Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) finished second overall in the Tour de Suisse Women, mainly due to the two-rider breakaway she did with GC winner Marlen Reusser (Movistar) on stage 1.
But Vollering said that she had not been at her best at the Swiss race and went over her limits on the final stage that passed through her chosen hometown of Meggen at Lake Lucerne.
"Empty. Time to sleep," Vollering replied when asked in the post-race interview how she felt.
In the final metres, Vollering could not reply to the acceleration of Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM Zondacrypto), conceding second place on the day and then sitting down on the asphalt, her back leaned against the barriers.
Her teammate Élise Chabbey came over to comfort her after finishing, and then Vollering lined up for the interview.
"I knew it was coming, I just couldn't follow. Marlen was really strong today," Vollering paid her respect to the overall winner before elaborating on her own condition, explaining that she hadn't been feeling good since stage 1 when she had told Reusser mid-race that she had stomach trouble.
"I tried to give my best every day. I'm really thankful for my team. I think maybe I have some virus or something in my body, I don't know. Élise also really struggled today, and we're rooming together, so I don't know," Vollering trailed off.
"I'm just really empty and I'm looking forward to jumping in the lake, to go home, to rest a bit, because I raced a lot the last weeks. Ardennes, Vuelta, Itzulia, Catalunya, you cannot always be in top shape, now it's time to rest."
Coming at the end of a very busy race program over the last eight weeks, the Tour de Suisse appeared to be a race too much for her.
"You never know that beforehand. Since the beginning, I didn't feel good, and normally, I recover pretty fast. Every time, as soon as I pushed, I was just struggling a lot. I really pushed myself to and over the limits today," an exhausted Vollering finished.
Skipping the Giro d'Italia Women, Vollering will instead go on an altitude training camp before the Tour de France Femmes – but first, she will rest and recover, and at least she doesn't face a long trip home before doing so..
