Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney may not have achieved a top result in the elite women’s time trial at the Road World Championships, but took the opportunity to test herself on the climbs that will feature in next weekend’s road race.
On a course that has been compared by many to a Classic like Amstel Gold Race – which Niewiadoma-Phinney has won – the Polish rider will be among the contenders for the victory on Saturday.
Not currently a specialist time trialist – though she hinted she does have future goals in the discipline that she’s working towards – Niewiadoma-Phinney finished 14th on Sunday, but achieved her aim of understanding the course and testing her body in Kigali’s unique conditions.
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“That was definitely one of the goals, to do the time trial to understand my body on this altitude and with those conditions,” she said. “I think it’s going to be all about one smart move on Saturday, because if you go too hard, too early, the recovery is close to impossible.”
Niewiadoma-Phinney said she went out too fast in the time trial and was “just boiling myself from the first climb on” in the hot conditions, but took positives from the ride.
“I just felt like I crossed that red zone, and even on the downhills, I just could not recover. Personally, for me, no matter the result, I’m really happy that I pushed myself towards doing that, and I know that my goals for the TT are further away. I’m not a time trialist, but I want to work on it.”
Having now seen the key parts of Saturday’s road race route, Niewiadoma-Phinney liked the course, but was clear that the conditions and riders’ physical response may make the outcome of the title race more difficult to predict and control.
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“The course definitely suits me, but as I experienced today, these conditions are very special, so I am happy to be already here so many days in advance, hoping that my body will be adapting better to it,” she said.
“I was on altitude before coming here, but it’s different, and I think none of us has ever really done a Classic on altitude, maybe only in America. It’s just different. You can go really hard, but then it’s really hard to go back to normal from it.”
Niewiadoma-Phinney will line up as part of an only three-rider Polish team, whilst other nations have five, six, or seven riders, which will be a small disadvantage, but she was hopeful of her chances to take advantage of the dynamic in the peloton.
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“Definitely, a team always helps, especially in the first part of the race, we will be all the time on the laps, so positioning will be super important. We have a very small team, only three riders, but I feel like I’m good with using others’ strengths, so I hope to stick around with the Italians and Dutchies,” she said.
The challenge for Niewiadoma-Phinney and all the riders who have already arrived in Kigali will be getting the training kilometres in in an unfamiliar environment, where most are based in the middle of a big city.
There are no more chances for the riders to train on closed roads, so the next week will be about navigating the traffic in the Rwandan capital city and trying to get out further afield for some endurance efforts.
“The first days, just because I wanted to see the course, I had to stay in Kigali, and it’s of course full of traffic, so I hope that in the next week where I can actually do some endurance hours, I will be away from the city and I can explore more of the nature and rural areas,” Niewiadoma-Phinney said.
“My friends said, ‘Hey, you’re in Africa,’ but I don’t really feel it. Of course, there are different rules to what we are used to in Europe when it comes to traffic, but somehow it flows, just like in China or anywhere in Asia, it’s a mess on the road, but it’s fluid. At first, jumping on the bike, off the plane, you feel more tense and stressed, but the moment I was like ‘okay, I’ll do whatever they want’, chop people up, like during bike racing, it actually works.”
Despite some challenges, though, Niewiadoma-Phinney enjoyed her first taste of the Rwandan crowds, which are expected to be in their millions come the weekend.
“Starting off [the time trial] in the stadium was amazing, and then on the course, a lot of people were screaming my name,” she said. “I know my name is not easy to pronounce, but they were just perfect. I don’t know if they were from here or if they were Polish, but it was super nice to see so many people out there watching us and cheering us on.”
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