Monday, August 19, 2024 at 11:48 am
Interview After her historic final victory in the Tour de France Femmes, Kasia Niewiadoma thought back to the Gravel World Championships at the end of 2023. There in Veneto, Italy, a switch flipped for the Polish leader of Canyon-SRAM. Ten months later, Niewiadoma did it again: she beat Demi Vollering in the Tour. At the press conference afterwards, Niewiadoma discussed Vollering’s early attack, the seconds game on Alpe d’Huez and the future of the women’s Tour.
“Honestly? This feels amazing. I think I still need some time to let it all sink in, because after the finish I still had some things to do, but I’m looking forward to going to the team bus and celebrating with all the girls. That’s when I’ll realize what just happened, because during the ride different thoughts were going through my head. Also emotional, so that it worked out at the finish, with a few seconds difference… That’s a dream come true.”
After the penultimate stage you said that four seconds is nothing (then Demi Vollering took back four seconds through bonuses, ed.). How do you look at four seconds now?
“That’s a good one! Four seconds seems like magic now. It’s funny, actually. I’m super happy and to be honest, throughout my career there were so many times when I missed out on a win for whatever reason. But I feel like this week was just perfect for me and the team. Everything went our way and despite a few crashes at the beginning we stayed calm and focused. To win big races, everything has to go right.”
What was going through your mind during the final stage when Demi attacked?
“At that moment I felt terribly natural, because the Glandon was very hard and I felt my legs were empty. And then she attacked. It wasn’t ideal, but I knew I had to stay calm and keep my pace. On the descent I was able to recover and eat and drink enough. Then I felt I was getting some strength back. Maybe I had overlooked the importance of refueling because of the length of the Glandon. But after that I had the power again and I knew I had to give it my all on the final climb.”
Last year you were very disappointed after your third place, but now it’s finally happening. What have you worked on, or what have you changed in the last twelve months to be here as a winner?
“My coach and I have mainly been working on building up resistance and a strong base, because the races are getting longer and stages no longer last ‘just’ three hours. Now it is sometimes four hours, but more often almost five hours. You are on the bike longer, and we have also worked on that during altitude training camps. We climbed a lot there and improved everything. I also have the feeling that we have to keep thinking about the details, because women’s cycling is developing so quickly now. You can’t lag behind if you want to win. It’s about four seconds now.”
photo: Cor Vos
Until now, everyone talked about the 1989 Tour for men when it came to an exciting final battle, but now it will be about this edition. Have you realized that yet and how proud are you of it? This seems to be good advertising for women’s cycling.
“I haven’t had enough time to let it sink in and think about what we achieved today. But it feels great to be on the highest podium. It feels like a reward for all the hard work, not only from me, but also from the team. I kept going and I gave it everything. Sometimes things don’t go your way, like at the Olympics two weeks ago. But then now there’s a week where everything goes perfectly. I think we made history this week and we can be very proud.”
Next year, the Tour de France Femmes will last nine days. Do you think it should be longer? Would you be in favor of a two- or three-week tour in the future?
“This was already one of the toughest tours I’ve ever ridden. I think we raced every day as if it were a classic and there were some really long stages. It’s interesting to see how women’s cycling is growing, because it’s getting faster and everyone is getting stronger. On the one hand, I’m glad I’m 30 now, because in a few years it’ll be so tough, I’ll have stopped by then. But I’m definitely excited that the tour is being expanded, because I think it will generate even more attention and publicity for women’s cycling. Hopefully that will persuade even more women to get on their bikes.”
What impact does this victory have on your self-confidence? And how did you start this Tour?
“To be honest, I think the Gravel World Championships last year had the biggest impact on my confidence. That was a race where I realized that I was maybe wasting too much energy on my competitors. That I was afraid of my opponent. I wouldn’t compete for the win. Maybe I was intimidated then. But when I realized that I had dropped Demi Vollering in that race, I knew that I could do it. I can have more confidence in myself and I can use my strength in a better or smarter way.”
