Demi Vollering banked 109 km yesterday on snow-dusted gravel near Lucerne, stacking 1,998 m of elevation over 5:05:03 in –2°C conditions – the kind of ride most riders either postpone or outsource to the turbo.
For late November, that’s textbook base-season volume, and it almost certainly marks the start of her winter build after a trophy-heavy 2025.
The activity title, Snowy gravel ride, and accompanying photos, confirm frozen forest roads and crunchy paths, while many pros side for warmer climes in winter months.
Vollering isn’t especially known for her gravel habit, but this was a proper mixed-terrain day in temperatures where plenty of WorldTour pros have already escaped to Tenerife, Monaco or wherever the sun is selling 18°C and dry tarmac. She held an average of 21 km/h, which is bang-on for a controlled Zone 2 day on rolling off-road terrain.
The route’s big lump – a steady grind to around 830 m on the Lindenberg ridge near Holderstock – delivered repeated seated efforts, traction management and all the low-cadence torque you want in early-winter aerobic work.
Coming off a ferocious 2025 that included the European road title and major stage-race wins – but also the sting of missing out on the Tour de France Femmes – November is usually Vollering’s handover from downtime to structured load.
A five-hour snow ride on altitude-adjacent Swiss terrain hints at exactly that: building aerobic depth first, sharpening later. It also mirrors her pattern from recent seasons, where long outdoor endurance blocks set up her pre-season altitude and race-specific phases.
But the real headline is simpler: Demi Vollering is out there in freezing Swiss forests riding like winter itself is a competition – and the actual season doesn’t start for months.
