When Kasia Niewiadoma lines up in the women’s elite road race for Poland at the Paris Olympic Games on August 4 it will be her third time, and the 29-year-old’s experience is showing.
The understandable sense of being stressed and overwhelmed has been tamed by the athlete who first lined up at the event in 2016 as a 21-year-old – the second youngest rider in the race next to Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky – and took an impressive sixth place despite the ‘pressure and fear’ she felt then.
“With ten years of racing experience and having already prepared twice for an Olympic Games, I find myself with a calm focus and relaxed going into the Olympic Games Paris 2024,” Niewiadoma said in a media release from her Canyon-SRAM Women’s WorldTour team. “In the past, I have been overwhelmed and stressed before major events, but now it’s different.”
“I understand there are only two outcomes: either I get a great result or not. All I can do is prepare myself to the top shape and race my heart out; the result will be the sum of both things. I’ve gone through many ups and downs in my career, and now I know how to manage my feelings.”
One of those downs was Tokyo, where despite being focused and well-prepared the hoped-for medal was out of reach as she finished 14th in the unpredictable race to the Fuji International Speedway, which delivered a surprise gold medallist in Anna Kiesenhofer (Austria). It was a result that she mused on Instagram the next day left her ‘a little bit lost’ as she asked “is it really all over now? Did I just miss another opportunity?”.
However, another has now arrived with Niewiadoma lining up to tackle the 158 kilometres long race with 1,700 metres of climbing and nine named ascents alongside Polish teammates Marta Lach and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka, who also races with Canyon-SRAM.
“The Olympics is enormous for my country, the Polish public, and people who don’t necessarily follow cycling closely. I take this race as an opportunity to help women’s cycling grow in Poland," Niewiadoma said.
The nation has had a strong presence in the UCI rankings in recent years, finishing in sixth in 2023, and Niewiadoma's consistent presence near the top of the results tallies has certainly played a big role in that but the sport that pulls the attention of the nation is football, and some others such as volleyball, motorcycle speedway and ski jumping also loom large, but not cycling.
"It always takes one good result for the country to be interested in certain sports," said Niewiadoma. "As a child, I remember watching Justyna Kowalczyk winning medals at the Olympics in cross-country skiing; all I wanted to do was be like her. Fifteen years later, I want to be like her for other young girls in Poland.”
As well as experience, Niewiadoma has form and results on her side this year, having broken the win drought that had plagued her since 2020 by taking victory at the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships and then following it up on the road at La Flèche Wallonne as her powerful attack put Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) on the back foot. That bodes well for the Olympic Games, with its punchy course often compared to those found in the Ardennes Classics.
“My preparation has been going to plan. I always feel like I want to be doing more, but thankfully, my coach keeps a close eye on my training and recovery," said Niewiadoma who last raced at the Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour in late June.
"I’m hungry for the big efforts in the race. We want to race for a medal! I dreamed of that moment, and our Polish team is strong enough to make that dream a reality."
