MONT VENTOUX, France (AP) — Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney launched a decisive attack up Mont Ventoux to win the seventh stage of the Women’s Tour de France and take the overall lead from Marlen Reusser on Friday.The 2024 champion was in tears as she put on the yellow jersey and now leads 2023 champion Demi Vollering by 15 seconds and Reusser by 39 with two stages left.“I’m just so tired and so blown away with what just happened,” Niewiadoma-Phinney said. “When I started climbing I looked to the right and I saw my parents standing on the roadside. They came today by surprise. I saw my father yelling for me and I thought I had to make him proud.”Reusser and Vollering could not follow Niewiadoma-Phinney when she broke away about nine kilometers (six miles) from the top of Ventoux, one of the most iconic climbs in cycling with its barren, lunar aspect.
It was a first Tour stage win for Niewiadoma-Phinney, who won the 2024 edition without claiming a stage win. Gritting her teeth in the final few hundred meters, the Polish rider dug deep and with the sun gleaming behind her, raised her arms after crossing the line. She then almost lost balance through fatigue and had to be helped off her bike. Moments later, she was all smiles as she sat on the road and poured cooling water over her head.
