Demi Vollering began her second season with SD Worx with a big goal: to win the Tour de France Femmes, the most talked about event of the 2022 Tour de France. The Dutch talent knows what it takes to beat rivals like Annemiek van Fruten and Elisa Longo Borghini, and believes that winning the yellow jersey has the potential to inspire the next generation of young female riders.

"I'm looking forward to the Tour de France Femme. It's an important event for women cyclists and I think we can inspire a lot of women cyclists by showing them what we look like in the Tour de France and in really hard races. It's really important to have the Tour de France and it's important for the next generation to have more riders in the peloton. It's good to have the Tour, the media will be there, it's important."

The Tour de France Femme route is a balanced mix of flat and punchy stages, gravel courses, and two mountain finishes over eight days from July 24 to 31.

Vollaring moved to Switzerland last year and lives about 70 km from the Vosges Mountains, where the final two stages of the race will take place.

"I like hard racing and the last two stages are really hard. I like climbing and I think I can do a very good race. I have proven in Spain (Vuelta a Burgos) and in Donne at the Giro d'Italia that I can manage long climbs. With a little more training this year, I think I can get better on the longer climbs."

Voerling, who last year won Liège-Baston-Liège and La Course and finished third overall in both the Vuelta a Burgos and the Giro d'Italia Donné, is eager to take the next step as team leader of SD Worx. She is often compared to Anna van der Breggen, who has retired and moved into the role of sport director at SD Worx.

"I don't feel that much pressure, but I think it's a big compliment that everyone sees me as the new Anna," said Volering, who is working on a training plan with van der Breggen for 2022.

"On the other hand, I am a different person and I do things differently. She's a great person and a great rider, and I want to be like her.

She is determined to win the Tour de France Femme, especially with compatriots Annemiek van Fruten (Movistar), Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo), Cecilie Uttrup-Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) and others, Volering said he knows what it takes to win the yellow jersey.

"Of course, it's still a secret," Volering laughed, but also noted that he is working on his strength on the long climbs. Ultimately, just ...... run as fast as possible. I want to be a little stronger than Anemiek. I don't know how I'm going to do that yet. I'm looking forward to the battle."

The Tour de France Femme route does not include a time trial, and while Vollering hopes that future editions will include a time trial, he believes the lack of a time trial stage is an advantage this year.

"Not having a time trial is not a bad thing for us. We are still improving in the time trial and it may not be our best. You can't win the Tour with time trials. For us, not having a time trial is not bad. We want to improve and grow in time trials. On the other hand, it is a pity that there are so many races but no time trial. If we want to improve, we need to do it more often. The last 60 km of the 126-km race from Troyes to Val-sur-Aube includes six climbs and four unpaved sections. She also hopes to enter gravel races in the future.

"I really like gravel," Volering said, adding that she would like to incorporate gravel races into her season if the opportunity arises. I really like those stages and they suit me. I'm looking forward to the whole Tour de France and seeing what I can do there. I've heard from the Tour de France competitors that they like the gravel stages, so I'm looking forward to it."

Asked what the yellow jersey means to him personally, Voerling said, "...... If I win the yellow jersey, I want to inspire young girls to get on their bikes and get out and race. Ultimately, I hope to get more young girls involved in bike racing. By winning the yellow jersey, I hope to inspire more people and show that cycling is a beautiful sport. That's what's important to me