VICTORY & YELLOW ON MONT VENTOUX!

“What the f**k, we won on Mont Ventoux!”

“I cannot believe it.”

“It’s so amazing.”

Those were among the first words from Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney in the minutes after she raced to victory on Stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, atop one of cycling’s most iconic climbs – a dazed mixture of complete exhaustion, disbelief and elation.

Mont Ventoux (15.6km at 8.6%) arrived at the end of an already brutal 144km, with three categorised climbs wearing down the legs before the ‘Giant of Provence’ finally came into view.

With just under 10km remaining on the forested lower slopes, Kasia sensed tension, and also her moment. She launched a sharp, powerful attack and immediately distanced her two biggest general classification (GC) rivals, Vollering (TFS) and Reusser (MOV), after Vollering had made a move 1km earlier to draw out the trio.

From there, Kasia was all-in, pushing ahead and steadily increasing her margin to the tactical duo of Reusser and Vollering as she emerged into Ventoux’s famous barren moonscape, roared on by huge crowds. Her lead grew from 40 seconds with 7km to go to a maximum of 1:40 with 1km remaining, before settling at 1:10 minutes by the time she triumphantly crossed the line.

It was an awe-inspiring display of courage, grit, tenacity and power, culminating in an incredible outpouring of emotion at the summit of the mythical Mont Ventoux.

Kasia has finished 3rd on a Tour stage four times and 2nd twice, and while she won the yellow jersey in dramatic fashion at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in 2024, she has never claimed a stage victory. On Friday, August 8, one year and 41 days after her last victory at the Polish National Road Race Championships, she claimed the most magnificent one-day win of her decorated career, and on one of the most legendary climbs in cycling.

Soon after, the Polish 31-year-old was embraced by white-jersey-defending wingwoman Antonia Niedermaier, who crossed the line in 6th and extended her lead in the best young rider classification to 1:11 minutes over Holmgren (LTK). And that wasn’t the only classification jersey heading back to CANYON//SRAM.

Starting the day comfortably in third overall, 1:17 minutes behind Reusser (MOV), Kasia did the unthinkable. As if winning on the bald, otherworldly summit at 1910m wasn’t epic enough, she completely turned the tables with her 10km solo uphill effort, reclaiming the yellow jersey that she first wore two years ago and moving 15 seconds clear of Vollering (TFS), with Reusser now 39 seconds further back. Now, CANYON//SRAM hold both yellow and white at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Quite something. 

Hear from the Queen of Mont Ventoux herself, Kasia:

“I never really chased the victory for the sake of winning. I chase it for the sake of this beautiful feeling”

“I’ve been trying to imagine it for the last two months – I had it in my mind. I came here to do recon with my friends and husband, and we had such a fun, beautiful ride. We were dreaming, pretending we were doing a lead-out into the final, and just playing around. That evoked so many good feelings in me, and I knew that I wanted to repeat it.”

“I knew I had to attack before 6km to go because then it was not flat, but less steep. I knew that if I had a gap there, then everyone would gamble behind, because no one would want to ride in the headwind. That worked out perfectly.”

Asked what she was thinking in those final kilometres, Kasia reflected:

“If you’re in so much pain, there are just blank moments in your brain. You’re so tired and in so much pain – I was just occasionally praying, ‘Please, God, make it happen. Finally, I need to put it off!’ This win is like payback for all the second and third places I had in my life.”

Not one to win often by her own admission, Kasia was quick to thank those who had stood by her:

“It goes to my family, friends, team, husband, Taylor, to my coach, Louis. Also, my team boss Ronny, because they know how much effort I put into this victory, and they were always by my side. I’m just speechless and blown away.”

And finally, on yellow:

“It means the world to get the yellow jersey in such a way, by winning on Mont Ventoux – there’s so much work that’s been put into that. My coach keeps repeating that ‘calm is fast’, and I had that in my mind during the time trial, but also today. Right now, I feel like I still cannot believe what just happened, and there’s too much noise in my mind to even be able to say something that makes sense!”

As necessary as it is to bask in the incredible glory of a Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift stage win and soak up the honour of holding yellow, two more serious challenges and many formidable contenders separate Kasia from securing her second yellow jersey in Nice on Sunday.

Stage 8 is the longest of the Tour, with a 175km journey from Sisteron to Nice. Despite the distance, it features the least climbing of any road stage at 1420m, presenting a very different challenge for the peloton. However, those numbers give a slightly misleading impression.

Most of the climbing is gradual and concentrated in the opening 95km before the race heads through the valley roads towards the French Riviera. Yet with two category 4 climbs crammed into the final 20km, along with some spicy gradients, the route could prove too demanding for the pure sprinters to battle it out on the iconic Promenade des Anglais.

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.