"That's where things go wrong" - Armstrong and Dumoulin on FDJ-Niewiadoma collision at Tour de France Femmes
CyclingSunday, 09 August 2026 at 15:30
Tensions escalated during the Tour de France Femmes' eighth stage, as the final 13% wall created a key difference that saw Demi Vollering jump into the yellow jersey after distancing Katarzyna Niewiadoma. However the initial gap was influenced by her teammate Célia Gery - Lance Armstrong and Tom Dumoulin both shared their opinions on the move.
The incident happened at the end of stage 8. Entering the 'wall', Demi Vollering took the head of the peloton, followed by the yellow jersey. Teammate Célia Gery of FDJ - Suez had pulled off and tried to take Vollering's wheel. In the corner itself, the French champion forced her way into second place, before slowing down - automatically creating a gap to Niewiadoma.
With the yellow jersey losing speed, she had to close the gap to Vollering before then losing it at the top of the climb. The difference then escalated to a major gap that saw the race lead change.
“We’ve all been there: she’s done a monster turn and she’s cross-eyed. She doesn’t know where to pull off anymore," Armstrong said on The Move. "She’s thinking: I’ve done my job, I’ve launched my leader and I need to get out of the way. It’s difficult to see on the video, but it’s hard to believe.”
The American pundit gave Gery good grace, arguing it was not a purposeful move, but that it had a big impact. “I had my doubts about that move. At first, it looked like she wasn’t going to get away because Kasia was there. I said: it’s not worth it. But boy, was I wrong.”
“The fact is that Kasia was definitely impeded in some way. Did Demi’s teammate do it deliberately? We’ll never know. She got back, but it cost her too much.”
Celia Gery forced her way into the decisive corner before slowing down ahead of race leader Katarzyna Niewiadoma
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Tom Dumoulin frowns upon Gery's tactics
"Gery is on the inside, Niewiadoma on the outside. She was on Vollering's wheel and was actually pushed quite hard against the curb by Gery, who was taking the inside of that corner. In these images, it indeed doesn't look very sporting," Tom Dumoulin said on De Avondetappe.
There was no punishment for the FDJ - Suez riders, whilst if it was the case it would happen to Géry as well who is not part of the overall classification.
"Gery drops back from the front before the corner. She wants to stay on Vollering's wheel, so that Vollering can start the attack with a lead, forcing Niewiadoma to go around her. That's where things go wrong, that's where the commotion arises. Because Niewiadoma thinks: this is my wheel, I'm certainly not going to slide for you. They go through the corner together at too much speed."
The Dutchman argues that the move was on cycling's grey line.
"It is a bit unfortunate what ultimately happens. Niewiadoma is indeed disadvantaged by it. Is it sporting? Not really. Is it truly unsportsmanlike, and do I think it's unacceptable? No. You could say, for example: the fairest way is for Gery to just stay in the lead, Vollering attacks, and we simply look at the law of the strongest," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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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
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