Demi Vollering’s yellow jersey tainted by Kasia Niewiadoma’s accusations

Demi Vollering finally claimed the yellow jersey she had set her sights on at Mont Ventoux. Yet the achievement arrives with sharp criticism from her closest rival Kasia Niewiadoma.

The contrast could not be sharper. Along the route, fans lined the barriers from dawn, their enthusiasm undimmed by the early morning chill. Camper vans dotted the roadside, their occupants cheering anyone connected with the Tour de France Femmes. That mood evaporates the moment riders enter the mixed zone. By the day after Mont Ventoux, the atmosphere turns subdued, even tense.

The race now hurtles toward a dramatic finale with Vollering in the lead. On the gripping penultimate stage into Nizza, she took both victory and the yellow jersey. The shift in fortunes was sudden and complete.

Marlen Reusser and Vollering answered reporters’ questions with barely concealed reluctance. Neither had enjoyed the queen stage. Reusser lost the jersey; Vollering had failed to take it the day before. Only Niewiadoma emerged satisfied, having led the general classification until the slopes of Mont Ventoux.

Sport delivers such reversals in a single day. On the eighth stage in Nizza, Vollering—yesterday’s loser—became today’s winner. Niewiadoma sat on the ground for minutes afterward, consoled by a teammate. Vollering now leads by eight seconds.

Vollering spoke of the jersey as a dream fulfilled. “I’ve ticked off Mont Ventoux,” she told reporters after the finish. “Stage races are lived day by day; disappointment can sting at night. But come morning you put on a new face and get back on the bike.” She described a strange déjà vu in Nizza: “I kept seeing myself taking the jersey here.”

Her preparation for this moment began in January when she reconnoitred the Nizza course after a difficult winter. “I hadn’t trained at all in December,” she admitted. “I’d never told anyone, but this is where I first rode again—flying over the route, just grateful to be back on the bike.”

Mont Ventoux holds special meaning for the 29-year-old. A decade ago, she realised she was good at cycling on its slopes. Three years later, in 2019, she signed her first professional contract and left her job selling flowers. Since then her career has soared: a Monument win at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2021 and the overall Tour de France Femmes title in 2023.

She has now joined an elite group by winning all three Grand Tours. Earlier in June she claimed the Giro d’Italia, narrowly, thanks to a last-day team masterclass that kept Antonia Niedermaier at bay.

Vollering still has unfinished business with the Tour. After her 2023 triumph, she has twice fallen short: second to Pauline Ferrand-Prévot last year and, in 2024, losing the jersey by four seconds—ironically to Niewiadoma.

Those four seconds still haunt her. “Tomorrow I’ll give everything I have so I don’t regret anything,” she said. “That feeling of regret is the worst I’ve ever known. I don’t want it again; I want to keep this yellow feeling.”

For one day, Niewiadoma knew that feeling in Nizza. Immediately after crossing the line, the Polish rider was too angry to speak. Célia Gery, a teammate of Vollering, allegedly forced Niewiadoma into the barriers with a late attack five kilometres from the finish. When asked why, Gery turned away without answering.

Rolf Aldag, speaking for Canyon//SRAM, said: “We’d be crazy not to try.” The team had to release Vollering, who finished second. Broadcast footage neither confirms Niewiadoma’s claim nor clears Gery. In a post-race interview, Vollering’s compatriot on Mont Ventoux added: “If they want to race, they should do it fairly—not push me into the barriers. That’s childish. I’ve lost all respect for them.”

Pressed in the press conference, Vollering claimed ignorance. “I only saw what was in front of me. Célia gave me such a strong lead-out; I’m sure she didn’t see Kasia—or if she did, it wasn’t intentional.” She added: “I believe Kasia knows deep down that things like this can happen in cycling.”

The stage is set for the grand finale: a city circuit in Nizza featuring the feared Col d’Eze. Niewiadoma will likely toe the line with extra motivation.