Katarzyna Niewiadoma is trailing Tour de France Femmes leader Demi Vollering by just eight seconds after losing the yellow jersey on stage 8, and her father says he is convinced a rival rider deliberately pushed her toward the curb during the stage. Stanisław Niewiadomy, the Polish rider's father, spoke to Sport.pl about the incident and about his daughter's mindset before the decisive final stage in Nice.
Niewiadoma took the overall lead on Friday's stage 7 after winning at the summit of Mont Ventoux, the finish line for that leg of the race. The victory put her in position to defend her 2024 Tour title, but she lost the overall lead to Vollering just one stage later.
Incident on the descent
Attention has focused on an incident roughly six kilometres from the finish of stage 8, when French national champion Celia Gery, riding in the same group as Vollering, came off a turn and pushed Niewiadoma toward the curb, slowing her down. Niewiadoma confronted Gery about it at the finish. Ahead of Sunday's stage, which starts and finishes in Nice, Niewiadoma trailed Vollering by only eight seconds overall.
Niewiadomy said he disagreed with suggestions that his daughter's setback was caused by inadequate recovery time. He described it instead as a work accident, saying the stage 8 climb was short and that Niewiadoma was forced to make her maximum effort too early, right at the point where she had to ease off near the curb. When she had given everything she had, Vollering improved her attack and Niewiadoma could not respond, he said.
On whether Gery was at fault, Niewiadomy said his daughter was outraged by what happened and is not a rider new to this kind of racing. He said that while some of her comments came from raw emotion at the finish, she was convinced Gery's move was intentional. He said an unintentional error from an exhausted rider coming off a turn would be judged differently, but that in this case the family watched multiple video analyses that only reinforced their belief the move was deliberate, aimed at helping Vollering. He said the curb was very close and that fortunately nothing worse happened.
A brief embrace before recovery
Niewiadomy said the family managed to catch Niewiadoma for barely a minute at the stage 8 finish, long enough only for a hug before masseuses took over to begin her recovery for Sunday. He said she messaged them Sunday morning saying the strongest rider would win that day, promising to give everything while acknowledging Vollering is in equally strong form. She promised to fight to the end with her team, he said.
Asked whether the eight-second gap or Saturday's incident was weighing on her, Niewiadomy said absolutely not, adding that she had written to them saying she would give her maximum effort without looking back. He said the gap was so small it meant almost nothing, though it could matter more if Sunday's stage profile resembled Saturday's.
A month-long surprise on Mont Ventoux
Niewiadomy said Niewiadoma's current form was not a surprise to him, recalling that before she left for the race he heard calm, even joking, in her voice, which made him sense she was ready for the mountains.
The family, a group of five including her parents and close friends, had been planning a surprise trip for almost a month and positioned themselves about 12 kilometres from the Mont Ventoux finish on stage 7. Niewiadomy said Niewiadoma looked to her right during the climb and smiled broadly, and that he believes their unexpected presence gave her extra strength. He said friends had painted a heart and signatures on the road under Mont Ventoux, but that they used up all their paint and would not be able to repeat it at Col d'Eze, which riders were set to climb four times during the final stage.
