On the surface, stage 2 of the Tour de Romandie Féminin was a great day for SD Worx-Protime: They took a 1-2 as Demi Vollering won the stage ahead of Lotte Kopecky who is the new overall leader going into Sunday’s final stage. However, the task of managing the two stars’ race programs and characters is becoming harder and harder with only months left until Vollering leaves the team. “I don’t know.
It’s a strange situation because I will leave the team, so I hope my team will be neutral on this. We will see tomorrow,” Vollering said when asked about the plans for stage 3. She then asked the interviewer for confirmation that Kopecky was ahead of her in GC before continuing: “Probably they will go for her.
” In such a situation, riders usually use the pronoun “we” to refer to the team. It is possible, even likely, that Vollering was referring to the sport directors, Danny Stam and Anna van der Breggen, who make the decisions on team tactics, but the poignant phrasing nevertheless raised eyebrows. When other teams get a 1-2, their riders will often cross the finish line celebrating together, but Vollering and Kopecky sprinted against each other for the victory – and not for the first time.
In the 2023 Strade Bianche, they fought for victory amongst themselves on the last 400 metres in the narrow streets of Siena after catching and dropping Kristen Faulkner. Then as now, Vollering won the sprint. Vollering’s departure at the end of 2024 was announced durin.