“Marlen was incredible on the descent. At first, I didn’t react immediately — I was like, let the others go first. But then I realized I needed to do it myself, so I jumped after her,” Vollering reflected in a post-stage interview with Cycling Pro Net, detailing the initial moments the move went away. “If you give Marlen too much space, you won’t see her back. When I caught up, I thought, ‘Oh no, it’s going to be a long way to the finish,’ but we worked pretty well together, which was nice.”
“I didn’t feel so good today because of the heat, I think. When Marlen attacked in the last kilometre, I felt she still had a good punch, so I decided to wait for the sprint. But I think I went a bit too early and couldn’t hold myself,” Vollering’s reflections continued. “Marlen had a really strong sprint — she really wanted to win. Honestly, I think she’s in the shape of her life. I’ve never seen her this strong.”
With the GC now looking like a fight between the former teammates, Vollering – now riding for FDJ – Suez – is well aware that every second could be vital. “I think it’s going to be a battle for the bonus seconds,” she concludes. “There aren’t very long climbs in this Tour, so every day there will be a bit of a fight to gain seconds everywhere. We’ll see how it goes.”