Niewiadoma conquers Mont Ventoux, takes yellow jersey in Tour de France Femmes
Polish rider Katarzyna Niewiadoma attacked on Mont Ventoux to win stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes solo on Friday, seizing the yellow jersey from Marlen Reusser with two days remaining before the finish in Nice.
Solo victory on the Giant of Provence
Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) launched her attack between 9 and 9.7 km from the summit of Mont Ventoux, the iconic climb of 15.7 km at 8.8% that closed stage 7, the queen stage of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes, on Friday 7 August. The Polish rider, overall winner of the 2024 edition, had never previously won a stage on the race despite three third-place finishes. She crossed the line solo in 4 hours 22 minutes 53 seconds, 1 minute 16 seconds ahead of Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) and 1 minute 42 seconds ahead of Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team). The victory was the 22nd of her career and her first of the season.
Yellow jersey changes hands
Marlen Reusser (Movistar), who started the day in yellow, could not match Niewiadoma's pace and finished fourth at 1 minute 46 seconds, edged out for the podium spot by Longo Borghini in the final metres. In the general classification, Niewiadoma now leads Vollering by 15 seconds and Reusser by 39 seconds with two stages remaining before the finish on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. Reusser and Vollering, watching each other closely on the climb, lost ground as their mutual hesitation allowed Niewiadoma to build an advantage that reached nearly two minutes before Vollering accelerated under the flamme rouge to limit her losses.
- Niewiadoma attacks, dropping Reusser and Vollering
- Vollering accelerates to limit her losses
- Niewiadoma wins solo in 4h22'53; Reusser loses yellow jersey
Tactical stalemate between favourites
RTBF consultant Ludivine Henrion analysed the dynamic between the two pre-stage favourites, noting that Niewiadoma was a level above her rivals on the day. Henrion observed that Vollering attempted to break clear but did not commit when Reusser failed to follow, creating a stalemate that allowed Niewiadoma to extend her lead. The two favourites eventually cooperated, but the gap continued to grow until Vollering's late acceleration in the final kilometre.
She's someone who rarely wins, so it's a pleasure. If the ambition was to take back 1:17, you had to go early and that's what she did. There was the rivalry between Marlen Reusser and Demi Vollering, but I think she was a notch above, because at one point Vollering wanted to break away but didn't drop Reusser and got stuck, in my opinion. After that, she was riding without really riding. Then there was a better understanding and they rode together, but the gap only grew. Except in the last kilometer where Vollering gave everything to try to reduce the gap, but it wasn't enough.
Defending champion cracks
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a bike), the defending champion who already trailed Reusser by five minutes, was dropped in the first hectometres of the Ventoux climb and finished 18th on the stage, more than 10 minutes behind Niewiadoma. Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education) was the first French rider across the line, taking seventh at 2 minutes 1 second. Paula Blasi and Antonia Niedermaier completed the top five, both at 1 minute 48 seconds.
- Niewiadoma
- 0 seconds
- Vollering
- 76 seconds
- Longo Borghini
- 102 seconds
- Reusser
- 106 seconds
- Blasi
- 108 seconds
- Niedermaier
- 108 seconds
- Kerbaol
- 121 seconds
- Włodarczyk
- 206 seconds
- Le Court-Pienaar
- 238 seconds
- Holmgren
- 251 seconds
Two stages remain
Niewiadoma said she expects "a huge battle" in the final two stages. Saturday's stage 8 covers 171.9 km from Sisteron to Nice along the Route Napoléon, with four fourth-category climbs, two of them late in the route. The final stage on Sunday is 99 km and features four ascents of the Col d'Eze (7.7 km at 5.9%).
