Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) set the queen stage on fire with an initial surge on the Col d'Espin, pulling away from main rival Demi Vollaring (SD Worx), but struggled to keep pace as the race progressed and eventually pulled away, He lost on the summit of the Col du Tourmalet.

Voerling won stage 7 and took the yellow jersey.

World champion Van Vleuten finished third overall, 2:28 behind Voerling, ending her hopes of a second consecutive Tour de France women's victory.

"For me, the goal of the Col d'Aspin was not to attack and drop everyone. Maybe I wasn't too smart in the end at today's Col d'Aspin.

"I always want to race with heart and I need to focus on my strengths. That's how I do it."

Van Vleuten entered the stage in third place overall, 55 seconds behind overnight leader Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) and 12 seconds behind Vollering.

After a remarkable season that included overall titles at La Vuelta Femenina and the Giro d'Italia Donnay, her goal was to defend her title at the Tour de France Femme, and the Col du Tourmalet was the perfect opportunity to gain time on her rivals.

Van Vleuten pulled away from Vollering and Niwaerdma on the Col du Aspin, but Niwaerdma widened the gap on the descent, and she entered the base of the Tourmalet alone.

Van Vleuten and Vollering appeared to be playing a poker game on the road, but neither made any effort to chase Niewadema, and after exchanging words, the two were joined by Kopecky and Marlen Reusser, Ashley Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance - Soudal - Quick Step) and Juliette Labouse (Team dsm-Filmenig) were caught in the next selection, which included.

"She didn't want to ride. So I said, 'If you don't ride, I don't ride. She also made a point of having two teammates behind her, so we waited it out," Van Bruten said.

"It wasn't really about our cooperation. Today it was more about Col Daspin and Tourmalet, and Demi Volering was better."

Vollaring jumped out of the chosen chase group and quickly opened a gap. With 5km to go, he caught up to and passed Niwiadma in the foggy upper category mountains to take the yellow jersey in the Tour de France Fam, his third win for SD Volks.

Van Vleuten said he struggled to keep up with the pack, especially as Lovace set a fast pace, and finished third, 2:34 behind Voerling.

"Of course I am disappointed. I didn't do anything wrong. I am happy with my run at Col d'Espin because I prepared the best I could. I ran hard and focused on my strength, like I always do. I was confident that I could win today," Van Vleuten said.

"In the end, I felt a little ...... in Tourmalet. I looked at the other riders and saw that (Juliette) Labouse was riding at a high pace and it reminded me of the Giro. I looked at my performance and I knew it wasn't my best day."

The Tour de France Femme was followed by a 22.6km time trial in Pau. Van Vleuten is a two-time world champion and Olympic champion in this discipline.

"We'll see. I came here to win the Tour de France, not to be second, third, or fourth. Honestly, I just want to win because the Tour de France is beautiful and after winning it last year." It's clear that Demi Volering was on another level."