Kasia Niewiadoma wins solo on Mont Ventoux to seize Tour de France Femmes lead
Kasia Niewiadoma produced a solo triumph on Mont Ventoux on stage seven of the Tour de France Femmes on 7 August 2026 and moved into the overall lead, leaving main rivals Demi Vollering and Marlen Reusser behind on the climb.
The 31-year-old Polish rider, who wore the yellow jersey in 2024, recorded the first Tour stage victory of her career and reclaimed considerable time from Reusser, who had been leading since Tuesday’s individual time trial. “It’s hard to describe my feelings because I’m still blown away by what just happened,” Niewiadoma said after the stage. Since the race’s return in 2022 she has finished on the podium each year, and her performance on the Giant of Provence revived memories of her 2024 duel with Vollering on Alpe d’Huez.
The key sequence began when Vollering launched an attack at the Virage du Bois hairpin; Reusser and Niewiadoma immediately brought it back and the three riders broke clear from the main group. After moving ahead of the front group, Niewiadoma produced a decisive acceleration just under 10km from the summit that the others could not match. Her surge created the solo move that carried her toward victory on the final slopes.
Niewiadoma opened a large gap on the approach to Chalet Reynard while Reusser and Vollering lost contact, allowing Niewiadoma to take back the best part of two minutes on Reusser by the finish. Vollering attacked Reusser again in the final kilometre to take second on the stage, with Reusser finishing a weary fourth.
The ascent severely reduced the peloton before the official climb began at Saint-Estève, with multiple riders dropping off as gradients increased. Early casualties who abandoned any hopes of a high overall placing included defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and stage-six winner Kim Le Court; Femke de Vries, a Visma Lease-a-Bike teammate of Ferrand-Prévot, also struggled and paired with her to limit losses.
Anna van der Breggen did not start the stage, having withdrawn on Friday morning as she was “not feeling at her best,” the SD Worx-Protime sports director Danny Stam said. “We kept hoping she would start to feel better as the race progressed, but unfortunately that improvement never came. We decided not to take any unnecessary risks and to give her the rest she needs.” Van der Breggen had finished second overall in the Vuelta and third in the Giro earlier this year, the report noted.
Movistar attempted to control the front while Vollering’s FDJ United-Suez responded repeatedly; Noemi Rüegg made a long effort to set the tempo for EF Education-Oatly leader Cédrine Kerbaol but was eventually swept aside by Vollering’s accelerations. Niewiadoma said she had spent time training on the Ventoux in June with her husband, Taylor Phinney, having sold the idea to him as a “romantic getaway.” “We have a strong team,” Niewiadoma said, “but I’m expecting a massive fight for everything – points, bonus seconds, everything – because the gap is so small.”
With two stages remaining Niewiadoma leads the general classification by 15sec over Demi Vollering, with Marlen Reusser 39sec adrift in third after stage seven.