Demi Vollering’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad-winning Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8

Demi Vollering stormed to her first-ever Omloop Het Nieuwsblad win, outmanoeuvring Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney in a tactical masterclass. Like Dutch compatriot Mathieu van der Poel in the men’s race, the telling move was made on the Muur van Geraardsbergen, where she managed to gap the chasing pack together with Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto’s Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney. The two worked well together, growing their lead to 45 seconds over the chasing pack after cresting the Bosberg.

Despite its fairly standard spec, Vollering’s bike stood out prodigiously among the kaleidoscopic hues of the peloton, thanks to her special European-themed colourway. Painted by Italian maestros, LumarColors, the swathes of blue and stars of the European flag flow through the lower portion of the bike, and the S-Works wordmark logo – it’s a stunning rendering and homage to her 2025 victory in France.

We managed to get our hands on the FDJ United-SUEZ leader’s bike at the post-race press conference in the press room, just a few hundred metres from the race finish. The splattering of mud across the frame, chainset, and wheels told of a parcours marred by damp roads and greasy corners. Despite the filth, however, the bike still looks resplendent – if anything, more malevolent in this state.

Vollering’s size 56cm frame features a slammed Roval Rapide cockpit, complete with handwritten notes pasted to the stem. The Tarmac SL8 is known for its racy angles with stack and reach numbers of 573mm and 393mm. The balanced geometry, backed by a parallel head and seat tube angles of 73.5 degrees, no doubt gave Vollering the assurance she needed to attack the steep ups and downs.

The bike is built around a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset, outfitted here with a 54-40T chainring, an 11-34T cassette, and 165mm crankarms. Out back, there’s an aftermarket Sigeyi UDH hanger that helps provide better, more precise shifting of the Dura-Ace rear derailleur.

Vollering rolls on Roval Rapide CLX III wheels, complete with deeper front/shallower rear and carbon spokes and lightweight hubs. Like many of the Specialized-sponsored teams at Opening Weekend, the wheels were wrapped in what appears to be a pair of unreleased 32mm Specialised Cotton TLR tyres. There are currently no tyres on Specialized’s website that match the aesthetics and this width, which further suggests these are still prototype items.

The balance of the build is a straightforward affair with a Specialized S-Works Power with Mimic saddle (set upon a zero-offset seatpost), Supacaz bar tape, and Shimano Dura-Ace PD-9100 pedals rounding out the touchpoints. Another small detail we appreciate is the use of a butyl inner tube on the right fork leg to house the timing transponder.

We weren’t able to weigh the bike, but given the frame size and nature of the race, we suspect the full build to come in at around 7.1kg with pedals.