'A good sign for the season' - Demi Vollering wins on FDJ-Suez debut

"Happy" and "proud" were the emotions Demi Vollering listed after she got off to the perfect start as an FDJ-Suez rider: One race, one victory.

On her team debut on Thursday afternoon, the Dutchwoman attacked solo at the Setmana Valenciana, winning emphatically for the first time in blue and red.

Her stage-winning move came inside 20km to go, and with it, she shook off her former coach, two-time road world champion Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime), who made her return to the peloton after three years of retirement.

As Vollering crossed the finish line in Gandia, she smiled, lifted her arms in celebration, and flexed her muscles. She now leads the general classification at the race by 30 seconds ahead of Marlen Reusser (Movistar) and Van der Breggen, who finished in pursuit.

“The [FDJ-Suez] girls did a really, really strong job,” Vollering said afterwards. “I had to finish it off, but I’m just very happy. I have a really good feeling and I feel really good on the bike, so I’m happy I could finish it off.

“When I saw Marlen and Anna together behind, I knew to give everything until the finish line, of course. Actually, I’m very proud that I could do it today already. It’s still so early in the beginning, and I still have some work to do, but I’m already here in this shape. I think it’s a good sign for the season. It gives me some confidence that I sometimes lost last year.”

The race marked the first time Vollering faced SD Worx-Protime since she announced she was departing the squad for FDJ-Suez last October. Speaking in a press conference on Tuesday, the 28-year-old said she was not out for “revenge” against her former employer this season.

Still, there were no pleasantries exchanged between Vollering and Van der Breggen when the Dutch pair led the race together on the final climb. The moment ended up being short-lived, as the 2023 Tour de France Femmes champion attacked a kilometre later, dropping her former coach.

Reusser then bridged across to Van der Breggen, meaning Vollering was being chased by two former teammates. She held them both off on the descent to the finish.

Afterwards, Vollering thanked her new teammates for helping set up her move. “They gave me a lot of confidence by being there for me and doing their job,” she said.

“I’m really grateful that they worked so hard and that they had 100% trust in the plan we made. It’s just really cool to see everybody stick to the plan, and wanting to finish it off today.”

The Setmana Valenciana is a four-stage race, held in the eastern region of Spain, which concludes on Sunday.