Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) collapsed on the pavement in a state of exhaustion and shock atop Alpe d’Huez as she realized that she had gained the general title on the 2024 Tour de France Femmes, beating her nearest rival Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) by simply 4 seconds to safe her first yellow jersey.
It was a big second in biking that marked the smallest margin of victory within the ladies’s or males’s Tour de France historical past, as Greg Lemond beat Laurent Fignon by eight seconds to win the 1989 Tour de France.
“Four seconds appears magical now. I’m tremendous glad, and to be sincere, I really feel like, all through my entire profession, there have been so many instances that I might miss out on victories due to one thing, and I really feel like this was excellent for me and my crew,” Niewiadoma mentioned.
“Everything was going our manner, and regardless of a number of crashes at the start of the stage race, we stayed targeted on our aim. To win large races, you want every part in your facet.
“I have not had sufficient time to let every part sink in or take into consideration all we achieved or what sort of historical past we wrote. It feels wonderful to be on the high step. Besides placing in exhausting work, you additionally want the celebrities aligned in your facet, so all of us wrote historical past this week.”
Niewiadoma took the general lead after ending second on stage 5. On the identical day, in a single day chief Vollering was concerned in a mass crash that precipitated her to lose 1:19.
However, Niewiadoma’s normal classification bid really began on stage 4, which mixed the perfect climbs of the Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Niewiadoma was a part of the profitable breakaway and completed third behind a photo-finish between stage winner Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Vollering.
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“Stage 4 was a pleasant mixture of the Ardennes Classics, and I really like these sorts of races; shorter, punchy hills, so I used to be concentrating on that stage. Of course, I’m not recognized for being the quickest, so on this alternative, I misplaced the dash, however I used to be glad we have been capable of create some gaps on others on that stage.”
Vollering clawed two 4 seconds again on the roads to Le Grand-Bronand on stage 7, and coming into the finale stage 8’s 149.9km race to Alpe d’Huez, Niewiadoma had 1:15 on Vollering and 1:13 on Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck).
Vollering surged over the penultimate climb of the Col du Glandon, and Rooijakkers was the one rider to reply as a chase group hovered at about one minute behind which included Niewiadoma together with Pieterse, Evita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ), Gaia Realini and Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek), Cédrine Kerbaol (Ceratizit-WNT) and Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal).
“On that time, it was horrible. The climb was exhausting, and I felt like I used to be shedding my legs, after which Demi attacked, so it wasn’t very best. I needed to keep affected person, preserve my tempo,” Niewiadoma mentioned.
“On the descent, I used to be capable of refuel and get my energy again. Maybe I ignored the significance of fuelling on such a protracted climb. I knew that I needed to push and do my finest on the ultimate ascent.”
In a dramatic race up the 21 hairpins of Alpe d’Huez, Vollering and Rooijakkers performed a tactical battle for the stage victory. In the top, Vollering crossed the road with the win, securing a 10-second bonus seconds towards the general. She additionally made historical past as the primary girl to have her title etched on a bend of the fabled ascent after profitable on Alpe d’Huez.
But with the clock nonetheless ticking within the race for the overall classification, Niewiadoma desperately tried to make it to the end line with sufficient time on Vollering to maintain the yellow jersey.
“I knew that the hole was round a minute. I used to be certain they have been pushing exhausting, however we have been additionally pushing exhausting. There was nothing else I might do apart from my finest. At that time, it was a loopy sufferfest. I went all out, and I simply needed to complete as a result of it was horrible,” she mentioned.
In what she referred to as one of many hardest races of her profession, Niewiadoma completed fourth simply behind Muzic, 1:01 behind Vollering, and with simply 4 seconds to spare within the general classification, however that was all she wanted to safe the victory on the Tour de France Femmes.
“In racing, you want good legs, however you additionally want luck, and to be in the precise place. I really feel like, fairly often, I misplaced due to one thing that wasn’t going my manner, and I used to be exhausting on myself,” mentioned Niewiadoma, who’s having her career-best season, having gained Gravel Worlds final autumn, La Flèche Wallonne this spring and now the Tour de France.
“With the assistance of my crew and my household and associates, I used to be making an attempt to remain affected person and hoping that issues would go my manner. This week, it was additionally about luck, being in the precise place and having good legs. That is what it is advisable win a stage race.”
Asked what it meant to her to win the yellow jersey, Niewiadoma mentioned, “It’s completely exceptional. It’s exhausting to explain the sensation. I really feel like I can not realize it myself.”
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