'We are all human' – Demi Vollering defends Wout van Aert after Dwars door Vlaanderen defeat

A blended image of Demi Vollering on the left and Wout van Aert on the right
Vollering offered her support of Van Aert after Dwars door Vlaanderen (Image credit: Getty Images)

FDJ-Suez's Demi Vollering has defended Wout van Aert and called for more understanding after the Visma-Lease a Bike rider lost Dwars door Vlaanderen and faced intense criticism.

Writing on Instagram and LinkedIn, the Dutch rider defended Van Aert and Visma-Lease a Bike's race tactics, which saw the Belgian beaten by Neilson Powlesss (EF Education-EasyPost) from a three vs one scenario in the finale.

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Matilda is an NCTJ-qualified journalist based in the UK who joined Cyclingnews in March 2025. Prior to that, she worked as the Racing News Editor at GCN, and extensively as a freelancer contributing to Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Velo, Rouleur, Escape Collective, Red Bull and more. She has reported from many of the biggest events on the calendar, including the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France Femmes, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. She has particular experience and expertise in women's cycling, and women's sport in general. She is a graduate of modern languages and sports journalism.

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