Sunday, August 18, 2024 at 7:17 PM
Katarzyna Niewiadoma has won the 2024 Tour de France Femmes in a bizarre way. The Polish rider for Canyon//SRAM had to let Demi Vollering pass her on the penultimate climb of the day, but was able to limit the difference on top of the Alpe d’Huez. “I lost all my confidence when I couldn’t keep up with Demi on the Col du Glandon,” the climber said afterwards.
“It’s really ‘crazy’. The whole stage was a crazy rollercoaster,” Niewiadoma opens. “I lost all my self-confidence when I couldn’t keep up with Demi on the Col du Glandon. I was really bad at that moment, both physically and mentally. I ate everything out of my pockets and drank a lot and then I thought: now I’m ready again.”
Fire comes to the rescue
Niewiadoma patched herself up again on the descent and received help from an unexpected source in the valley towards the final climb. “I am incredibly lucky with Lucinda Brand. We really have to thank her team because they brought us closer to Demi (Vollering, ed.) and Paulina (Rooijakkers, ed.).” Brand rode in support of her classification leader Gaia Realini at the front.
photo: Cor Vos
Because the pace in the chasing group remained steady, Niewiadoma could still dream of the Tour victory at the foot of the final climb. “On the Alpe d’Huez I knew I had to divide it well and go as hard as possible in the last five kilometers to keep the gap as small as possible. To be honest, I really thought it wouldn’t work, but they were really shouting through my radio.”
“I hated every bit of this climb, I really struggled,” the winner of the Tour de France Femmes continues. Only at the finish line did the Polish woman know that she had secured the overall victory. “But when I arrived at the finish and heard that I had won the Tour de France, that was amazing.”
Niewiadoma was heavily pressed into defense, but has a handful of seconds left – photo: Cor Vos
“I am grateful to so many people. Starting with my husband and my family, my entire team and my coach who really works hard to make me better. He is not often mentioned, so I really want to thank him,” says a cheerful Niewiadoma who last year had to tolerate Lotte Kopecky ahead of him on the final podium by a minimal margin and thus finished third.
“Life is great, last year I was third by a minimal margin and to win now by four seconds I really have to thank God. I think everything happens for a reason. Two weeks ago I was disappointed that I was held up by a crash at the Olympics, but that gave me more time until here”, says the new Tour winner.
Bad Luck Vollering
During the fifth stage, Vollering lost a lot of time to the overall winner. The crash of the Dutch rider – as it turns out – played a decisive role in the outcome of the Tour de France Femmes. “You wouldn’t wish the bad luck that Demi had on anyone, but everyone has bad luck once in a while. Fortunately for us, we didn’t have any bad luck this week,” concludes Niewiadoma.
