Yellow jersey Demi Vollering put a star subsequent to stage 4 on the Tour de France Femmes, which combined the simplest parts of the Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, every races she had obtained in earlier years. Nevertheless when officers confirmed that the victory went to Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) after a photo-finish sprint, Vollering talked about she had “no regrets”.
“It’s a good day for me and for your complete workforce. My teammates did an outstanding job with preserving me protected in the mean time and inside the entrance. It was a pleasing day for us,” the SD Worx-Protime rider knowledgeable the press on the rain-soaked finish line in Liège.
Vollering, in the mean time predominant the overall classification after profitable the day before today’s stage 3 time trial in Rotterdam, was part of a three-rider breakaway that sprinted for the win in Liège.
She, along with Pieterse and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), broke away from what was left of the sector with 13.4km to go on the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons. Niewiadoma attacked on the final word run-in, nevertheless Vollering closed the opening merely as Pieterse launched her sprint from the third wheel. Vollering responded and the pair reached the tip line on the equivalent time, with officers later confirming Pieterse’s victory.
“I hoped first Puck would shut [the gap to Niewiadoma], nevertheless she didn’t immediately, so I did it myself because of I didn’t want to provide Kasia an extreme quantity of space, because of when she’s gone, she’s gone. Then I closed it alone velocity, so that I didn’t empty myself there and that I knew that Kasia would depart a little bit of bit for the last few hundred metres, and that was type of a lead-out for us. I hoped she saved going, and fortuitously she did,” Vollering outlined how the final word few hundred metres of the stage carried out out.
“Puck started to sprint first. I believed for a few seconds that I would make it, nevertheless on the highway I had the feeling that it was not adequate, and Puck obtained. It’s good because of Puck is a gifted rider, and he or she truly deserves it.”
Vollering talked about that she wasn’t shocked to see Pieterse win the sprint as a consequence of her success inside the sport in numerous disciplines, and since she felt that Pieterse carried out a higher tactical sport inside the final kilometre.
“I do know that Puck is an efficient rider, and I do know that she has an outstanding sprint. I purchased the feeling that in the last few kilometres she was holding once more a little bit of bit. She might do further. I discussed, ‘I consider chances are you’ll nonetheless do further’, nevertheless she was saving a little bit of bit, and he or she attacked on the end. It was between me and Kasia for the GC, so it was OK. It was an outstanding day for us,” Vollering talked about.
Vollering talked about she was disenchanted after ending third place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April nevertheless had the choice feeling when ending second on stage 4 on the Tour on an identical course.
“First, it was good to have a model new different proper right here in the middle of the season, after the frustration inside the spring, so I was motivated to go for the win,” she talked about.
“Moreover, I merely wished to race proper right here in the mean time with out regrets, and that’s what I did. I’m unable to have regrets after the tip line, so I don’t take into accounts that. I was second and I’ve to remember the fact that I was going for the GC moreover in the mean time, so I’m truly glad about that.”
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