Justine Ghekiere's Triumph on Stage Seven of Tour de France Femmes

Belgian cyclist Justine Ghekiere won stage seven of the Tour de France Femmes with a solo effort on the final climbs. She took the stage after breaking away from the group, while Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma retained the leader's yellow jersey ahead of the final stage.

Belgian Justine Ghekiere pushed ahead alone on the final two climbs to win stage seven of the Tour de France Femmes on Saturday, with Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma retaining the leader's yellow jersey going into the final stage.

Ghekiere, racing for AG Insurance-Soudal, capitalized on the mountainous terrain during the 166.4-km route from Champagnole to Le Grand-Bornand. After taking over the best climber's polka dot jersey on Friday, she surged from a breakaway group to grab the stage victory.

"I really have no words, I think I'm dreaming, it's just crazy," Ghekiere said. Maeva Squiban of France finished second, one minute and 15 seconds behind, followed by defending champion Demi Vollering.

A group of six riders initially broke away before the second of the five categorised climbs. Ghekiere, the recent winner of the mountains classification at the Giro d'Italia Donne, displayed her climbing prowess by dropping her rivals one-by-one.

Niewiadoma continued her strong performance, attacking with one kilometre remaining. Only Vollering could match her pace, but while the Dutch racer outsprinted her, Niewiadoma maintained her overall lead.

Vollering, who lost the leader's jersey on stage five due to a crash, now sits eighth in the standings, one minute and 15 seconds behind Niewiadoma. Niewiadoma holds a 27-second lead over Dutchwoman Puck Pieterse, with France's Cedrine Kerbaol another 10 seconds behind.

The final stage on Sunday is a 149.9-km trek from Le Grand-Bornand to Alpe d'Huez.

(With inputs from agencies.)