Demi Vollering, debatable tactics fall short as Netherlands miss World Championship podium for first time in 10 years

It would be generous to suggest the Dutch team failed to add up to the sum of its parts in the elite women’s road race at the UCI Road World Championships. The women in orange somehow contrived to squander what looked like a winning hand on the final lap as the title fell once more to Lotte Kopecky (Belgium).

Pre-race favourite Demi Vollering was the best Dutch finisher in fifth, but her strategy was difficult to fathom at times. The 27-year-old is arguably the peloton’s outstanding talent, but the rainbow jersey continues to elude her after a disjointed display from the Netherlands.