Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) was beaten to the line on stage 1 of the Tour de Suisse Women by her former teammate Marlen Reusser (Movistar) as Reusser won the sprint after the duo cooperated to distance their competition over the last 57km of the stage. It was Reusser who initiated the move in the descent from the Jaunpass, and Vollering bridged to her after a fast downhill chase.
“She attacked in the descent just when I had a bottle in my hand, so I did not react directly. I let the others do it first, but then I saw that I needed to do it myself. So I jumped after her because if you give Marlen too much space, you will not see her back. And when I was on her wheel, I was like, ‘Oh no, now it’s going to be a long, long way to the finish’. But we worked pretty well together and it was nice, we did exactly the same work,” Vollering said in an interview with CyclingPro.net after the stage.
“I didn’t feel so good today, because of the heat, I think. When she did the attack in the last kilometres, I felt she had still a good punch, so I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to wait for the sprint’. But I went a bit too early, and then Marlen had a really strong sprint. I also think Marlen really, really wanted to win this, in her own country, of course, it’s really special for her, so I think today she could give a bit extra,” Vollering explained.
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During the stage, Vollering had told Reusser that she had problems with her stomach, and Reusser replied “Demi, when you have problems with your stomach, you’re super good, though” – and despite not feeling her best, Vollering made Reusser work very hard for the stage victory.
Reusser herself had executed the team’s plan perfectly, and in an interview with Swiss broadcaster SRF, she explained the thoughts behind attacking with over 60km to go.
“We knew that the two climbs, especially the Jaunpass, would be selective in this heat. There would be small groups, and if you attack those, you always have a ‘second group syndrome’, as we call it. People look at each other, nobody is really committed to chasing because you run the risk of being attacked if you sacrifice yourself. So we knew, whether I’d be alone or in a small group, if we race hard, it will be hard for the dropped riders to get back on because it’s simply so plucked apart after such a hard climb. And it worked out,” said the stage winner.
