No UCI Jury Action Despite Appeal as Tour de France Femmes Controversy Rages On

The UCI race jury declined to intervene Saturday after Kasia Niewiadoma accused Célia Gery of deliberately blocking her moments before Demi Vollering launched the race-winning move that wrested away the yellow jersey.

Niewiadoma ignited a storm of controversy that continues to burn ahead of Sunday’s finale after the battle for yellow exploded at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

The UCI race did not see anything worthy of a ruling. No fines, yellow cards, or other sanctions were issued.

In fact, the official report Saturday delivered the verdict: “Rien à signaler — Nothing to report.”

In the wake of the finish-line drama, Canyon-SRAM later lodged a formal complaint with the UCI race jury, Road.CC reported.

On Saturday evening, Daniel Benson posted a photo of the race jury reviewing the available video before it issued its official communique.

Under UCI rules, any changes to the ruling would now require an official appeal and action by the UCI Disciplinary Commission.

The disputed corner and accusations has erupted into the dominant talking point as the Tour de France Femmes heads into Sunday’s finale.

Riders, fans and commentators have been dissecting the incident across social media. Fresh roadside video captured by a fan has only added more fuel to the fire.

“Hopefully it was fair and it was in the battle. I hope that the Tour de France is not decided by unfairness,” Canyon-SRAM sport director Rolf Aldag told reporters Saturday. “Normally these athletes respect each other, let’s hope for the best, but it’s also still not over.”

Neither FDJ United-Suez nor Canyon-SRAM issued further statements Saturday night, leaving tensions simmering ahead of Sunday’s showdown in Nice.

Longo Borghini shrugs off Niewiadoma sitting on

Elisa Longo Borghini had a front-row seat to Saturday’s controversy as she was tucked in directly behind Niewiadoma when peloton roared into the corner just ahead of the final wall in stage 8.

But the Italian said the pace was so intense that she never saw exactly what happened.

“I was à bloc. In this moment, I was blind. I was going full gas,” Longo Borghini said at the line. “I have no clue about it.”

Vollering went full throttle over the final climb and hit the flats to solo home to win the stage and take back yellow with the bonus seconds piled on.

Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma chased hard, but the Canyon-SRAM leader rarely came through for a pull even with her yellow jersey on the line.

Longo Borghini did the bulk of the work, even if her pulls meant she was also helping Niewiadoma limit her losses.

“When Kasia isn’t turning with you, it’s because she’s à bloc. Otherwise she is always turning. I know this, so if I can gain some time on Marlen [Reusser], I try to do it,” she said. “Kasia didn’t work, but she didn’t even do the sprint. It was fair enough.”

Longo Borghini said Vollering was simply too strong once the race hit the straight away after the descent.

“You could see that we got closer to Demi on the descent and in the corners. But from the moment we arrived on the straight, she gained more and more time,” the Italian said. “She was the strongest, and I congratulate her on that.”

The wildest Tour de France Femmes yet is going down to the wire in Sunday’s explosive finale.

Vollering and Niewiadoma are separated by just 8 seconds, with emotions running high ahead of four passages over the Col d’Eze.