Starting the day third 1min 17sec down, the Polish rider attacked a massive 9km from the summit of Mont Ventoux in the Provence region of southern France as the top two let her go and instead kept tabs on each other.

By the time all three main contenders had crossed the line Niewiadoma-Phinney’s tactic had edged her to a 15sec lead overall on Vollering, while overnight leader Reusser had folded to third overall at 39sec.

“I’m just so tired and so blown away with what just happened,” said Niewiadoma-Phinney after an agonising final kilometre on stage seven.

“As we started to climb Mont Ventoux, I looked right and I saw my parents. They made a surprise visit, I could see my dad crying, and I was like, ‘I just need to make them proud.'”

Niewiadoma-Phinney won the title in 2024 and took a risky early attack with a track record as the better climber of the three.

The 31-year-old explained her early charge was due to the wind and how it would be harder on the upper lunar landscapes of the mountain to drop the other two.

“She was incredible today, really, well done for her,” said Reusser of the winner.

The 34-year-old Swiss said however that she and Vollering had only themselves to blame for the turn around.

Tense finale on the horizon

“It was stupid of us, Demi kept attacking and I told her we should work together, we had her in our sights but we played to her advantage,” said Reusser.

The Canyon-SRAM rider eventually crested the 1910m altitude finish line 1min 16sec ahead of Dutch rider Vollering, who unlike Niewiadoma-Phinney flew up the final section to claw back around 30 seconds that could eventually prove crucial.

Niewiadoma-Phinney beat Vollering to the title in 2024 by just four seconds.

Italian Elisa Longo Borghini also finished strong on the day in third another 26 sec off the pace overhauling Reusser near the line.

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Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot of France ended 10 minutes down on the day.

Saturday’s penultimate run to Nice would appear set for a mass sprint finish but Niewiadoma-Phinney said she would be wary.

“There’s a hill near the end and I know it won’t be easy,” she said.

The race also ends in Nice on Sunday with a title struggle in the hills outside the Riviera city ripe for a tense finale with a series of four climbs of the same steep 7km slope.

(with AFP)