for sure my highest accomplishment I had so far."
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2023/04/23/3689534-75080608-2560-1440.jpg)
SD Worx's Dutch rider Demi Vollering (C) cycles to cross the finish line and win the women elite race of the Liege-Bastogne-Liege one day cycling event, 142,1km from Liege, over Bastogne to Liege, on April 23, 2023. (Photo by Tom Goyvaerts / Belga / AFP)
Image credit: Getty Images
Vollering's 'secret' weapon is her SD Worx team, who took a remarkable 20 straight race victories between May and June, and look the most likely to topple Van Vleuten in France.
Sprint sensation Lorena Wiebes is part of that squad and is looking for another successful Tour, having claimed two stage wins in the first edition last year.
"I think Demi said it feels like we are a group of friends riding, and it feels like that," Wiebes said.
"We are also fine with someone else winning. And it's not like one rider is constantly winning all the races, and I think that's the strongest part of the team.
"It makes me also happy to see them winning because you also know how hard they are working for it and the things you see at training camps. It also gives me motivation to ride faster or train harder."
She added: "With the Tour de France coming up, for me it will be nice if it's possible to also culminate it with a green jersey.
"But we are so focused on Demi getting the yellow jersey at the end that everyone is committed to work for that.
"Demi was strong last year. But we also know that this year she made a huge step already. So actually I'm looking forward to the battle for the win."
- - -
Stream the 2023 Tour de France Femmes live and on-demand on discovery+ and eurosport.co.uk
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement