Demi Volering slumped to the pavement as she crossed the finish line at Omloop Het Niusbrod and sat still as emotions began to take over her. As she headed to the podium and joined her SD Worx teammates, the tears continued to flow and did not stop until she spoke to the media.

She was, of course, disappointed to lose to Annemiek van Fluten in the Ninove 2-up sprint, but her reaction stemmed from her friendship with Amy Peters, who is still unconscious two months after her crash in training.

Vollering answered the opening question with a smile in a mandatory second-place TV interview, but when asked about how she handled crossing the line, her emotions returned and pain was evident on her face.

"I wanted to win for Amy," Volering said in a hushed voice.

"I wanted to win for Amy.

After the awards ceremony, Volering gathered her thoughts and reflected on the race with mixed feelings. The devastating finish she had shown over the past 12 months might have made her a slight favorite as she approached the line alongside Van Vleuten, but she had to bow to her compatriot.

Vollering was the only one able to keep up with Van Vleuten's furious acceleration in Vosberg, and although she found shelter on the run-in to Ninove (with her teammates in the pack behind her), strength prevailed over speed at the finish.

"If I took over after her, she would definitely have attacked me, and with Lotte [Kopecký] behind me, I preferred to stay on the wheel," Vollering told reporters.

"I know how strong Anne-Mike is and she showed it today. It's still early in the season, so hopefully we can continue to grow as a team and win again next time."

"I think we've got a lot to play for.

As she prepared to finally return to the team bus, Volering was smiling as she patted her chest and smiled at the overall success of the SD Walks team. Despite the loss of Anna van der Breggen, the former world champion was giving instructions from the team car.

Vollering was able to keep up with van Vleuten, and although he was unable to capitalize, he had a tactical advantage because not only Kopecký, but also another newcomer, Marlen Reusser, was in a small chase group. Chantal van den Broeck-Braak and Elena Cecchini were not far behind.

"It's really nice to have Lotte and Marlen behind me. If I come back, I have a second option. That's really good. It's really great to have those two on the team," Volering said.

"It's only going to get better. We already did a really good job today. I was there at the moment I needed to be and it was perfect. We can grow more and more