Annemiek Van Vleuten (Movistar), who won stage 7 and took the yellow jersey, said his Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift first place was made more special by the fact that he was on the verge of abandoning early in the race.

Van Vleuten, who suffered stomach problems in the first three stages of the Tour, said Saturday's win was "a bit of a miracle" and that he was "very close" to abandonment.

"It's special because I know where I came from. 'I've been sick for the first three days of this Tour, because it's made me keep believing in myself. But it was my first Tour de France and there were a lot of people here. I can't explain how I feel right now."

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Despite riding the 60 km of the stage alone, Van Vleuten said he still couldn't believe what he had accomplished at the finish in Le Marckstein.

"The whole Tour was like a roller coaster," he said. I can't believe I'm wearing the yellow jersey now after being in such bad shape. It's a bit of a miracle."

While a long solo victory is not an unfamiliar experience for Van Vleuten, she reaffirmed that it was a tactical choice against her main rival Demi Vollering (SD Walks), who finished second in this stage, and not just a proof of strength.

"It's more entertaining and pleasing to the crowd to win solo than to win the sprint," she said.

"There was a long valley and Demi didn't want to switch with me, so I wanted to drop her before we hit the 15km valley.

"So it was more of a tactical move than just wanting to win in beautiful fashion."

While many riders questioned how the Dutch rider could win after her dominant display on the stage 7 climb, she herself explained why her fitness level and strength in the mountains was higher than her rivals.

"It comes with the years," she said. Sometimes I get comments that my colleagues should train the same way I do, but that's impossible. It's a process of years. I'm 39 years old, so I can train for hours, but it's not something I suddenly became able to do; it's a process over the years." [age 19] [age 20] "Every year I can do 5-10% more hours. It's made my engine bigger and my fitness level higher.

Van Vleuten now has a 3:14 lead over Voerling in the overall and while he doesn't think he has the yellow jersey before tomorrow's La Planche des Belles Fils stage, he is not worried about losing time on the final climb.

"I'm sure there will be some crazy battles for the other jerseys and podiums tomorrow. I'm going to be really focused tomorrow, but I know from the way I climb that I shouldn't be afraid of being dropped."