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Kasia Niewiadoma’s dreams of winning a second successive Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift appear to be over, despite the Polish champion producing the best climbing performance of her life.
The Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto rider went into a brutal stage 8 third on GC and 30 seconds adrift of race leader Kim Le Court.
But she crossed the finish line atop Col du la Madeleine three-and-a-half minutes behind stage winner and the new yellow jersey Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.
Her hopes of the maillot jaune are realistically over, but she is only 22 seconds off third place, currently occupied by Demi Vollering.
“I don’t feel uplifted or stoked because that’s not the result that I worked hard for. But at the same time, looking at the climb and the numbers, I know it was the best effort of my life,” the 30-year-old said.
“It’s the fact that others have improved so much – it just shows how the women’s peloton is growing. And it makes me think and wonder, what else can you be doing to be winning races when simple improvement isn’t enough anymore?”
Niewiadoma felt confident at the foot of the Madeleine, when the race for yellow was still wide open, especially with Le Court having already crashed.
“I was just going all out,” she said. “I was not looking down at my power numbers and trying to push something – I just went with everything I had.
“On such a long climb and on grueling steep parts, you just push as much as you can.”
‘I see chances of getting on the podium’
Cédrine Kebaol and Kasia Niewiadoma race towards the top of the Madeleine (Photo: Gruber Images)
The accumulation of a week of tough racing contributed to Niewiadoma’s performance, she said.
“It’s hard when you’re eight stages in,” she added. “You go out there on your training ride and do your 30 or 40 minute efforts, and because you come from freshness it’s different to when you do a stage race.
“You have to consider uncontrollable factors, like the different travel times, the time you go to bed, the bed you sleep in. There are many variables that actually affect your recovery. You just have to accept things that you can’t control, and in training everything is perfectly organized.”
Ahead of stage 9, the final day of what has been arguably the hardest Femmes route ever, Niewiadoma is promising to go on the attack to finish on the podium for the fourth consecutive year.
“I see chances of still getting on the podium, and that is something that I really want to pursue,” she said. “It still motivates me.
“I know the yellow jersey is out of reach, but there are many teams that are motivated to do something, and we hope to get that podium spot.
“I’m making more that maybe [second-placed Sarah] Gigante might drop because there are some technical descents, and it’s not that we finish on top of the climb.
“Her team [AG Insurance-Soudal] is super strong, and they’ve proven so many times that they are around her, shepherding her and bringing her up the front, but I do believe there is still a chance.”
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