It’s just after midday in the river-banked commune of La Voulte-sur-Rhône, and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney is daring to believe. “I’m not going to lie,” she begins, speaking to a TV crew at the start of stage seven of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, “the dream of mine is to win at the top of the climb. Mont Ventoux is so iconic that it would be a career-defining moment.”
It seems like a bold statement. Niewiadoma-Phinney, remember, has not made a habit of winning races; until Friday, she had never won a stage of a Grand Tour, and had only collected three victories in seven years. A win on Mont Ventoux? She’s more likely to lose time to her GC rivals, some scoff at the thought. But they’re fools for underestimating a former Tour champion.
