Demi Vollering avoids major injury in Dutch national champs crash

Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) was involved in a crash during the Elite women's road race at the Dutch national championships on Saturday, 28 June, in Ede, but looked to have avoided any major injuries, in a race which was won in a sprint finish by the imperious Lorena Wiebes (find a full overview of national champions here). 

"Falling is never cool. For me, they went down, and there was no escape at 50 kilometres per hour. I think it was not that bad; I managed to save myself and lie down neatly on the floor." Vollering said to Wielerflits post-race. "I do have a very stiff shoulder and hip. I was pinned with my bike and couldn't get up right away." 

The crash occurred around 7 kilometres from the finish, which took many riders out of contention, including Vollering and Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) among others. Vollering had even been on the attack earlier on in what had been a combative race; however, the crash put paid to her efforts. "My legs felt okay. It hurt, of course, but that's the intention, right?" 

Vollering also highlighted the brief concern of the impact that the incident could have on her preparations before her major goal, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. However, Vollering stated that she quickly realised that the damage wasn't as serious as first feared. 

"Did I see the Tour flash by? Yes. But once I was on the ground, I thought, 'I think I'm okay.' Then it's more like a sigh, and you think, 'okay, luckily everything is fine'. I was lying at the bottom and tried to protect my head a bit. I hoped that nothing sharp would come at me," Vollering said to Wielerflits.

Providing medical evaluations confirm no additional injuries, Vollering plans to continue her scheduled altitude training camp in preparation for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, aiming to win the race for the second time after finishing runner-up twelve months ago. The 2025 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift begins on July 26 in Vannes.