Demi Vollering has seized the overall lead in the Tour de France Femmes, taking the yellow jersey from Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney. Vollering launched an attack in the hills near Nice, establishing an eight-second advantage over the 2024 winner with only one stage remaining.
Vollering, who leads the FDJ United-Suez team, commented on her return to the yellow jersey, stating her determination to maintain the lead in the final stage. This marks her fifth stage victory and fifth yellow jersey in the Tour Femmes. Her move came after she had not mounted a significant pursuit of Niewiadoma-Phinney during Friday’s summit finish to Mont Ventoux.
The decisive moment occurred on the final ascent of the Cote de la Ginestière. Following a rapid descent, Vollering extended her lead on the straight road leading to the finish line on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice.
Controversy on the climb
Niewiadoma-Phinney expressed frustration with the tactics employed by Vollering’s team, specifically mentioning Célia Gery. Niewiadoma-Phinney claimed Gery intentionally obstructed her near the barriers, forcing her to stop pedalling. She confronted Gery at the finish line, asking, “Why did you close me to the barriers?” and later voiced her annoyance to television cameras.
Vollering, however, stated she did not witness the incident. She maintained that she was focused on the road ahead and did not have visibility of what transpired behind her. She suggested that Gery likely did not see Niewiadoma-Phinney and did not act intentionally, adding that such occurrences are sometimes part of racing.
The incident was reviewed by the race jury, who have access to multiple camera angles. Despite Niewiadoma-Phinney’s team, Canyon-SRAM, being in contact with the jury and watching replays, the television footage did not clearly show the alleged blocking. FDJ United-Suez insisted that any action by Gery would have been accidental, citing the 20-year-old’s character. Ultimately, the stage communique did not include any penalty, fine, or warning for Gery.
Rolf Aldag, Canyon-SRAM’s sports director, initially refrained from detailed comment, awaiting the jury’s decision. However, he later suggested that the corner where the incident took place was crucial. He believed that if Niewiadoma-Phinney had been able to follow Vollering’s wheel unimpeded, the stage and overall classification results might have been different. Aldag noted that closing the gap to Vollering, whom he described as “the best in the world,” required a significant effort from Niewiadoma-Phinney, potentially impacting her freshness.
The final stage and other developments
The stage was also animated by a two-rider breakaway involving Maëva Squiban and Loes Adegeest. Squiban, who had won two stages in the previous year’s race, crashed on a left-hand bend during the descent of the Côte de Colomars, leading to her being reabsorbed by the peloton. Adegeest continued alone but was caught nine kilometres from the finish as Vollering’s team increased the pace.
With only eight seconds separating Vollering and Niewiadoma-Phinney, every second will be critical in Sunday’s final stage. This stage, centered around Nice, includes four climbs of the Col d’Eze, which overlooks the corniche roads of Villefranche-sur-Mer.
The rivalry between Vollering and Niewiadoma-Phinney dates back to the 2024 Tour, where Vollering lost to Niewiadoma-Phinney by a narrow margin of four seconds after a duel to Alpe d’Huez.
Meanwhile, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s title defence concluded with her withdrawal from the race. Her performance had been notably different from the previous year, marked by a lacklustre showing in the stage four time trial and significant time losses on Mont Brouilly and Mont Ventoux. French TV crews reported her telling team staff, “I can’t do it, I can’t do it,” before the start of stage eight in Sisteron.
An announcement on social media confirmed her withdrawal, citing that Ferrand-Prévot “was not feeling well this morning” and that the decision was made “in consultation with medical staff.” Her trainer, Rutger Tijssen, acknowledged her vulnerability as early as stage three, stating that by stage five, it became clear that winning the Tour was not a realistic goal.
Source: theguardian.com