Walking through the mixed zone in Pau wearing her polka-dot jersey, Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) had a relaxed smile on her face while answering the media’s questions. At first glance, her 2023 Tour de France Femmes did not go much better than the 2022 edition as the 28-year-old finished third overall again – but if you look closer, Niewiadoma closed the gap to the once-dominant Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team), won the mountain classification, and most of all, raced with panache, going hell for leather on the Col d’Aspin descent in a courageous bid for victory.
“It gave me amazing feelings to finish second on the Tourmalet, only behind Demi [Vollering]. After the Classics, I was doubting myself. I felt like I was working hard but somehow missing the top. I was not able to be the one that creates the final. That is never easy mentally. Being able to be in the front and not be caught straight away on the Tourmalet gave me extra motivation, strength and in some ways a ‘fuck ya’ feeling,” Niewiadoma was happy with her performance on the queen stage of the race.
On the final day, she was then faced with the task of defending her second place in GC against Van Vleuten and Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx). However, Niewiadoma had prepared specifically for this time trial.
“Having done the time trial in the Tour de Suisse made me realise that it's not just about getting on the bike and hoping to push the power that you normally push on your road bike. Being able to spend three or four weeks at altitude where I could only train and work on my weaknesses paid off.”
In the end, Kopecky made up exactly the 45 seconds that she was behind Niewiadoma, and the Belgian took the runner-up spot by just 21 hundredths of a second. Niewiadoma was disappointed to drop down in GC on the final day but happy she stayed on the overall podium.
"That would have been a mood destroyer,” she said.
Instead, there was a good mood in the Canyon-SRAM camp on the Place de Verdun as riders, staff members, and fans, all clad in polka-dots t-shirts, listened to an impromptu speech from Niewiadoma where she thanked everyone for their dedication before toasting to the podium and mountain jersey with champagne-filled paper cups.
One staff member who had a big influence on Niewiadoma’s performance was Magnus Bäckstedt who joined Canyon-SRAM as sports director ahead of the 2023 season.
“Maggie has made a difference on our team, combined with the fact that we change our roster quite aggressively. We have a lot of good young riders who bring an amazing spirit to the team and show feistiness and fierce vibes. Having Magnus and the young riders changed the whole dynamic. When you have the same people working with you for years, you have the same patterns, and bringing extra triggers makes you want to aim for more,” Niewiadoma said.
New teammates bring back youthful energy
Before her polka-dot raid in the Pyrénées, the stage 5 victory of Ricarda Bauernfeind had been the highlight of Canyon-SRAM’s Tour. And racing with her younger teammates brought a different atmosphere to the team.
“I love working with young riders. They have a different energy. They calculate less, worry less, and see fewer obstacles. That helps me because I feel that after spending a couple of years in the women’s peloton you see more crashes, experience more failures, and your confidence drops.”
“Being around young riders allows you to go back to old times. Helping them, and sharing my experience or knowledge, I also help myself. Having them around me, the whole team was in good spirits, even when we had days where we messed up, but we tried to change it for the next day or turn it into a joke. Everyone was relaxed and we had big goals, but without any stress or nervousness. And Ricarda’s victory boosted the team's mood and confidence,” Niewiadoma explained.
Turning 29 in late September, she is slowly but surely becoming one of the older riders in the women’s peloton, and Niewiadoma revealed that she probably wouldn’t keep on racing for as long as Van Vleuten.
“Every race I do, I feel like that was the hardest race we have ever done. Every year it's getting harder, faster, and more professional. I'm happy I'm getting to my 30s and I don't have to race the next ten years, because who knows how hard it's going to be then. You can definitely see a massive change,” she said.
Bauernfeind and Giro d’Italia Donne stage winner Antonia Niedermaier came to the Canyon-SRAM Racing team via its development outfit Canyon-SRAM Generation, and Niewiadoma hopes that other teams will follow their lead and establish development teams.
“To have a Generation team attached to my team is amazing for the younger riders. It allows them to develop slowly and gradually. It is hard to turn from junior racing to the elite category and feel that you belong. Without the Generation team, it must be a struggle for young riders.
“I would love to see more teams investing their energy, time, and money into creating generation teams that focus only on under-23 riders and allow them to make slower steps because that is very important in every rider's growth,” she hoped for a healthy development in women’s cycling that doesn’t exclusively focus on the top level.
