Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney lost her Tour de France Femmes yellow jersey to Demi Vollering on stage eight after finishing third following a late physical crisis.
Entered in the lead, the Polish rider had to monitor Dutch competitor Vollering throughout the tight contest. Six kilometers from the finish, Vollering attacked and Niewiadoma-Phinney tried to chase while battling Italian rider Elisa Longo Borghini. Vollering pulled ahead by nearly ten seconds to win stage eight, claiming a ten-second time bonus and taking the overall race lead, while Niewiadoma-Phinney finished third, 17 seconds behind, according to journalist Aleksander Bernard on Sport.pl.
Following the race, Niewiadoma-Phinney expressed fury over an incident at the start of the final climb. She said Celia Gery deliberately blocked her against the barriers, forcing her to stop pedaling. She added that competitors should race with fair play, calling the behavior childish and saying she lost all respect for them. Eurosport cameras recorded the incident.
Confrontation in the interview area
Niewiadoma-Phinney then confronted Gery, asking why she blocked her and whether it was part of their stage strategy. Gery heard the questions, turned around, and ignored Niewiadoma-Phinney, who was shortly afterward asked to leave the interview zone.
Speaking later to Polish journalists, Niewiadoma-Phinney said the long and hot stage saw little action until the final 25 kilometers were ridden at full gas. She said Gery intentionally pushed her toward the barriers after looking back to see where she was, concluding that riders should leave such actions in kindergarten.
