One season left to beat Annemiek van Vleuten - Demi Vollering interview

Time is running out for riders to beat Annemiek van Vleuten. The 40-year-old is hanging up her wheels at the end of 2023, the end of her reign of dominance over the women's peloton has come from her own decision rather than her rivals getting the beating of her at cycling's biggest races.

There are still chances left to do just that, though, despite Van Vleuten's unprecedented 2022 season which saw her take glory at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Giro Donne, the Tour de France Femmes, the Ceratizit Challenge, and then the Worlds road race.

One of the best-placed riders to put Van Vleuten on the second spot of the podium next season is Demi Vollering, another Dutchwoman 14 years Van Vleuten's junior, racing for the powerhouse SD Worx squad.

Vollering's own 2022 campaign was an enviable one, with wins at Brabantse Pijl and Itzulia Woman coming alongside podiums at La Flèche Wallonne and Liège plus second to Van Vleuten at the Tour. Speaking to Cyclingnews last year, she said that she hopes 2023 will be the year she takes another step forward, one which puts her above her rival.

"I hope I can be stronger and better again to come closer to her," Vollering said. "I need years, but I don't have years now anymore – Annemiek will stop now after this year. That's a bit of a pity for me because I really want to beat her.

"I hope I can do it already this year but I'm not sure yet. First, you need to believe in it, I always say, because if you don't live in it then you can also not make it true.

"I think [her retirement] is also a pity for women's cycling because she brings it to a whole new level. We all need to train as hard as she does to be there, of course."

The main battleground between the pair looks set to be the Tour de France Femmes,  which has established itself as the biggest race of the season even though the 2022 edition was only the first in its history.

Vollering said that she didn't carry any regrets from the summer, nor the rest of the season for that matter, even if she finished at 3:48 down on Van Vleuten following the solo mountain raids her Movistar rival put on to close out the race.

She noted that she set personal power records in France and felt that she was "a complete rider" at the Tour, such was her preparation.

"I can be really proud of my season," Vollering said. "I think I missed in spring a little bit the big win that I really wanted in the big three Classics. I was always very close, so it was a bit of a pity for me, of course, but when you can stand so much on the podium it's still super good. I showed that I was good there.

"Then the Tour de France Femmes was a big, big highlight for me, and I think how I rode there was the best I could do so again there was nothing to regret there. I was in my best form ever so that's also nice to know and feel that you did everything for that race.

"I also set some power records in the races, so I've never been that strong, I think. Also, mentally I was never so prepared, so I felt I was a complete rider and completely ready for that race."

For Vollering, the Tour is already the biggest race on the women's calendar, quickly occupying the same place the men's race has long held.

The press and fan attention is what set it apart, while the response from the riders also played a part, with the peloton keen to put on a show under what would be the biggest spotlight of the season.

"It was special. It was history," she said. "Before the race started you felt that it was big. In every interview, they always asked if you're excited about the Tour and what your goal will be, and then when it finally started you saw all the attention for it with so much media and press and spectators.

"I think during the Tour I didn't realise it so much because I tried not to check my phone, social media, or newspapers so much to really focus on my race. But then, especially when I was racing in the Vuelta, it was so much less – I think I had one interview in the race. And then it was strange because you kind of missed how it was in the Tour. You felt like you belonged there.

"Also in the race, it was full gas every day from the beginning to the end because everybody felt the pressure and wanted to show themselves."

The 2023 Tour route brings with it a new climb in the form of the legendary Tourmalet in the Pyrenees, while there'll be a time trial, too.

Vollering said she initially thought the race was a lot flatter than it is, and also noted her excitement for the Pau time trial – a rare excuse to get the TT bike out and do some specific training.

"When I looked into the route more, I saw that some of those days are still 2,000 metres of climbing, so I thought it will not be flat but short punchy climbs, probably, so I'm really curious and can't wait to do the recons.

"A lot of riders can be good on that kind of course and I think every day could be a different person in yellow," she added. "And I think the time trial is good because they belong a little bit in a stage race.

"This year I didn't do any time trial work because there was really only one which was important. But I think it's a nice discipline to see and to do. But now I will have more time on the time trial bike, and that's a goal for me now – I can finally work on those skills because the Tour is my goal."

Vollering will this year see a cluster of new teammates on board at SD Worx, including Femke Markus and Miesche Bredewold joining from her old stomping grounds at Parkhotel Valkenburg.

Italian Barbara Guarischi also joins, moving across from Van Vleuten's Movistar, while the seemingly unstoppable sprinting force of Lorena Wiebes adds another star leader to the mix.

"I'm really excited for those riders to join," Vollering said. "I also come from Parkhotel so I know those girls already. It's super nice that we will have some new talents in the team. I think it will be a good atmosphere in the team and I'm looking forward to helping them in the races also.

"Maybe she brings also a bit of rest to the team," she added, referring to Wiebes, who took 23 wins in 2022, including the European road title, two stages at the Tour, and four points jerseys.

"That's because she's such a great cyclist and so strong. With her, if you start in a race and it's flat you know you can win it. With her in the team it makes a big team even bigger."

Whoever is racing by her side next year, her goals remain largely similar to the season past. The Classics will be her spring focus after kicking off her season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, while the Tour is the focus of summer with no Giro Donne on the schedule before a bid at the rainbow jersey at the Glasgow 'Mega Worlds'.

But away from the racing, there's also more development to do. She added a new method of training last year, which she said will only make her stronger – strong enough to get the better of Van Vleuten this July?

"My first focus is the Classics and then for sure the Tour de France. After the Tour, of course, the Worlds is a really nice race. Those three are my biggest highlights of the year.

"I think I still have space to develop," she concluded. "Already only the hours I can improve by doing more and more on the bike and also the kind of efforts I do. Last year I did more VO2 Max training, which was new, and that worked out well. If I keep doing it then I'll be better and better, for sure."