When Kasia Niewiadoma traces up within the ladies’s elite street race for Poland on the Paris Olympic Games on August 4 it will likely be her third time, and the 29-year-old’s expertise is displaying.
The comprehensible sense of being harassed and overwhelmed has been tamed by the athlete who first lined up on the occasion in 2016 as a 21-year-old – the second youngest rider within the race subsequent to Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky – and took a formidable sixth place regardless of the ‘stress and worry’ she felt then.
“With ten years of racing expertise and having already ready twice for an Olympic Games, I discover myself with a relaxed focus and relaxed going into the Olympic Games Paris 2024,” Niewiadoma stated in a media launch from her Canyon-SRAM Women’s WorldTour group. “In the previous, I’ve been overwhelmed and harassed earlier than main occasions, however now it’s completely different.”
“I perceive there are solely two outcomes: both I get an amazing end result or not. All I can do is put together myself to the highest form and race my coronary heart out; the end result would be the sum of each issues. I’ve gone by means of many ups and downs in my profession, and now I understand how to handle my emotions.”
One of these downs was Tokyo, the place regardless of being targeted and well-prepared the hoped-for medal was out of attain as she completed 14th within the unpredictable race to the Fuji International Speedway, which delivered a shock gold medallist in Anna Kiesenhofer (Austria). It was a end result that she mused on Instagram the subsequent day left her ‘slightly bit misplaced’ as she requested “is it actually throughout now? Did I simply miss one other alternative?”.
However, one other has now arrived with Niewiadoma lining as much as sort out the 158 kilometres lengthy race with 1,700 metres of climbing and 9 named ascents alongside Polish teammates Marta Lach and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka, who additionally races with Canyon-SRAM.
“The Olympics is big for my nation, the Polish public, and individuals who don’t essentially comply with biking intently. I take this race as a chance to assist ladies’s biking develop in Poland,” Niewiadoma stated.
The nation has had a robust presence within the UCI rankings in recent times, ending in sixth in 2023, and Niewiadoma’s constant presence close to the highest of the outcomes tallies has definitely performed an enormous position in that however the sport that pulls the eye of the nation is soccer, and a few others similar to volleyball, bike speedway and ski leaping additionally loom massive, however not biking.
“It at all times takes one good end result for the nation to be keen on sure sports activities,” stated Niewiadoma. “As a baby, I keep in mind watching Justyna Kowalczyk successful medals on the Olympics in cross-country snowboarding; all I needed to do was be like her. Fifteen years later, I need to be like her for different younger women in Poland.”
As nicely as expertise, Niewiadoma has kind and outcomes on her aspect this yr, having damaged the win drought that had plagued her since 2020 by taking victory on the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships after which following it up on the street at La Flèche Wallonne as her highly effective assault put Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) on the again foot. That bodes nicely for the Olympic Games, with its punchy course typically in comparison with these discovered within the Ardennes Classics.
“My preparation has been going to plan. I at all times really feel like I need to be doing extra, however fortunately, my coach retains a detailed eye on my coaching and restoration,” stated Niewiadoma who final raced on the Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour in late June.
“I’m hungry for the massive efforts within the race. We need to race for a medal! I dreamed of that second, and our Polish group is robust sufficient to make that dream a actuality.”
