Kasia Niewiadoma crushed her two rivals Marlen Reusser and Demi Vollering to win the Tour de France Femmes queen stage on Friday and leap into a narrow overall lead.

Starting the day third, 1 minute 17 seconds down, the Polish rider attacked a massive 8 kilometers from the summit of Mont Ventoux in the Provence region of southern France.

By the time all three main contenders had crossed the line, she held a 15-second overall lead on Vollering, while Reusser had faded to third overall at 39 seconds.

Kasia Niewiadoma Attacks Early On Mont Ventoux

"I'm just so tired and so blown away with what just happened," she said after an agonizing final kilometer on stage 7.

"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 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 attack 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.

Demi Vollering Limits Losses As Marlen Reusser Fades

The Canyon-SRAM rider eventually crested the 1,910-meter altitude finish line 1 minute 16 seconds ahead of Dutch rider Vollering, who, unlike Niewiadoma, flew up the final section to claw back around 30 seconds that could eventually prove crucial.

Niewiadoma 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 seconds off the pace, overhauling Reusser near the line.

Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot 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 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.