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
Student who drugged and raped 10 women gets life
The Independent

Student who drugged and raped 10 women gets life

A PhD student suspected of being one of the UK's worst sex offenders has been jailed for life after drugging and raping 10 women in London and China.

time-read
4 mins  |
June 20, 2025
South Africa opens inquiry into apartheid-era torture
The Independent

South Africa opens inquiry into apartheid-era torture

Black men known as the Cradock Four - were abducted, tortured and killed 40 years ago this month by security forces

time-read
3 mins  |
June 20, 2025
'The aid is a death trap'
The Independent

'The aid is a death trap'

As the world focuses on Israel's conflict with Iran, hundreds of starving Palestinians are being killed at American-run aid distribution sites in Gaza, write Bel Trew and Richard Hall

time-read
6 mins  |
June 20, 2025
'I came here for dream jo The Home Office killed it'
The Independent

'I came here for dream jo The Home Office killed it'

A Brazilian student who worked for a leading art gallery has waited seven months to find out if she can remain in the UK

time-read
3 mins  |
June 20, 2025
'As soon as I walked in, it felt warm, homely and safe'
The Independent

'As soon as I walked in, it felt warm, homely and safe'

Family fleeing abuse handed keys to reader-backed haven

time-read
2 mins  |
June 20, 2025
Labour rebels hit back at threats over benefits vote
The Independent

Labour rebels hit back at threats over benefits vote

Rebel Labour MPs have hit back at Sir Keir Starmer after they were threatened with suspension or blacklisting for voting against his benefit cuts.

time-read
3 mins  |
June 20, 2025
Jailed father who set himself alight moved to hospital
The Independent

Jailed father who set himself alight moved to hospital

Despite schizophrenia and psychosis, Thomas White was serving an abolished IPP term, called 'torture' by the UN

time-read
3 mins  |
June 20, 2025
Interest rates hold is a blow to Reeves - but all's not lost
The Independent

Interest rates hold is a blow to Reeves - but all's not lost

Of all the losers from the Bank of England's decision to hold interest rates - which includes the 591,000 people currently on tracker mortgages, as well as those among the 7.1 million households on fixed rate mortgages who are scouting around for a new deal - the biggest loser of all could be one Rachel Reeves.

time-read
3 mins  |
June 20, 2025
Cherki's City debut will leave fans wanting more
The Independent

Cherki's City debut will leave fans wanting more

At the home of the Philadelphia Eagles, there was an NFL-style edge to Rayan Cherki's first Manchester City appearance.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 20, 2025
Commons assisted dying vote: all you need to know
The Independent

Commons assisted dying vote: all you need to know

Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP who came top in the private members' bill ballot last year, and was therefore given a chance of getting her own law onto the statute book, is \"confident\" that her Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will complete its Commons stages today.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 20, 2025

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