Too many words have already been aired about the stage 8 incident that prompted eventual Tour runner-up Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney – as well as her husband and many, many others – to accuse the 20-year-old Gery of “unfair” and even “dirty” riding – so a few more won’t make a difference.
The incident and its aftermath were important enough for Vollering to devote more time to it in her final press conference than to her thrilling and, in the end, decisive victory. “I went to Kasia this morning [of the final stage] to say that we never had the intentions to block her,” Vollering said. “It was also a tricky corner. There was a pothole in the middle, so it was only one way to take this line, and Célia had no other choice. Célia also, in this moment, didn’t realize she did anything wrong.”
She went on to again describe the consequences for Gery. “She got a lot of nasty messages, which makes me always very angry, especially because she’s such a young girl still, and we should always protect young people from these kinds of stupid actions from people who don’t think and just send a message,” Vollering said. “And she had a really rough time.”
Vollering also took Niewiadoma-Phinney to task for putting Gery in the crosshairs of the creeps that haunt the internet. “I was just a bit disappointed that she let all the emotions out like that about a rider and saying their name,” Vollering said. To her credit, Niewiadoma-Phinney apologized to FDJ United after the race.
Abuse, tears of joy and teamwork
For her part, Gery was more restrained. “It was really difficult to live with,” she told French site DirectVelo. “But, hey, it is what it is.” But the tears she shed Sunday evening were tears of joy after Vollering clinched the victory. “Today [Sunday], it was really great to finish the way we did,” Gery said. “In view of what happened on the sidelines, it did me all the more good and [gave me all the more] pleasure that Demi won. I’m really happy. It was really great, a superb experience with the victory at the end of it. It’s the dream scenario.”
The French champion was prominent throughout the race, getting into breakaways and pulling Vollering up explosive climbs to set her up for decisive attacks – which is precisely when the infamous incident occurred, on the short, steep final climb of Saturday’s stage 8, when Vollering attacked and eventually took the yellow jersey from Niewiadoma-Phinney.
She’s only getting started
At 20, Gery already has an impressive record, including winning the U23 Road Race World Championship last year and three stage victories and the green jersey in last year’s Tour de l’Avenir Femmes. That race included some very strong young riders, such as the winner, Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek), who finished eighth in the TdFFaZ, and Paula Blasi, who won this year’s Vuelta España Femenina and finished fifth in the TdFFaZ.
This year, Gery has won the Grand Prix Féminin de Chambéry, La Flèche Brabançonne, a stage of the Giro d’Italia Women and finished second in the three-stage Volta a Catalunya Feminina, behind Blasi. Blasi and Holmgren are bona fide Grand Tour riders with excellent climbing skills who will certainly be among the TdFFaZ contenders of the future.
Gery’s skill set is different, largely because she is an enthusiastic and successful cyclocross rider. Among the titles and medals she has won in that discipline, across all age levels, are the 2026 Elite Women’s French national championship, the 2024 U19 world championship and a third-place finish in this year’s U23 world championships. That gives her the profile of a one-day specialist, a rider who favors explosive, rolling classics and breakaway stages over the sustained high-mountain climbing required of a Grand Tour GC contender. That is, someone who can climb a bit, can sprint very well and is always ready to work for the team.
Someone like, for example, Wout van Aert?
This makes her an elite domestique who can help the team’s leader win a Grand Tour while grabbing stages when the opportunity arises, as she did in this year’s Giro. On stage 7 of that race, she joined a breakaway and then won the sprint to the line over Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek) and Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L’IMAD), among others.
She also went for the win on stage 6 of the TdFFaZ, which took place on her home roads. She instigated and drove a breakaway that made it all the way to the finish line. Unfortunately for Gery, she had spent most of her legs on making the breakaway and keeping it from being caught, and so she had nothing left for the sprint. The stage was won by Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance–Soudal), with Gery finishing fifth.
A new kind of French cycling generation
Gery belongs to the new breed of talented and ambitious young French cyclists, which includes 21-year-old Marion Bunel (Visma–Lease a Bike), who rode in all three Grand Tours this year, finishing third in the Vuelta; the 19-year-old prodigy Paul Seixas (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), who finished fourth in this year’s Tour de France; and 22-year-old Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), who won three stages and the green jersey at this year’s Giro d’Italia. They look strong enough to add shine and elite trophies to the country’s reputation in the sport.
“Célia embodies this new generation of talent capable of shaping our sport for many years to come,” said FDJ United manager Stephen Delcourt this year, after she extended her contract with the team until 2028. “Since joining the team, she has continued to demonstrate the full extent of her potential, already securing major victories and showing a rare ability to deliver when it matters most.”
It’s important to repeat that Gery is only 20 years old and still has a lot to learn, such as how to manage her reserves on a breakaway and when to ignore social media. So, this TdFFaZ was not only a brilliant success for her; it was also a big step forward on her learning curve.