Niewiadoma-Phinney conquers Ventoux to snatch Tour de France Femmes lead

Aug 7 : Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney put in a stunning solo ride to take victory on the summit of Mont Ventoux in a thrilling stage seven of the Tour de France Femmes on Friday, which moved the 2024 winner into the leader's yellow jersey as she ended her long wait for a stage win in the race.

The 146.8-km ride from La Voulte-sur-Rhone ended with the legendary climb - included in the Tour de France Femmes for the first time - and Niewiadoma-Phinney left her rivals in her wake when she attacked with over nine kilometres left to race.

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

The stage turned into a battle of the top three overall, and Niewiadoma-Phinney, who began the day in third place, now holds a 15-second lead over Dutch rider Demi Vollering, who came in second, with Italy's Elisa Longo Borghini finishing third.

Switzerland's Marlen Reusser started the stage in yellow, but after coming fourth now trails the leader by 39 seconds.

The peloton was down to around 40 riders, including the top 10 in the general classification, as they began the final gruelling 16-km ride to the top, but those numbers were greatly reduced on the early part of the climb.

Vollering, the 2023 winner, launched her attack with less than 11-km to go, but Reusser and Niewiadoma-Phinney stuck with her to leave the trio out on their own.

POLISH POWER

When Niewiadoma-Phinney, who started the day one minute 17 seconds off the lead, made her move, her two rivals hung back as they appeared to be locked in a game of cat-and-mouse.

Vollering then gave chase, with Reusser hanging onto her back wheel, but