Demi Vollaring took the yellow jersey in the time trial of stage 3 of the Tour de France, crossing the finish line in the fastest time.

The emotion of winning a stage and taking the yellow leader's jersey in a race he won last year was evident from the red eyes and tears rolling down his cheeks on the podium. Despite the tears, Vollering seemed to be enjoying every moment of this Dutch Grande Pearl.

But in a quiet moment after the city's celebrations, when interviewed by the media, Vollering said she never hesitated to show her emotions after the race and believed that showing them was part of what makes her a strong athlete.

“First of all, I realized how special this all is to women's sports in general. I'm a pretty sensitive person. I really feel it in the moment. I do everything based on feeling.”

“This year I'm saying, 'Feelings are my power. I always put all my emotions into my sport. [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] I like to ride my bike to get a feel for what the circuit is like.

“Demi has punch and is technically faster in the corners. What's the difference between him and a sprinter? It's a short distance, but I think Demi builds a lot of lactic acid in the bridges and parts that she can then ride full on. Demi's finishes are always strong.”

Volering now has the yellow jersey, albeit a little earlier than expected after eight stages of racing. She said that with the help of her teammates, SD Volks Pro Time will do its best to defend the jersey until Sunday in Alpe d'Huez.

“The point was to take some later in the week,” she said. 'It's up to the other teams to take the yellow jersey from us. I'll do my best to defend the yellow jersey until the end.”

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