Van Vleuten tips Vollering to chase Grand Tour sweep after ‘sky-high’ expectations of 2026

Annemiek van Vleuten believes Demi Vollering faces a difficult task in following up the best season of her career. She has also suggested a target that only she herself has reached: winning all three of the women’s major tours in one year.

Vollering won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the Tour of Flanders, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège this spring. In June she overturned a 49-second deficit to Anna van der Breggen on the final day of the Giro d’Italia Women, completing her career set of all three Grand Tours. 

In August she became the first rider to win the modern Tour de France Femmes twice, before finally taking the world title in Montreal.

Van Vleuten, who retired at the end of 2023, famously beat Vollering to win the inaugural Tour de France Femmes in 2022. Speaking to WielerFlits at the Dutch Wielergala earlier this month, the former world champion reflected on her former rival's remarkable rise.

“She has become a much more complete rider and now radiates a bit more calmness. She has become more mature, I would say,” Van Vleuten said.

Montreal did not go smoothly. After a disappointing time trial earlier in the week, Vollering was caught in a crash involving 15 riders with 94km left of the road race. She attacked 38km from the finish, was brought back on the penultimate lap, and still beat Kasia Niewiadoma in the sprint. Vollering has since credited a change in how she handles pressure for her season.

“That was really evident at the World Championships. The fact that she really didn’t let her head drop was very impressive,” Van Vleuten said.

Van Vleuten knows what follows a season like this. In 2022 she won the Giro Donne, the Tour de France Femmes, the Challenge by La Vuelta and the world title.

“Almost everything could turn out to be disappointing next year. The expectations are sky-high. From herself, especially, but also from the outside world,” she said.

The 2027 calendar gives Vollering room to try for the sweep. The Giro d’Italia Women runs from 29 May to 6 June and the Tour de France Femmes from 30 July to 7 August. La Vuelta Femenina moves from May to 3-10 October, after the men’s race. Vollering won the Vuelta in 2024 and 2025 but skipped it this year, when Paula Blasi took the title.

“Maybe she can try to win all three Grand Tours. The Vuelta will also be positioned differently in the season schedule now, so I am very curious to see what she will do,” Van Vleuten said.