Not Vollering or Reusser: Niewiadoma takes control of Tour de France Femmes on Mont Ventoux

Kasia Niewiadoma has won stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes. The Canyon//SRAM rider initially benefited from the tactical battle between Demi Vollering and Marlen Reusser, but later proved to simply be the strongest rider on Mont Ventoux. By winning the queen stage, the Polish climber also took over the yellow jersey with two days of racing remaining.

After six action-packed days, it was time for the Tour de France Femmes to enter the real high mountains. Of course, the general classification had already taken considerable shape thanks to the time trial and some fantastic battles in the hills, but the biggest climbing test was still to come. Mont Ventoux featured on the Tour de France Femmes route for the first time, and it promised to deliver a spectacular showdown.

Wildfires briefly put the stage in doubt. A possible alteration to the route was proposed, which would have made the stage shorter and less demanding, but in the end the organisers decided to keep the entire course intact. Spectators were, however, prohibited from certain areas. Anna van der Breggen would not experience any of it: after a disappointing week, she decided not to start the race.

The opening part of the stage was hilly: the perfect place for a breakaway to form, surely? Quite the opposite proved to be true. The peloton stayed together for a long time — a very long time. That worked perfectly for Puck Pieterse, who was able to collect the maximum total of eight points for the mountains classification on the Col de la Grande Limite and Col du Colombier without having to expend too much energy.

It was only during the second half of the stage that a group finally managed to escape. Eleven riders came together and opened a gap, with Marit Raaijmakers (Human Powered Health) the only Dutch rider among them. Sandrine Tas (Lotto-Intermarché) was also part of the move. Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Sophie von Berswordt (VolkerWessels) attempted to bridge across, but their effort was unsuccessful.

They were caught again by the peloton on the Col de Suzette. The category-two climb served as a warm-up for Mont Ventoux. With Visma | Lease a Bike, EF Education-Oatly and SD Worx-Protime — including green jersey wearer Lorena Wiebes — contributing to the chase, the breakaway's advantage was kept firmly under control. The race soon passed through Malaucène, the town at the foot of the opposite side of Ventoux.

From there, the riders continued around to the other side of the mountain and towards Bédoin. The final breakaway riders were caught there, setting the stage for the general classification battle. Magdeleine Vallieres (EF Education-Oatly) accelerated early but quickly discovered the consequences of doing so on Mont Ventoux: the world champion was soon dropped. Meanwhile, the group of favourites was rapidly reduced in size.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot was also dropped relatively early. The defending champion was therefore once again unable to reach her best level in the high mountains. EF Education-Oatly increased the pace for Cédrine Kerbaol, while around ten riders were still able to follow. Noemi Rüegg did a huge amount of work for her team leader, but with 11 kilometres remaining Canyon//SRAM took over at the front.

Before Antonia Niedermaier could really begin her work, Demi Vollering launched an acceleration. The FDJ-SUEZ European champion wanted to make her move very early on Mont Ventoux. Only yellow jersey wearer Marlen Reusser and Kasia Niewiadoma could follow, meaning the expected trio had already separated themselves from everyone else. The gap to the rest quickly became significant.

Vollering continued to drive the pace without looking behind her. A chasing group containing Elisa Longo Borghini, Paula Blasi, Kerbaol and Niedermaier soon watched the three leaders disappear up the road. When Vollering stopped riding, Niewiadoma decided to attack. The Polish rider was allowed some space, as Vollering left responsibility for the chase to the general classification leader. What a tactical battle it had become.

Vollering knew she could not afford to play games for too long and accelerated once again. Reusser looked strong, however, and was able to follow the FDJ-SUEZ leader's pace while remaining seated. They closed the gap to Niewiadoma almost instantly, but just before making contact they eased off again. It was becoming a repeated pattern of acceleration followed by hesitation between two of the strongest riders in the race.

Niewiadoma obviously did not look behind and simply continued to push. Her advantage grew: twenty seconds, thirty seconds, forty seconds... Vollering and Reusser continued trying to force one another into doing the work, but were they about to pay the price for their tactical battle? Niewiadoma rapidly moved towards becoming the virtual yellow jersey. By Chalet Reynard, her lead was already approaching a minute. With the prospect of yellow becoming increasingly real, the Polish climber began the exposed upper section of Mont Ventoux.

And the gap just kept growing. Riding straight into the headwind, Niewiadoma fought with everything she had. The question was now who would blink first behind her. Her advantage continued to increase and Niewiadoma moved into the virtual race lead. Behind, the strain was also beginning to show on the faces of Vollering and Reusser. It appeared that neither of them had much left in reserve either.

The pair even saw the chasing group return from behind. Niewiadoma's advantage was moving towards two minutes. She had to fight all the way through the final kilometre, but she was at least certain of crossing the finish line first. Vollering eventually managed to drop Reusser, but finished 1 minute and 16 seconds behind Niewiadoma — just short of what she needed to take yellow. Longo Borghini finished third, while Reusser lost substantial time on the final section and crossed the line fourth, 1 minute and 46 seconds down.

1. Kasia Niewiadoma
2. Demi Vollering + 1.17
3. Elisa Longo Borghini + 1.42
4. Marlen Reusser + 1.46
5. Paula Blasi 1.48
6. Antonia Niedermaier "
7. Cédrine Kerbaol +2.01
8. Dominika Wlodarczyk + 3.26
9. Kim Le Court + 3.58
10. Isabella Holmgren + 4.11