'It's so childish' - Niewiadoma accuses Vollering's team of blocking her in fraught Tour Femmes finale

Kasia Niewiadoma has criticised the tactics of Demi Vollering’s FDJ United-Suez team after she lost the yellow jersey in a breathless finale to stage 8 of the Tour de France Femmes.

Vollering soloed to victory in Nice after attacking with 6.5km to go on the final unclassified climb. Niewiadoma managed to follow the Dutchwoman’s initial acceleration, but she was distanced near the summit. She gave chase in the company of Italian champion Elisa Longo Borghini, coming home 17 seconds down and losing the yellow jersey by just eight seconds.

Speaking immediately after the finish, Niewiadoma claimed that she had been deliberately impeded by Vollering’s teammate Célia Gery as the final climb began.

“I was super annoyed at the beginning of the climb because Gery on purpose just blocked me to the barriers where I had to stop pedalling,” Niewiadoma told Eurosport. “I feel like if they want to compete, they should compete fairly and not look for me to close me in the barriers, because I feel like it’s so childish. Honestly, I lost all the respect for them for that.”

The Canyon-SRAM rider had moved into the yellow jersey after soloing to victory atop Mont Ventoux on Friday, but she entered stage 8 with a lead of just 15 seconds, and she was braced for an offensive from Vollering and her FDJ United-Suez team.

Franziska Koch and Juliette Berthet set a rasping pace on the category 4 Côte de la Ginestière in the finale, preparing the way for Vollering to launch her stage-winning assault on the short, unclassified stretch of double-digit gradients over the other side.

“I thought that they would do something,” Niewiadoma said. “They always have a plan, so I wasn’t surprised.”

Niewiadoma combined with Longo Borghini on the run-in to Nice, and although she couldn’t save her yellow jersey, she remains in the hunt for overall victory ahead of Sunday’s finale, which takes in four ascents of the Col d’Èze. The Pole is familiar with tight margins on the final day of the Tour Femmes. Two years ago, she claimed overall victory from Vollering on Alpe d’Huez by just four seconds, and she was sounded a defiant note ahead of their final rendezvous here.

“I mean, we have still the same goal, right, like go get the yellow jersey,” Niewiadoma said. “But we need to talk with the team and evaluate what the plan is now.”