Niewiadoma-Phinney wins on Ventoux to take Tour lead
Niewiadoma-Phinney wins on Ventoux to take Tour lead
Ben Collins - BBC Sport journalistFri, August 7, 2026 at 5:11 PM UTC
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Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney has finished on the Tour podium for the past four years - but this was her first stage win
Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney produced a thrilling solo ride to the summit of Mont Ventoux to claim her first Tour de France Femmes stage win and the overall race lead.
The iconic climb of Mont Ventoux was included in the Tour de France Femmes for the first time for this year's 'queen stage'.
Niewiadoma-Phinney began the 146.8km ride from La Voulte-sur-Rhone third in the general classification, one minute and 17 seconds behind race leader Marlen Reusser, with Demi Vollering second.
And the Polish Canyon-SRAM rider, who won the Tour in 2024, launched an attack with 9km of the Mont Ventoux climb remaining.
As the 31-year-old pulled clear of her rivals on stage seven, it became a battle for the leader's yellow jersey.
She ultimately reached the summit finish one minute and 16 seconds before Dutch rider Vollering, with Reusser 30 seconds further back and defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot more than 10 minutes down.
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Niewiadoma-Phinney now holds a 15-second lead over Vollering with two stages remaining while Swiss rider Reusser is 39 seconds adrift in third.
"I'm blown away with what just happened," said Niewiadoma-Phinney.
"This victory goes to so many people that were with me along this very long road without proper big wins.
"It was so funny, as we started to climb Mont Ventoux I looked to my right and saw my parents. They made a surprise visit and I could see my dad crying. I was like 'I just need to make them proud'."
Saturday's penultimate stage is the longest of this year's race, with the mostly flat 171.9km ride from Sisteron to Nice set to suit the sprinters.
That will leave the general classification rivals to battle it out for the title on a 99.2km mountain stage beginning and ending in Nice on Sunday.
Le Court wins stage six of Tour after mechanical failure
Tour de France Femmes stage seven results -
Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Pol/Canyon-SRAM) 4hrs 22mins 53secs
Demi Vollering (Ned/FDJ-Suez) +1min 16secs
Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita/UAE Team-L'imad) +1min 42secs
Marlen Reusser (Swi/Movistar) +1min 46secs
Paula Blasi (Spa/UAE Team ADQ) +1min 48secs
Antonia Niedermaier (Ger/Canyon-SRAM) Same time
Cedrine Kerbaol (Fra/EF Education-Oatly) +2min 1sec
Dominika Wlodarczyk (Pol/UAE Team-L'imad) +3min 26secs
Kim Le Court (Mau/AG Insurance-Soudal) +3mins 58secs
Isabella Holmgren (Can/Lidl-Trek) +4mins 11secs
General classification after stage seven -
Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Pol/Canyon-SRAM) 24hrs 7mins 34secs
Demi Vollering (Ned/FDJ-Suez) +15secs
Marlen Reusser (Swi/Movistar) +39secs
Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita/UAE Team-L'imad) +2min 59secs
Antonia Niedermaier (Ger/Canyon-SRAM) +3min 21secs
Cedrine Kerbaol (Fra/EF Education-Oatly) +4min 1sec
Paula Blasi (Spa/UAE Team ADQ) +4min 32secs
Dominika Wlodarczyk (Pol/UAE Team-L'imad) +5min 13secs
Isabella Holmgren (Can/Lidl-Trek) +6mins 9secs
Kim Le Court (Mau/AG Insurance-Soudal) +6mins 17secs
Source: “AOL Sports”
