Stage 7: Kasia writes her name into history.

Today was the day we'd all been waiting for: Mont Ventoux.

There was plenty of racing before we reached the Giant of Provence, including a sizeable early breakaway with representation from teams including Human Powered Health, Uno-X Mobility, Laboral Kutxa, Liv AlUla Jayco, Mayenne, Ma Petite Entreprise and Lotto-Intermarché.

I always love seeing those opportunities, particularly for the smaller teams, because they matter.

Women's cycling hasn't always had the television coverage it has today. Not so long ago, if you weren't fighting for the result, it was incredibly difficult for a smaller team to gain meaningful exposure from being part of a race like this. Now, getting riders into the break means television time, visibility for sponsors and an opportunity to show that they belong on cycling's biggest stage. This visibility matters to the sustainability of those teams and ultimately to the future of our sport.

But today was always going to come down to one climb.

Mont Ventoux.

And what happened there really surprised me.

I knew Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney was in great shape. I've followed her preparation, I knew where she'd been training at altitude, and we'd already seen signs throughout this Tour that she'd done her homework.

But if you'd asked me at the start of this Tour whether I expected Kasia to ride away from Demi Vollering and Marlen Reusser on Mont Ventoux, I would have said no.

I expected her to be fighting for the podium. She's been on the Tour podium every year since the race returned in 2022. But what she produced today was something different.

It was the ride of a lifetime.

And perhaps the first indication that something special could happen came not from Kasia...but from FDJ-SUEZ.

Stage 5 felt like the announcement of a new super-team in women's cycling. FDJ were incredible that day. They controlled the breakaway, surrounded Demi with teammates and delivered her into exactly the position she needed to win.

Yesterday, however, we saw the first small cracks. Demi was more isolated in the finale, and the question was whether FDJ were struggling after their huge effort the day before or deliberately conserving energy for Ventoux.

Today gave us the answer.

I expected FDJ to arrive at the foot of Ventoux with four or five riders controlling the pace and building towards the classic Demi Vollering attack we've seen so many times before.

Instead, Demi found herself without that same level of support.

I found this quite significant.

When an entire team sacrifices itself for you, it gives you more than just a physical advantage. There's an emotional one too. When teammates have emptied themselves to put you in the perfect position, it gives you an enormous sense of responsibility...and often an added reason to dig deeper.

Today, Demi had to take responsibility herself.

She attacked with around 10kms remaining. Normally, when Demi makes that kind of move on a climb, we expect her to ride away solo and disappear up the road.

But today...that didn't happen.

And then Kasia countered.

With just over 9kms still to climb, she attacked...and Demi and Marlen couldn't respond.

From there, Kasia simply committed.

Behind, Demi and Marlen found themselves in a difficult tactical battle. Marlen was wearing yellow, so Demi understandably wanted her to take responsibility for the chase. But the longer they hesitated, the further Kasia disappeared up the road.

Eventually they had to work together, but by then Kasia was gone.

What impressed me most was the way she climbed.

Kasia isn't what I would describe as the classic aerobic Alpine climber. She's naturally more explosive and anaerobic - someone who is incredibly dangerous on shorter, punchier efforts.

I understand that type of physiology because I'm similar.

To transform that explosiveness into the ability to ride away from the world's best climbers on a sustained climb like Mont Ventoux takes an enormous amount of specific work.

Altitude training is a great example. More isn't always better, particularly for an athlete with a naturally powerful, anaerobic engine. Go too high, train too hard or get the balance slightly wrong and the additional recovery demands can quickly push you into a hole.

Kasia seems to have balanced it perfectly.

She prepared at Bolquère Pyrenees 2000 in the Pyrenees, putting in the volume and altitude work while seemingly maintaining really good energy throughout. We've seen her enjoying the process with her husband, Taylor, sharing videos and generally looking relaxed and happy.

Sometimes that's as important as the numbers.

And there had already been clues.

Her time trial was exceptional for a rider of her size and characteristics. Losing only a little over a minute on a course that heavily favoured raw power and aerodynamics showed just how complete her preparation had been.

Canyon//SRAM have also ridden an incredibly intelligent Tour.

They're not the biggest-budget team in the peloton, but they've continually put themselves in the right positions without unnecessarily showing their hand. They've been there, quietly taking care of business, without ever really revealing just how strong they were.

Antonia Niedermaier has been a big part of that. We saw her working yesterday, and today she was once again there setting the pace on lower slopes of Ventoux before the attacks started.

And then perfectly...Kasia delivered.

She rode away on one of the most iconic climbs in cycling and wrote her name into its history.

But there was another, much smaller moment on Ventoux that stood out to me today.

Further down the mountain, Cédrine Kerbaol and Antonia Niedermaier found themselves together in a chasing group. At one point, Cédrine took a bottle and could clearly see that Antonia was suffering in the heat. She passed it across. They shared the water and helped pour it over one another.

Two riders from different teams. Two competitors fighting for their own positions in the Tour. Yet in that moment, they were people before they were competitors.

It's something I've always valued about women's cycling.

Of course, racing is fiercely competitive and this isn't true in every situation. But there is a camaraderie within the women's peloton that I think is incredibly special. When you're suffering together, sometimes the rivalry disappears for a moment. You understand exactly what the person beside you is going through, because you're going through it too.

Helping someone doesn't mean you want to beat them any less.

It just means there's humanity within the competition.

And somehow that little moment felt very fitting on a day when women's cycling was creating another piece of its own history.

Thousands of fans lined a mountain that has been part of men's cycling history for generations. Today those same roads belonged to the women.

And Kasia produced a performance worthy of them.

I'm incredibly happy for her. She's one of the most genuine, humble people in the peloton and has been consistently among the world's best riders for years.

Today she didn't just win a stage.

She won on Mont Ventoux.

With the GC incredibly tight heading into the final two stages, this Tour is far from over.

But whatever happens from here, today belongs in the history books.

Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney came to Mont Ventoux...and wrote her name into women's cycling history.

— Ashleigh

Smooth Is Fast

Descending isn't about being fearless. It's about being smooth. Professional riders look well ahead, choose clean lines through corners, brake before the turn and stay relaxed on the bike. The smoother you ride, the more speed you naturally carry.

Takeaway: Confidence comes from control, not risk.

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Stand a chance to WIN a Set of Premium @castellicycling Kit - their Corretto W Jersey and matching bib!

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