PrøvGOLD- Free

Niewiadoma on the agony and ecstasy of her Tour win

The Independent|August 23, 2024
Kasia Niewiadoma still can't believe she won the Tour de France.
- LAWRENCE OSTLERE
Niewiadoma on the agony and ecstasy of her Tour win

She knows she did because half of Poland has sent congratulatory messages, from famous footballers and the world's No 1 tennis player Iga Swiatek to the president Andrzej Duda. "I feel like someone special, for sure," she smiles. But the achievement is still sinking in.

“I have these realisations where I look at my husband and we just start laughing,” says Niewiadoma, who is one half of cycling’s power couple with American former rider Taylor Phinney. It is three days later and she is speaking from their home in Girona, Spain. “We’re like, what the heck?! We just cannot even comprehend it.”

It was a finish for the ages, a 950km race won by four seconds, about the length of time it takes to read this sentence. Niewiadoma had twice come third at the Tour before and her palmares told a tale of near misses. At 29, she wondered if her statement win would ever come. Yet here she was at the start of the final day, wearing the yellow jersey, being hunted by a pack of rivals that included the great defending champion Demi Vollering.

Vollering surged for home on the penultimate climb and a drained Niewiadoma couldn’t follow. “I felt like I had nothing to connect my body with,” she says. “I couldn’t find the right rhythm. I felt like I’d lost it.”

Vollering evaporated her overnight deficit of 1min 15sec but soon found herself stuck with another podium contender, Pauliena Rooijakkers, who refused to take turns pulling in the wind. Vollering got so frustrated she pushed Rooijakkers on the shoulder, as Niewiadoma cut some of the gap and replenished before the final climb: Alpe d’Huez and its 21 hairpin bends.

The finish line waited 1,580m above her in the clouds, at the end of 14km of steep mountain road, requiring an hour of agonising effort with no clue whether it would be worth anything at the end. Niewiadoma grimaces as she remembers the pain.

Denne historien er fra August 23, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9500+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra August 23, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9500+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA THE INDEPENDENTSe alt
Better stick to the day job
The Independent

Better stick to the day job

Tom Fordy ranks terrible movies directed by great actors, from Ryan Gosling’s Lost River’ to Nicolas Cage’s Sonny’

time-read
7 mins  |
June 07, 2025
Learning to drive like a pro
The Independent

Learning to drive like a pro

Guided by an expert driver, Sean O’Grady rips round the Goodwood Motor Circuit in no fewer than four racing cars

time-read
4 mins  |
June 07, 2025
Postecoglou departs with 'pride' but Spurs sacking their manager made sense
The Independent

Postecoglou departs with 'pride' but Spurs sacking their manager made sense

He will always have Bilbao. The manager who, in his forties, was in charge of Whittlesea Zebras in the Melbourne suburbs won a European trophy 16 years later. No other manager has had a journey quite like Ange Postecoglou’s. But then no one has had a season the same as Tottenham’s, the club that recorded the lowest ever league finish of any side to lift continental silverware.

time-read
3 mins  |
June 07, 2025
'I don't want to make films about miserable people'
The Independent

'I don't want to make films about miserable people'

Bryce Dallas Howard speaks to Adam White about her new comedy Deep Cover’, dad Ron, and why her storytelling mantra is simple: more peril and more dismemberment

time-read
8 mins  |
June 07, 2025
'People fear being killed trying to get a bag of lentils'
The Independent

'People fear being killed trying to get a bag of lentils'

Aid workers explain how the politicised, militarised’ Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is failing to achieve its mission

time-read
3 mins  |
June 07, 2025
Gauff has mental armour to combat Sabalenka in Paris
The Independent

Gauff has mental armour to combat Sabalenka in Paris

As Coco Gauff prepared for her first French Open final, at the age of 18, the American was overcome with nerves and had already written off her chances when she walked out onto Court Philippe-Chatrier. It was no surprise, then, that Gauff was beaten 6-1 6-3 by Iga Swiatek in a one-sided final three years ago.

time-read
3 mins  |
June 07, 2025
Badenoch promises to 'get better' as Tory ratings slide
The Independent

Badenoch promises to 'get better' as Tory ratings slide

Kemi Badenoch has admitted she is still learning how to lead the Conservatives after seven months in the job, amid dire poll ratings for the party. The Tory leader said yesterday that it takes quite a while to learn how to do the job”.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 07, 2025
'Send her home': fears for Irish activist held in Israel
The Independent

'Send her home': fears for Irish activist held in Israel

The son of a 70-year-old Irish woman currently in Israeli detention has pleaded for her release amid concerns over his mother’s health.

time-read
4 mins  |
June 07, 2025
Reform-led councils are in chaos as meetings cancelled
The Independent

Reform-led councils are in chaos as meetings cancelled

Councils taken over by Reform UK have been left in a state of paralysis” as dozens of key meetings are cancelled and newly elected councillors fail to show up.

time-read
3 mins  |
June 07, 2025
Sinner defeats Djokovic for place in French Open final
The Independent

Sinner defeats Djokovic for place in French Open final

As Novak Djokovic departed Court Philippe-Chatrier after his defeat to World No 1 Jannik Sinner in the French Open semifinals, the 38-year-old stooped to lower his bags before turning to all four sides of the stadium.

time-read
6 mins  |
June 07, 2025

Vi bruker informasjonskapsler for å tilby og forbedre tjenestene våre. Ved å bruke nettstedet vårt samtykker du til informasjonskapsler. Finn ut mer