KASIA PODIUMS AS ANTONIA RIDES INTO WHITE ON TDFFAZ STAGE 5

Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney came within singular, agonising metres of her maiden Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift stage victory on a brutal 140km day, launching a long-range surprise attack with 350m remaining and immediately opening a gap on her two rivals.

Despite looking set to pull off a stunning victory, her rivals reeled her in during the final moments and she crossed the line in third place. Any trace of disappointment was quickly overcome by pride, validation and joy for what the result represented in the bigger picture.

Kasia, Reusser (MOV) and stage winner Vollering (TFS) had successfully distanced themselves from the rest of the race, heavily swaying the general classification battle towards a three-way contest. The trio gained significant time on riders considered the biggest threats for the overall victory, including last year’s yellow jersey winner Ferrand-Prévot (TJS) and van der Breggen (SDW).

Forming a potent team pairing with Kasia in a thrilling finale, Antonia Niedermaier crossed the line 45 seconds later in the second trio on the road, finishing sixth on the stage. Her impressive ride saw her take over the white jersey as the Tour’s best young rider while also moving into fourth place overall, 2:40 minutes behind yellow jersey wearer Reusser.

Vollering sits 12 seconds behind the race leader, while Kasia occupies third place overall at 1:17 minutes in arrears.

The emotions were shared across both riders – happiness and satisfaction in equal measure – despite their contrasting ambitions for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift; Kasia targeting the highest steps of the general classification, and Antonia ready to support whenever needed.

The stage itself presented a formidable tactical, mental and physical challenge. Nearly 3000m of climbing, spread across eight categorised climbs, were packed into an endlessly twisting parcours, culminating in a technical descent from the summit of Mont Brouilly – a final category two climb with just 10km remaining.

Antonia played a key role from the outset, infiltrating a dangerous 19-rider move and even enjoying a spell as the virtual race leader. With six riders remaining from the breakaway, the group was eventually caught with 22km to go after attacks flew on the penultimate climb (3.7km at 5.8%).

Just eight riders entered the final kilometre of the punishing Mont Brouilly (2.9km at 7.6%), with Kasia and Antonia still firmly in contention. As the gradients ramped up towards the summit, Vollering launched ferocious surge after surge, but Kasia remained composed and unshakeable. Reusser fought to hold the wheel, while Antonia was eventually distanced as the intensity reached its peak. Reflecting on the climb, Antonia said:

“Yeah, it was super hard, from the beginning to the top. Demi tried to attack like three times. It was just a super hard pace and I was already on the limit. But somehow I always managed to come back and then tried to keep Kasia out of the wind. She did amazing – she could go with Vollering at the end, before Reusser bridged back over again.”

From the summit, the technical descent straightened out into a flat, fast run to the line, where the leading trio cemented themselves as the strongest riders of the day and established the significant gaps in the general classification battle.

Reflecting on the dramatic finale, Kasia said:

“Honestly, I thought I had it. I was like, ‘I just need to push until the finish line, not look up.’ And then I saw the wheel on the right and I’m like, ‘next time.’

I just gave my best, honestly, and I have no regrets. I knew my chances to win with Demi were very small, so I thought maybe they [Vollering and Reusser] will just look at each other because I could see some tension between them, like they were playing around, so I thought I could use that to my advantage.”

Looking beyond the stage result, Kasia reflected on the wider significance:

“This race is very important for my team and for myself. I always want to make sure I do absolutely everything to arrive at the race in the best possible shape. Together with my coach Louis, we’ve worked on so many different aspects, and now I’m able to put all the puzzle pieces together, so I’m very pleased.”

Meanwhile, Antonia was delighted with the white jersey, but equally proud of the team’s performance on a demanding day of racing:

“For sure, it’s a nice feeling. It wasn’t the main goal, but it’s always nice to take it, so I’m really happy. And I mean, it’s incredible here with the people – the crowds are amazing.

“The stage was super hard. We knew from the beginning that it would be a really tough day. It wasn’t planned that I’d end up in the breakaway so early – I just wanted to go for bottles and somehow ended up in this big group. But I think it was also a good situation for Kasia because she could sit back and let the other teams work.

“We knew that Demi would attack on the climb, and we knew Kasia could follow her. She’s super strong and confident, so I think she can really finish it off.”

Stage 6 (Hilly) | Thursday, August 6 | Montbrison – Tournon-sur-Rhône | 153km | 2650m | 13:35 – 17:41 CET | Live 15:45

Stage 7 (Mountain) | Friday, August 7 | La Voulte sur Rhône – Mont Ventoux | 144km | 3565m | 12:50 – 17:17 CET | Live 15:20

Stage 8 (Flat) | Saturday, August 8 | Sisteron – Nice | 175km | 1420m | 13:40 – 17:43 CET | Live 15:45

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.