Demi Vollering of Team SD Worx won the Amstel Gold Race convincingly on April 16th in an impressive 155.8 km race that was more challenging than ever. Lotte Kopecky put the cherry on top of the Team’s victory cake by winning the small bunch sprint behind to claim second place.
Team SD Worx had dominated the spring Classics and has now continued in the same vein in the first classic of the Ardennes week. In the Amstel Gold Race, the team executed the plan perfectly. “It went exactly as we had hoped,” said Vollering after her win. “My teammates did perfect preliminary work. At the last time Cauberg, I saw it was apart. I still felt good. I didn’t feel like I was blowing myself up. So I waited until the pace was off, then I went full on. With Lotte Kopecky, we still had a trump card behind us in case it came together again. I didn’t dare look back, but I knew the slightest doubt was enough to make my solo succeed. With the wattages I was pedalling, it wouldn’t be easy to overtake me.”
There was no overtaking to be done. The 26-year-old Dutchwoman powered to line to finally take the top spot on the podium in the Amstel Gold Race after two previous second-place finishes. “I can’t quite believe it myself yet,” she said. “I wanted to arrive here solo and I just succeeded. The fact that Lotte still sprinted to second place makes it even better. So our plan worked perfectly. Lotte and I complement each other perfectly. We trust each other through and through and don’t need many words to understand each other. She reads the course like no other and told me to go full steam ahead.”
Lotte Kopecky added, “This was another great day for the team. Another one/two this season is pretty special, we have done it more often this spring. Because we are so complementary, we can play the game. For Demi, it’s a luxury to know I’m still there to finish it off in the sprint. It’s nice that she kept it to the end. The fact that I finished second completes it for the team. I am therefore satisfied with my spring. I would give it a nine.”
For Demi Vollering, two more goals are coming up with Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. “This is the week I peaked for. Having Amstel Gold Race in my pocket gives a nice feeling for what is still to come,” Vollering concluded.
