Niewiadoma-Phinney conquers Mont Ventoux to seize Tour de France Femmes yellow jersey

The decisive attack

Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney, starting the day third overall at 1 minute 17 seconds behind yellow jersey Marlen Reusser, launched her attack roughly 9 km from the summit of the 15.7 km hors-categorie climb to Mont Ventoux. The stage covered 146.8 km from La Voulte-sur-Rhone and featured 3,500 m of elevation gain across four categorised climbs. The Mont Ventoux summit finish, at 1,910 m altitude, was included in the Tour de France Femmes for the first time. Niewiadoma-Phinney explained that wind conditions and the barren upper slopes of the mountain influenced her decision to go early. She crested the finish line 1 minute 16 seconds ahead of Demi Vollering, with Elisa Longo Borghini third at 1 minute 42 seconds. Reusser, who had led the general classification, faded in the final kilometre and was overtaken by Longo Borghini in the closing 100 metres, finishing fourth on the stage.

How the trio came apart

Vollering, the 2023 winner riding for FDJ Suez-United, had accelerated with just under 11 km remaining, reducing the lead group to three: herself, Niewiadoma-Phinney, and Reusser. When Niewiadoma-Phinney made her move shortly after, Vollering and Reusser initially held back, appearing to hesitate tactically. Vollering then gave chase with Reusser on her wheel, but the Polish rider continued to extend her advantage. On the double-digit gradients of the final kilometre, Vollering shook off Reusser and soloed to second. Longo Borghini then caught the fading Reusser in the final 100 metres to take third on the stage, four seconds ahead of the Swiss rider. Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot finished 10 minutes down on the day.

General classification reshaped

Niewiadoma-Phinney now holds a 15 second lead over Vollering, with Reusser dropping to third at 39 seconds. The top three are separated by just 39 seconds heading into the final two stages. Niewiadoma-Phinney, who won the 2024 edition by four seconds from Vollering on the Alpe d'Huez summit, broke down in tears on the podium wearing yellow for the first time since her 2024 triumph. She described the moment as the end of a long wait for a stage win in the race.

Emotional finish and rider reactions

Niewiadoma-Phinney said she spotted her parents on the roadside as she began the climb, which added emotional weight to her performance.

As we started to climb Mont Ventoux, I looked right and I saw my parents. They made a surprise visit, I could see my dad crying, and I was like, 'I just need to make them proud.'

This victory goes to so many people that were with me along this very long road without proper big wins. I'm just so tired and so blown away with what just happened.

What remains

Saturday's penultimate stage is the longest of this year's race at 171.9 km from Sisteron to Nice, with 1,400 m of elevation gain. The route is mostly flat and expected to suit sprint specialists. The general classification battle will then be decided on Sunday's final stage, on the hills outside Nice. Germany's Antonia Niedermaier retained the white jersey as best young rider after the Ventoux stage.