'I just felt so much gratitude' - Niewiadoma delighted with maiden Tour Femmes stage win on Mont Ventoux

Niewiadoma spoke to Eurosport after crossing the line, describing the sight of her parents at the roadside as the pivotal moment with them making a surprise visit to Mont Ventoux, with the Polish rider spotting them as she began the climb.

"As we started to climb the mountain too, I looked right and I saw my parents, like they made a surprise visit and I could see my dad crying and I was like I just need to make them proud. 

"This victory just goes to my family, to my friends, to my team, to my husband Taylor, to my coach Louis, and also my team boss Ronnie, because they know how much effort I put into this victory and they were always by my side and listening to my complaints," the Polish rider said.

Niewiadoma was asked about the significance of finally taking a Tour de France stage win, having taken the overall in 2024 without a stage victory.

"I never really chased the victory for the sake of winning, I chased it for the sake of this beautiful feeling. I came here to Mont Ventoux with my friends, with my husband and we rode the climb three times, we had fun, we sprinted, we did efforts and it was just about this amazing feeling from being around here."

Her build up on Ventoux with friends and her husband, former professional cyclist Taylor Phinney, added to the emotional significance of the win.

"From that moment I just wanted to have that feeling coming here as well, this pure joy of riding, feeling like a kid, feeling like bike racing and riding is so cool because we can go anywhere we want and just love every pedal stroke."

Niewiadoma attacked on the road up Mont Ventoux with the wind as the tactical trigger. She wanted to make it to Chalet Reynard, 6km from the summit, before Marlen Reusser (Movistar) and Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) could organise a chase.

"My idea was that I need to just make it to Chalet, which is six k's to go, on my own because then I knew that with the wind that we had today, if somebody is chasing behind, then they will try to stay on the wheel as much as possible. 

"Once I made it to Chalet, of course it wasn't nice for me because there was a lot of headwind, but I knew that in the back they will just play the game," stated the Polish rider.

Niewiadoma takes the yellow jersey off Reusser and moves into the lead with two stages remaining. The 2024 champion leads Vollering by 15 seconds, with Reusser in third at 39 seconds.