“You need to put on a new mask and go again” – Demi Vollering hits back from Ventoux heartbreak as Tour rivalry explodes before final stage
CyclingSaturday, 08 August 2026 at 18:49
Twenty-four hours after watching Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney ride away from her on Mont Ventoux, Demi Vollering produced an emphatic answer in Nice, winning Stage 8 of the Tour de France Femmes and taking the yellow jersey into the final day.
Vollering had started Saturday 15 seconds behind after losing more than a minute to Niewiadoma-Phinney on Ventoux. FDJ United-SUEZ returned to the offensive immediately, driving the pace through the late climbs before their leader launched on the steep roads above Nice.
Niewiadoma-Phinney initially fought her way back with help from Elisa Longo Borghini, but Vollering kept pressing and eventually dropped the yellow jersey for good. She carried the attack through the descent and onto the Promenade des Anglais to win alone, 17 seconds ahead of Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma-Phinney.
The road gap and finish bonuses transformed a 15-second deficit into an eight-second advantage, giving Vollering yellow with only Sunday’s 99.2-kilometre finale around Nice remaining.
“You need to put on a new mask”
Asked how she had found the strength to respond so quickly to the disappointment of Mont Ventoux, Vollering pointed to the brutal necessity of resetting from one day to the next in a stage race.
“You just need to do it, I mean in a stage race you live day by day, so you can be disappointed overnight, but then the next morning you need to put on a new mask and you go again,” she said. “You try again, you make a plan with the team.”
FDJ put that plan into action long before Vollering made the decisive acceleration. They contributed to the pursuit of Maeva Squiban and Loes Adegeest before taking command of the reduced peloton on the Côte de la Ginestiere.
Celia Gery was among the final riders driving the pace as Lorena Wiebes and Puck Pieterse were dropped and the group was stripped down around the leading GC contenders. Vollering then attacked on the steepest part of the finale. Niewiadoma-Phinney initially lost contact, recovered with Longo Borghini, but could not stay with Vollering when the pressure continued.
Instead of protecting a small gap once over the top, Vollering kept driving. By the final kilometre her advantage had grown towards 20 seconds before settling at 17 on the line, enough to reverse the Tour standings for the second time in two days.
Eight seconds and growing tension before final stage
Saturday’s battle did not end when the riders crossed the line. In her own post-stage interview, Niewiadoma-Phinney accused Gery of deliberately forcing her towards the barriers during the build-up to Vollering’s attack, saying she had been made to stop pedalling. She branded the alleged move “childish” and said she had “lost all the respect” for FDJ.
Vollering, speaking separately about her own race, was already looking towards the final showdown. “Tomorrow it’s going to be super hard of course, it’s what I’ve said since the beginning of the Tour, still anything could happen on the last day,” she said. “But at least I start in yellow tomorrow and that’s already a dream coming true.”
The jersey is only part of what Vollering has taken from the opening eight stages. “I won two stages and I have yellow on my shoulders, so that’s already super special and we’re going to try everything to keep the yellow tomorrow.”
Niewiadoma-Phinney has already made clear that Canyon//SRAM will try to take it back, while Marlen Reusser remains third overall at 1:12.
The final stage therefore starts with Vollering eight seconds ahead of Niewiadoma-Phinney, two consecutive days of major GC reversals behind them and a dispute between the leading camps now sitting alongside the fight for the yellow jersey.
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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- Not easy to see if Gery did something wrong on purpose. Sounds more like a weak excuse that she could not follow Vollering. She could have lost a lot more time if it was not for Longo- Borghini
DareDevil08-08-2026 - problem is UAE just getting better and visma getting worse and Jonas seems totally defeated and given up. Visma dont have what it takes their ruined too so i think we need to wait for Decathlon and seixas. Then theres del toro to at uae which they made into a star already.miguel08-08-2026
- problem is UAE just getting better and visma getting worse and Jonas seems totally defeated and given up. Visma dont have what it takes their ruined too so i think we need to wait for Decathlon and seixas. Then theres del toro to at uae which they made into a star already.miguel08-08-2026
- Big thanks to Demi, Kasia, Elisa, and the rest of the women's peloton for delivering awesome racing and amazing feelings. You gals are the antidote to the borefest by the "esteemed" UAE Team and the Slovenian mutant!
vannpelt08-08-2026 - Yeah, I agree....PogiSloFans08-08-2026
- Sadly i think he is right. Jonas looked defeated and more importantly his desire is not in it anymore judging by his wife comment. Vingegaard likely wont even beat del toro anymore.miguel08-08-2026
- It's sad that Gery's positioning has caused bad feeling between the teams (and she hasn't had the right of reply yet). But whatever happened before the decisive climb, the confrontation was after the stage, not during it, as this article states.Hills3308-08-2026
- Gratuliere, Felix! Super Leistung, Bravo!!RidesHills08-08-2026
- This race (today) and this race (the tour) are incredible cycling. Just fabulous to see such amazing riders pushing each other to and past their limits, the strategy, the competition, the quality of it all.RidesHills08-08-2026
- Soon nobody but the Tate’s fanclub and Mou will be watching the men’ race anymore if things don’t change.Mistermaumau08-08-2026
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