“I really tried to find some calmness in the suffering. In the end, I did it.”
Another year, another brutal Tour of Flanders. Demi Vollering’s grimace as she pounded up the Paterberg, the last of De Ronde’s cruel cobbled offerings, said it all. The Dutchwoman had exhausted all she had left after 164 kilometres of racing to achieve the win that would soon follow in Oudenaarde.
“I knew that I just had to push without looking behind. I finally turned off the cobbles and then realised, ‘f**k, I’m alone’,” said the FDJ United-Suez rider after her maiden Ronde van Vlaanderen victory this afternoon.
Demi Vollering scales the Paterberg on her way to her first Tour of Flanders win (Image credit: Getty)
An iconic race calls for an iconic celebration. But if Lotte Kopecky’s win last year was characterised by the muscular might of her brandished bicep at the finish, Vollering’s triumph today meant something different. In front of the hoards gathered in the spring sunshine, she pulled her hands into her chest and looked towards the ground.
“I did Namaste because today was International Calm Day. I really enjoy meditation, and I really feel like [it] helps me in the race. We train our body so hard, but often we forget that in the end, it all happens up here,” she says, pointing to her temple. “To make efforts to be calm in these kinds of races – it’s something that you need to train as well.
“The race was not so hard for me until we hit the Koppenberg. I felt in control. But it was more mentally tough than physically, because of the headwind. It goes so slow, so you’re really bored, but it’s also super dangerous because you’re just too close to each other,” said the European Champion.
Chaos is the cost of riding the Classics, and today it was Vollering’s main competitor Marlen Reusser (Movistar), who paid the cruel price of a crash 45km from the finish. But for Vollering, mind over matter triumphed on the Oude Kwaremont, where she launched a storming seated attack to go clear with just under 20km to go ahead of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech), who finished in second and third respectively.
Vollering spoke candidly to the press about mental health (Image credit: SWpix.com)
“It’s all in the head. You really need to believe in it and you need to give everything. Everything starts with a dream, and then you need to work very very hard for it.
“I really like to share memories and emotions with the girls around me. Winning a race, it’s that special feeling, where everyone is doing it for each other. It’s like what Elise [Chabbey] said to me after Strade [Bianche]: ‘Before, I would have been satisfied with second or third. But now, since I’m teammates with you, I only [want to] win.’
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Vollering’s voice now cracks in front of the media gathered in a small huddle, as the subject clearly moves her deeply: “I spoke about it last year after La Vuelta, and I spoke about [mental health] in the interview. Girls came to me and thanked me for speaking about that, because I think in the end, everybody knows somebody who is struggling sometimes. I think it’s good to keep the conversation going.”
The contrast between the athlete we saw ploughing up the Paterberg – untouchable, unhuman – and Vollering speaking so openly as she does now feels profound. Such is the power of a race as difficult as De Ronde. To tackle its physical test, riders must draw on on strengths of equal, if not greater proportions. Perhaps this is why they call it Flanders Finest.
