Demi Volling broke his silence on the tension at SD Worx・Protime this past season, revealing that he suffered a coccyx fracture in the crash and then lost the Tour de France Femme. 

In an interview with the Dutch newspaper NRC.nl Bollering also opened up about the change in her relationship with World champion teammate Lotte Kopecky and the tumultuous season she had.

The superstar pair had previously clashed at Strade Bianche in 2023. But it's no exaggeration to say that Kopecky's contract was extended as the leader of SD Worx, and Vollering's departure was announced in confusion before she knew it, which worsened the dynamics between the two and the dynamics with vollering's team management.

"Very different from last year" is how Vollering described her and Kopecky's new relationship. "I think she (Kopecky) tried to avoid me a bit, she was more focused on herself. I can understand that, with all the expectations they have on her in Belgium. But she was very focused on the next year when I'm not there anymore.

"The whole season, when I raced with Lotte, we raced with 2 plans. Plan for Lotte, plan for Demi."

In Siena last season, bollering came to the top. She won again in the intense 9・up sprint at Stage 2 of the Tour de Romandi on May 2 of this year, but Kopecky won overall. At this point things boiled down and the pair stopped talking. 

It is a sign of what is to come and perhaps foresees the kind of battle when racing as a rival for the first time since 2021 next season.

"I tried all the seasons, but I realized that communication was one-sided. In Romandie, we avoided each other a bit," Vollering said. Then I thought: Now it's just over."

Kopecky is even thinking of riding Yellow on next year's tour, a goal that puts her directly against her former teammate, who finished runner-up in 2023.

However, Vollering did not believe anything like this would happen 1 year ago and told the NRC that while he believed a new contract extension would be signed, he felt SD Worx was "looking for" she would "take a step further" after her unprecedented Ardennes Triple and Tour de France women's victory season.

"They just wanted to do it again as they did the previous year. But when I wanted to talk to team management about it, they weren't open to it," Vollering explained. "I was literally told: "What do you mean, here is not enough.

After the debate was over, Danny Stam told the media that he would be leaving the team at Dwarves Door Vlaanderen. Vollering described it as "like a slap in the face.""In addition, the team's statement revealed the details of the failed negotiations during the day's race.

"I had not made a choice yet and I wanted the team to make adjustments," she said.

There has also been further tension with management over anna van der Breggen's return to racing with SD Worx-Protime from retirement in 2025. Not only did Vollering recognize it 2 hours before the announcement, but she was not surprised given her history of internal communication with the team.

"I saw it on social media. Then it turned out that the team administrator was sending an internal email 2 hours ago, but I was missing it," she said. 

"It is very characteristic of the team and communication is not always the strongest point. No one knew this was coming, soigneurs and even mechanics.

Van der Breggen is the Volarling coach and probably knows her better than anyone on the team. That partnership ended soon after the announcement of the return of the former.

"I was a little frustrated and angry about it, too. On the other hand, I know how Anna is, I don't think she's ever thought about it," Vollering said. 

"At the National Championship, we talked briefly about it. I said: You know everything about me. Then she said: You know everything about me in principle. How I train you is also how I train myself. And of course, it's true.

"After the Tour de France, I started with my new coach at the FDJ and I removed Anna from my training peak," she concluded, and her first training camp with her new team arrived in May soon.

Vollering will want to ride FDJ-Suez in 2025 after a landmark transfer and put the drama and frustration of last season with the Dutch team behind her. For now, though, some of the events are still pretty raw, especially its dramatic tours.

"At first I had no sensation in my left foot. My bike was lying on the ground next to me, but it took me 1 minute to bend over and pick it up," said the tour that lost yellow and 1:53 to final winner Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM)

"At first I thought: I broke my hip. My shorts were wet too, so I thought I was bleeding."

Once the dust settled on Vollering coming down violently, with teammates and Niewiadoma riding on the yellow jersey, SD Worx-Protime released a statement saying she was likely to race on the three stages left. 

"She suffered minor bruises and superficial abrasions on her hips and buttocks," the team said. "Given how fast I fell, I'm glad I didn't suffer from a broken bone," agreed Vollering, who had actually fractured the coccyx.

"I also understood why I had those wet pants. If you have a fracture in the coccyx, the doctor told me, you often have to urinate spontaneously," Vollering revealed.

Followed were three days of painful chase to regain Niebiadoma, who ended in a loss of just 4 seconds at the top of the Alpes de Fues, the narrowest winning margin in Tour de France history, male or female

"When we got to the foot of the Alpes de Fues, we were able to get to the foot of the Alpes de Fues." , I thought: Oh, now we have to make that whole climb. I was in so much pain. The whole climb I was thinking: I have to get up here at all. It was such a terrible struggle," Vollering explained.

"Before the top 5km, I had already heard that there was not enough lead to win the tour in Cassia. Since then, I thought: Well, even though I'm completely tired, I can't leave anything. 

"When I crossed the finish line, I already knew: I would either win in one second or lose in a few seconds. I was sitting on the asphalt and saw the clock running. Then Cassia appeared around the corner, and I knew: it is not enough.

She was alive with a "very difficult" immediate few days after losing the tour despite winning Alpe d'Huez, but Vollering is at peace ahead of the new season and seems to have another crack at winning her second maillot jaune, which is coming on May 7. 

"The first two or three nights I lied awake thinking about those four seconds - I could have gotten back then," she said. 

"Then I could put it in perspective. Those four seconds that it was actually a very great story. And this year was simply not for me."

What she probably hasn't gotten over yet is how she raced at the World Championships in her adopted native Switzerland, where she was a favorite, a very powerful Dutch team lost to Kopecky and eventually missed the podium. They received widespread criticism for their racing tactics, which lacked harmony and volleying that seemed selfish. 

"I was exactly wrong with everything I could do wrong. I wanted to win so badly," she admitted. "It was in my country. And the tour did not go well, so I was all in the World Championship. As a result, in the final, when it was important, I made the wrong decision.

"I felt incredibly guilty and ashamed of how I raced. That's why the shit of the negative reaction hit me even harder. Of course, people didn't know it, so I thought they had to kick me a little bit hard."

That Dutch team now has a new coach in Laurenstendamm, along with her move to FDJ-Suez, which could see bollering return to her world's best beat from 2023. In any case, she could become more comfortable and be released after the tensions of the past few months in the SD Worx-Pro time.