Interview | Bonk and lack of radios play tricks on SD Worx and Vollering during Brabantse Pijl

Demi Vollering has not managed to succeed herself as winner of the Brabantse Pijl. The Dutch rider rode a very alert race, made the leap forward into a small group with her teammate Marlen Reusser in the late finale, but had to admit defeat to Silvia Persico during the sprint. In de Leiderstrui caught up with Vollering afterwards.

If there is one thing that you should not overlook while racing, it is to eat and drink plenty. And yet this happened to Vollering during the Brabantse Pijl. When she felt her legs turning to jelly, she realized she had forgotten to refuel. The result? Not enough oomph in her legs to win the sprint.

But that was not the only reason why the Team SD Worx rider was just a little off during the finale. On the road, Vollering used her strength to her advantage, perhaps a little too much? ‘Maybe I tried to thin out the big group a little too early on,’ she admitted. 'There wasn't really much collaboration within the peloton. On the second-to-last climb toward the finish, I went all out in the front. That wasn't very smart given the headwind, because everyone following your wheel drafting would be out of the wind. But on the other hand this can hurt the other racers, so it wasn't exactly a bad decision.’

Vollering talks of strange race: 'Normally this race opens up quickly'

On television, it seemed to be a very odd race at times. The early break did not materialize and nobody took the lead during the pre-final either. It wasn’t until deep into the final stretch that a small group broke away from the peloton for the first time – and this was also the group that would eventually sprint for victory. Vollering was also surprised by this course of events. ‘Normally this race opens up quickly, but not today. Maybe because the weather was still too nice in the first part of the race. As a result, time and time again, the race just didn’t open up. That was a shame in itself, because it's such a chaotic tour and if you can break away with a group then, it's pretty pleasant.'

When a group with Shirin van Anrooij, Marlen Reusser, and Persico finally broke away, Vollering was left behind. ‘I had a small gap and, in retrospect, I should have immediately made the jump. But I was betting that the girls behind me would want to make the jump. That's why I sent signals from the front and indicated that it was up to them. But nobody passed me, so the gap was quite big right away,’ said Vollering, who was still shivering from the cold half an hour after the race.

Bonk aside, communication problems also played tricks on Vollering and co

On the last time up the Moskesstraat, Vollering went on the counter-attack and took Liane Lippert with her. Was it a risk? ‘That was definitely a risk, indeed. But, well, it was ideal for us to be in that position together. And I immediately noticed that Lippert wanted to ride along, which was nice for me. I don't know if I would have made it otherwise. It was quite a tough section, and now we could do the work together. And I had hoped that once I caught up, Marlen would be able to attack.’

What was unclear during the race, but did throw a spanner in the works for the dominant team, was a problem with the radio communications. Or rather, the lack of radio communications. ‘We only had two riders with radios. So Marlen and I couldn't communicate with each other. Otherwise, I could have let her know that I was coming. So it didn't work out quite the way I would have wanted. But in the end I still managed to achieve a solid second place,’ she concludes on a positive note.