Niewiadoma keeps Vollering conversation private — but Demi had already revealed what was said

Kasia Niewiadoma had decided after Stage 9 of the Tour de France Femmes that she would no longer discuss all the controversy that erupted following Stage 8. The CANYON//SRAM rider did an admirable job of sticking to that decision when facing the media, although at the time she did not yet know that Demi Vollering may already have broken their apparent unwritten agreement.

Asked what she and Vollering had been talking about at the beginning of Stage 9, when they rode alongside each other in the peloton and chatted for several minutes, the Polish rider gave a clever and evasive answer during the press conference. “We were talking about women’s things.”

Inevitably, she was pressed on the subject again, but Niewiadoma decided to keep her cards close to her chest. “We talked about yesterday, but sometimes it is respectful to talk about those things with each other and keep the media out of it.”

What Niewiadoma probably did not know at that point was that Vollering had already spoken in considerably more detail about their conversation during an interview in the mixed zone. “I had a good talk with her. I told her that seeing her interview made me pretty angry.”

Vollering was referring to Niewiadoma’s comments after Stage 8, when she accused Vollering’s teammate Célia Gery of unsportsmanlike behaviour in a corner. The Polish rider even briefly confronted the Frenchwoman, who according to her team leader endured “a very difficult evening,” partly because of death threats she received online.

“When you’re that full of emotion, you shouldn’t say those kinds of things,” Vollering said, while also stressing that she and Niewiadoma had ultimately understood one another. “I told her that we never had any intention of riding Kasia into the barriers and that it was simply a tricky corner, with a manhole cover in the middle.”

“Célia couldn’t go anywhere else. There was really only one line through that corner, and when you end up next to each other...” Vollering continued. “She understood that, and Kasia immediately said she was sorry for the way she had spoken about it yesterday.”

The situation had therefore been discussed extensively within FDJ United-SUEZ, and for the French team it even provided additional motivation to go all-in for victory with Vollering on Stage 9. “Especially after everything that happened yesterday. We wanted to do our talking with our legs, and that’s what we did,” sports director Lars Boom said.

FDJ team manager Stephen Delcourt was also reported to have spoken about the situation and said Niewiadoma should apologise. “I hadn’t heard that he thought that, but if that’s what he thinks, then that’s okay,” the Polish rider responded.

As mentioned, Niewiadoma otherwise kept her lips firmly sealed, sticking to the comments she made after Stage 8, a follow-up statement before Stage 9 and her conversation with Vollering on the bike. “In the end, so much happens when you’re racing full gas. We’ve been racing against each other for years and we’ll continue racing against each other for many more years. Neither of us wants a conflict.”