Key facts
- Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM) won stage 7, a 146.8km ride from La Voulte-sur-Rhone to Mont Ventoux, in 4:22:53
- She attacked solo with 9km left on Ventoux, finishing 1:16 ahead of Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), with Marlen Reusser (Movistar) 1:46 back
- Niewiadoma-Phinney takes the overall race lead: 24:07:34, 15 seconds ahead of Vollering and 39 seconds ahead of Reusser
- It was her first Tour de France Femmes stage win after four straight years finishing on the overall podium; she won the Tour outright in 2024
- Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot finished more than 10 minutes behind on the stage
- Two stages remain: a flat 171.9km sprint-friendly stage Saturday (Sisteron to Nice) and a 99.2km mountain stage Sunday in Nice
Stage seven result
Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney won stage seven of the Tour de France Femmes with a solo attack on Mont Ventoux, taking her first stage victory in the race and the overall general classification lead. The Polish Canyon-SRAM rider covered the 146.8km route from La Voulte-sur-Rhone to the Ventoux summit in 4 hours, 22 minutes and 53 seconds, launching her decisive move with 9km left on the climb.
It was the first time Mont Ventoux has featured in the Tour de France Femmes, and organizers had billed the stage as this year’s queen stage. Niewiadoma-Phinney crossed the line 1 minute 16 seconds ahead of Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), who finished second. Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team-L’imad) was third at 1:42, with previous race leader Marlen Reusser (Movistar) fourth at 1:46. Defending Tour champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot finished more than 10 minutes behind the stage winner.
The overall standings
Niewiadoma-Phinney started the stage third overall, 1:17 behind Reusser, with Vollering second. After the summit finish, the general classification flipped: Niewiadoma-Phinney now leads with a cumulative time of 24 hours, 7 minutes and 34 seconds. Vollering sits second, 15 seconds back, while Reusser has dropped to third at 39 seconds behind. Longo Borghini is fourth overall at 2:59, followed by Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM) at 3:21 and Cedrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) at 4:01.
Background and reaction
Niewiadoma-Phinney, 31, won the Tour de France Femmes overall in 2024 and had finished on the podium in each of the past four editions, but this stage win was her first in the race. She said after the finish that the victory was for people who had supported her through years without a major win of this kind. She also described spotting her parents unexpectedly on the climb, saying she saw her father crying and wanted to make them proud.
What is next
The race continues Saturday with the penultimate stage, a mostly flat 171.9km ride from Sisteron to Nice that is expected to favor sprinters. The Tour concludes Sunday with a 99.2km mountain stage that starts and finishes in Nice, where the remaining general classification contenders will settle the final standings.
Sources
Featured photo: JrPol via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)