That it was tough, was easy to see in the Dutch rider’s final lap. With a tremendous effort, she clawed her way back into a podium position, but then Vollering was hit by cramps. “I completely seized up at a very bad moment. I tried to stretch it out and it went away for a moment, which allowed me to continue. Then I just gave everything I had until the finish, it was full throttle. That ultimately won me the silver.”
For a moment it looked like the Netherlands could take on the eventual winner Kopecky with two women, as Annemiek van Vleuten was also up front for a long time. “We communicated very well, she rode an incredibly strong race. It’s a shame she had to drop out due to a flat tire, otherwise, we could have made it more difficult for the other ladies. Annemiek did very well, but that applies to all the Dutch ladies.”
“Before the start of the race, we knew that Lotte would be the one to beat on this course. So I knew it would be very difficult to beat her, especially since it turned out to be a real war of attrition,” Vollering said about the battle against her teammate, who supported her so well in the recent Tour de France Femmes.
She knew she would be battling Kopecky beforehand. “In the end, we all want that jersey, so you’re not concerned with SD Worx’s interests. She understands that too. Yet it’s sometimes strange, because you’re buddies all year long, except in this race. In those moments you think about the jersey, and then it helps that Lotte thinks the same way.”
