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Demi Vollering did not mince words in the mixed zone before the final stage in Nice, suggesting that Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney lacks the standing to lecture others on fair play. The Dutch rider’s rebuke followed accusations from the Polish cyclist that Vollering's team-mate had intentionally blocked her during a critical attack on stage eight of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

The confrontation turned personal when Vollering explicitly invoked a crash from two years before invalidate Niewiadoma-Phinney's complaints.

"I didn't forget about what she did when I was on the ground two years ago, so if she's speaking about fair play, then I think she is not the one that can really say something about that,"

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Demi Vollering, via Yahoo Sports

Vollering secured her second Tour de France Femmes title with an ultra-dominant performance, finishing the final stage 1 minute, 4 seconds ahead of Niewiadoma-Phinney and Spaniard Paula Blasi Cairol. The result extended Vollering's overall lead to 1 minute, 18 seconds over the 2024 champion.

The friction between the two riders peaked following stage eight, when Niewiadoma-Phinney confronted FDJ United-Suez rider Célia Gery beyond the finish line. Niewiadoma-Phinney accused Gery of forcing her into the barriers just as Vollering launched the race-winning attack, stating, If [FDJ] want to compete, they should compete [with] fair play and claiming she had lost all respect for the team, according to Yahoo Sports.

The accusation triggered a wave of social media abuse directed at Gery, the 20-year-old French champion, with some users calling for her disqualification. Vollering defended her team-mate, describing the environment on social media as very nasty and noting that Gery is still so young.

Vollering attributed the stage eight incident to the terrain rather than tactics, explaining that the corner was very tricky with a pothole in the middle that left only one viable line. She claimed Gery did nothing on purpose and that Niewiadoma-Phinney simply chose to enter the corner next to her.

The resentment Vollering harbored stems from stage five of the 2024 Tour. In that race, the Dutchwoman crashed with 6.5km remaining and subsequently lost her yellow jersey to Niewiadoma-Phinney. The Polish rider, who described crashes as an unfortunate part of racing at the time, went on to win that edition of the Tour by just four seconds.

On the final stage in Nice, the physical and mental gap between the rivals was evident. While Niewiadoma-Phinney had won stage seven with a solo attack up Mont Ventoux, she appeared short of energy by Sunday. Niewiadoma-Phinney started the ninth stage only eight seconds behind Vollering but was unable to apply pressure on the final climb.

Vollering demonstrated her dominance by attacking approximately 800 meters from the top of the final ascent, dropping Niewiadoma-Phinney in a repeat of the move that had secured her the overall lead on Saturday.

The final climb was the most grueling of the day. While the first three ascents were each 7.7 kilometers with a 5.9% average gradient, the final 6-kilometer climb was steeper, averaging 7.6% with one section reaching 12%.

With this victory, Vollering has achieved a rare milestone in women's cycling. Having now won five Grand Tours — including two Spanish Vuelta titles and the Giro d'Italia secured in June — she joins Annemiek van Vleuten as the only female cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours.

As she crossed the finish line, Vollering tapped her head with her finger, a gesture she later explained was to signal her mental strength. Despite the emotional weight of the victory, which left her in tears during the Dutch national anthem, the 29-year-old remains focused on the future.

Vollering stated that she still has a lot of dreams both on and off the bike.

Podium Standings and Race Margins

The final results in Nice solidified a dominant run for the Dutch champion, though the battle for the remaining podium spots was shaped by mid-race mishaps. While Vollering distanced herself from the field, former Giro d'Italia champion Elisa Longo Borghini of Italy secured third place overall, finishing 4:29 behind the leader, according to Yahoo Sports Canada.

The gap for third place widened after Marlen Reusser lost significant time following a crash while descending after the second of the day's four climbs. This volatility contrasted with the stability of the lead; Niewiadoma-Phinney had entered the final stage just eight seconds behind Vollering, but the Dutch rider used a time bonus from her stage win to push that advantage beyond a minute.

Vollering's victory serves as a personal redemption for the 2024 race, where she lost the overall title by a margin of only four seconds on the final stage. Her success on Sunday, coupled with her Giro d'Italia win in June and two Spanish Vuelta titles, cements her status as one of only two women to achieve a triple Grand Tour victory. For Vollering, the next step involves pursuing further goals that she describes as dreams both on and off the bike.