“She didn't do it on purpose... deep down Kasia knows that” – Demi Vollering rejects Niewiadoma's accusations as Tour de France Femmes rivalry boils over
CyclingSunday, 09 August 2026 at 11:30
Demi Vollering has defended teammate Celia Gery against Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney's explosive accusations after Stage 8 of the Tour de France Femmes, insisting the French champion did not deliberately impede her rival despite admitting she did not see the incident herself.
Niewiadoma-Phinney was furious after losing the yellow jersey in Nice, claiming Gery intentionally squeezed her towards the barriers immediately before Vollering launched the attack that eventually decided the stage.
The Canyon//SRAM leader said she had been forced to stop pedalling, described FDJ United-SUEZ's tactics as “childish” and declared that she had “lost all the respect” for the team.
Vollering rejected that interpretation when asked about the incident afterwards. “I don't know what happened, I didn't see anything,” she said. “I'm sure she didn't do it on purpose, and I also think that deep down Kasia knows that this kind of thing sometimes happens in racing.”
FDJ's planned move at centre of row
FDJ sports director Lars Boom later confirmed to NOS that Gery had been given a specific instruction before the corner. “The plan was to switch positions to the left just before the corner,” he explained.
Vollering had already moved ahead as the road turned onto the short, steep ramp, while Niewiadoma-Phinney attempted to follow. Gery moved across as she dropped back from her lead-out, leaving Niewiadoma-Phinney scrambling for room and losing momentum at the moment Vollering accelerated.
Niewiadoma-Phinney's reading of the incident has also been backed by former professional rider and Dutch cycling analyst Thijs Zonneveld. After reviewing the footage for his In de Waaier Substack, he wrote: “Gery deliberately tries to prevent her from responding to Vollering.”
Zonneveld argued that Gery had already completed her lead-out and was no longer fighting to preserve her own position when she moved across. He also pointed to the footage after the corner, where Niewiadoma-Phinney was forced to brake before eventually moving behind Gery to find clear road.
Canyon//SRAM have since lodged a complaint with the UCI over Gery's actions.
Eight seconds separate them before final stage
Niewiadoma-Phinney had started Stage 8 with a 15-second advantage after taking more than a minute out of Vollering on Mont Ventoux the previous day. FDJ responded by driving the favourites' group hard in the closing kilometres around Nice before Vollering attacked on the steep final ramp.
Niewiadoma-Phinney lost ground around the disputed corner but recovered with help from Elisa Longo Borghini. When Vollering increased the pressure again higher up the ramp, she could no longer stay with the Dutchwoman.
Vollering continued over the summit, through the descent and onto the Promenade des Anglais, eventually winning by 17 seconds. With bonus seconds included, her 15-second deficit became an eight-second advantage in yellow.
That leaves Sunday's 99.2-kilometre mountain stage around Nice to decide the Tour. Niewiadoma-Phinney has already said she intends to attack again, while Vollering will start in yellow after overturning the result of the previous day's Mont Ventoux showdown.
The pair head into the final stage separated by only eight seconds after exchanging yellow across two consecutive days, with Canyon//SRAM's complaint over Gery still unresolved and Vollering now publicly rejecting Niewiadoma-Phinney's version of the incident.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Take your political and vile BS somewhere else. Good lord you are suffocating.
ScottG09-08-2026 - Exactly, Very easy to sit in your sofa rewinding dozens of times to find criticism. Fact is Gery was in front and had the right to her line. It was silly/stupid/dangerous/suicidal but instinctive for Niwi to try to take advantage of outside momentum but expecting Gery to take a sharper slower corner to make way for her was naive. Demi did her attack perfectly, BEFORE the corner, seems to me Niwi was caught napping and accelerated in the wrong place out of panic. Had she been prepared for the attack BEFORE the corner, she could have stayed on the inside following Demi directly. Nobody forced her to go on the outside or knew she would go that way, especially those who were in front of her. Tough but fair.Mistermaumau09-08-2026
- Yes, it's nice. Us Europeans still have love and affection in our hearts, unlike the americans, that are full of sh** and always talking about money, money, money. Everything there is fake... no honesty, no love and no respect for anyone. I'm mostly talking about the MAGA Trump voters.PogiSloFans09-08-2026
- Cutting Kasia off was not part of SDJ's plan, only having Gery move back between her and Demi was. It was the way that Gery did it, forcing Kasia to brake, that has caused the trouble. Demi was in full attack ahead, not on the radio instructing Gery.Hills3309-08-2026
- What is Demi about?? It was deliberate as Lars Boom confirmed, she knew it. So yes it was dirty but not illegal.abstractengineer09-08-2026
- If so, very smart move to bring him along. Guaranteed to keep people far away.Jumpyjohn09-08-2026
- Once bitten, twice shy. You can fool some of the people some of the time but not all the people all of the time. These kind of one-off surprise improvements are just that. Her rivals knew to be better prepared this timeJumpyjohn09-08-2026
- All I can see is bad positioning. If you’re expecting a move, you prepare for it. You learn this at the very outset of amateur racing.Jumpyjohn09-08-2026
- Top post!Cyclingsbestfan09-08-2026
- Yes, it already disappointed me that she said her win on Ventoux was 'payback' for only being able to manage third before that, as if life owed her that (great!) win. And now she feels she was entitled to cling onto Demi's wheel with gritted teeth yet again. Saying angrily that her team would find a way to get it (the yellow jersey) back took everything away from Demi's performance. But at the same time, if Gery was not French champion she may well have been sanctioned for her move.Hills3309-08-2026
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