Niewiadoma Takes the Lead Ahead of Tour de France Femmes Finale.

Cycling Tour de France

Niewiadoma Takes the Lead Ahead of Tour de France Femmes Finale.

Katarzyna Niewiadoma held onto her overall lead in the Tour de France Femmes, while Justine Ghekiere claimed victory in the penultimate stage.

Katarzyna Niewiadoma secured her hold on the yellow jersey after finishing fourth in the 166.4km seventh stage of the Tour de France Femmes, which stretched from Champagnole to a summit at Le Grand-Bornand. 

The Polish rider now has a 27-second lead over Belgium's Puck Pieterse, who finished seventh on Saturday, as they head into Sunday's final stage.

Reflecting on the day, Niewiadoma said, "It was a very good day for us. We rode a perfect race. I got a lot of support from my team, which allowed me to save energy for the final. Of course, it was super long and very challenging from the start, so I'm very happy. We didn’t lose anything, and we're still up there with 24 hours to go."

Looking ahead to the final stage, she added, "It’s going to be a very important day in my career and for my team. We’re ready and happy to still be in yellow. Everyone is very motivated; we're here to pursue our dreams."

Meanwhile, Justine Ghekiere, Pieterse's fellow Belgian, took her second career win, showing resilience on the demanding mountainous route.