LJUBLJANA — Demi Vollering converted outright favourite status into European Championships gold on Saturday in Slovenia, winning the women's road race ahead of teammate Puck Pieterse for a Dutch one-two after the Netherlands controlled the race from the flag north of Ljubljana.
The Dutch executed their plan with the same precision as the American men did for Brandon McNulty at the Montreal World Championships, taking charge on the punchy course and never letting go. Lorena Wiebes pivoted from sprinter to domestique de-luxe, chasing moves then sitting on the front for 60km to hold the break at arm's length, with Amber Kraak providing relief before Riejanne Markus and Karlijn Swinkels led into the first ascent. Femke de Vries then ripped the bunch apart as gradients steepened, repeating the move on the next lap to leave Vollering with four teammates entering the final lap before reducing the group to four. Pieterse delivered the final jabs for Vollering's winning move and then out-sprinted Marlen Reusser of Switzerland to secure silver.
"It was really nice, and I think again we showed a perfect race here," Vollering told Cycling Pro Net after the race. "I was never worried about anything, and I know I can trust them all with all my heart now. It was such a pleasure to race like this again today, and we were in control from the start to the very finish, so I'm very proud of everybody who took part today and I think it's so nice that all the girls have their own part of this race, like everybody was part of the win and the second place, so I think this is really satisfying for all of us."
"Almost the whole day there was a Dutchy on the front today, Lorena, Amber, all the other girls they did a super job," Pieterse told Cycling Pro Net. "It was just great feeling the support of the girls and then me and Demi finished it off." She added, "I think I can be really proud of how I rode and then to finish it off one-two is super cool. Those two weeks with the Dutch team, it was a lot of fun, the vibe was good and so I really enjoyed it."
Pieterse, already established as far more than a domestique with wins and strong results in one-day and stage races and victories across cyclocross and mountain bike, led out Vollering before sitting on wheels to the finish. "Of course it's always the goal to aim as high as possible, but this also feels like a victory and I think when you work like this for each other it always pays back," she said. The Dutch dominance left little room for rivals on the day, including Longo Borghini's fourth-place finish at the European road race.