KASIA 3RD AS YELLOW SLIPS AWAY, ANTONIA KEEPS WHITE

After just one night to bask in the incredible glory of a Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift stage win and soak up the honour of pulling on the yellow jersey, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney’s focus was already split between recovery and preparation for the two decisive weekend stages.

Unfortunately, the first of those two remaining challenges dealt a small but significant blow to her hopes of reclaiming the general classification (GC) title she won in 2024.

Stage 8 was the Tour’s longest at 175km from Sisteron to Nice, while featuring the least climbing of any road stage at 1420m. The numbers, however, were deceptive, with two Category 4 climbs packed into the final 20km, alongside a cheeky but brutal 500m uncategorised ascent before a 6km descent and flat run along the iconic Promenade des Anglais. It was on the punishing 15% gradients of that final kicker that eventual stage winner Vollering (TFS) forced open a gap and made the decisive difference.

Kasia ultimately finished third – the fifth time she has claimed a podium finish on a Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift stage – but conceded 17 seconds to second-placed-on-GC Vollering (TFS), crossing the line alongside fourth-placed Longo Borghini (UAD).

Most crucially, Kasia’s lead following her career-defining victory on Mont Ventoux was a fragile 15 seconds. Once bonus seconds were factored in, Vollering had overturned that advantage by eight seconds, leaving Kasia second overall heading into tomorrow’s ninth and final stage. One silver lining was that she extended her advantage over Reusser (MOV) in third, from 39 seconds to 1:12 minutes.

After overcoming the two preceding ascents, Antonia Niedermaier was also part of a heavily reduced group heading into the final pinch, eventually finishing in a nine-rider chase group 20 seconds behind Kasia’s pairing. She successfully defended her white jersey for a third consecutive day, maintaining a lead over Blasi (UAD) of 1:11 minutes.

Antonia reflects on a dramatic finale and looks ahead to the decisive final stage:

“Actually, the stage was really boring until 25km to go, and then it was just crazy. We knew that there was a super steep 500m kick, and we also knew that Demi [Vollering] was going to attack there. I think Kasia could almost stay with her, but I actually don’t know how the situation at the front was.”

“For sure, it’s hard if you lose the yellow jersey, but I also told Kasia that it’s not over yet. Tomorrow is another really, really hard day, so she should never stop believing. I still think everything is possible. It has been a long and hard tour, and I really feel it, but I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

As for the white jersey, Antonia’s priorities are clear:

“It would be super nice to keep it, but I think it’s now more important to see if we can somehow bring Kasia back up. Everything else is a nice bonus, but I think the main goal is still the GC with Kasia.”

To keep the battle for yellow alive until the very end, this year’s Tour concludes with a challenging 99km of circuits through the hills of Nice. Short but brutal, it offers a huge opportunity to reshape the GC, with more than 2100m of climbing accumulated on the popular Col d’Eze. It’s negotiated three times from the ‘easier’ side (7.8km at 5.9%) – a term used very lightly – before a shorter, sharper ascent on the the fourth and final lap, with gradients exceeding 15%. A real sting in the tail. From the summit, just 15km of flowing roads remain before another finish on Nice’s famous Promenade des Anglais, where the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift champion will be crowned.

For the fifth year in a row, both Kasia and Demi Vollering look likely to finish on the overall podium, but which step will they take?!

Stage 9 (Mountain) | Sunday, August 9 | Nice – Nice | 2175m | 99km | 16:05 – 18:51 CET | Live 15:55 (in full)

Watch every stage live on TNT Sports, Eurosport, HBO Max, France TV, RTBF (BEL), Flobikes (CAN), Peacock (USA) ESPN (Latin America), SBS Sport (AUS) and other regional providers. Stay updated on X with #TDFF2026, #WatchTheFemmes, and follow CANYON//SRAM social channels for the latest team updates.