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In the end the difference was the blink of an eye. After eight days and 960.5 kilometers, after all the hills and descents, the sprints and time bonuses and after the final day time trial, the difference between second and third was a hair’s breadth.
Just 11 hundredths of a second separated Lotte Kopecky and Kasia Niewiadoma at the end of the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift. Both finished on the podium, but one higher than the other by the most miniscule of margins.
Niewiadoma initially celebrated at the finish with teammates and Canyon-SRAM staff, sitting on the ground in her polka dot skinsuit and beaming broadly. She looked a mixture of relief and jubilation. The cameras cut back to her a few minutes later and she was lying on the tarmac, mood a little more muted, the teammates and staff embracing her and—perhaps—commiserating slightly, amidst the celebrating.
It was hard to tell from the body language, but it seemed she may have initially thought she kept second, then learned she had moved to third.
No matter. The smile was back on her face very soon afterwards, and she was celebrating what had been achieved rather than focusing on what might have been.
She’d had a superb race and, for the second year running, finished third overall despite, this time around, a final day time trial that was missing last year and which didn’t play to her strengths.
Niewiadoma also won the Queen of the Mountains competition and, most importantly of all, took a big step forward in terms of self-belief.
“It definitely feels amazing. That was the goal of ours, to finish the race on the podium,” she said in the post-race press conference. “It was just a little pity that we lost the second place by so little. But at least I have a polka dot jersey as an extra bonus.
“We always kept in mind that we wanted to come here and do our best and grab every opportunity to get a stage win or a podium or anyone of the jerseys.
“So it is very nice to be in the place I am in right now, especially after the last two really hard days.”
Kasia Niewiadoma (second from left) was on the podium for the top three in the race, as well as being one of the four jersey winners in the race. She is flaked by best young rider Cédrine Kerbaol (Team CERATIZIT-WNT, L), Tour de France Femmes champion Demi Vollering and points jersey winner Lotte Kopecky, both of Team SD Worx – Protime. (Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images)
‘Kasia did one of the best time trials she has ever done’
Directeur sportif Magnus Backstedt came on board this season and has done a lot to drive the team forward. The former Paris-Roubaix winner was also smiling at the finish, and was quick to praise everyone who had played a part in what was achieved.
“The whole team has worked crazy hard over the last months, since the beginning of this year, towards this. And to see how all the staff, all the riders are coming together and how we pushed and pushed to be a better version of ourselves every day… Just to have that podium, polka dot, stage win…I mean, we couldn’t have asked for anything more. We would have signed up for half of that before the race.
“So incredibly proud, but at the same time it is a little bit gutting that we didn’t get that second place. But Kasia did one of the best time trials she has ever done, flawless the whole way through. So when you get beaten like that, sometimes you have to accept it.”
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It’s true that Niewiadoma’s TT ride was an impressive one. She finished ninth on the stage and, on the flat to uphill first half, had conceded just two seconds to Kopecky. The final time losses came on the gradual downhill run toward the finish, a profile which better suited riders like Kopecky, overall winner Demi Vollering, and stage winner Marlen Reusser (all Team SD Worx-Protime).
She also fended off the expected challenge from Annemiek Van Vleuten (Movistar Team), a two time world champion in the discipline, plus a possible podium threat from Ashleigh Moolman (AG Insurance – Soudal Quick-Step).
“I am definitely happy that I didn’t lose the podium because of the time trial, because that would be a mood destroyer, let’s say,” she said, laughing.
Saturday’s mountain stage to the top of the Col du Tourmalet was crucial to her GC hopes, but so too Sunday’s concluding 22.6km individual time trial stage in Pau. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
‘Yesterday’s stage gave me amazing feelings’
Now the race is over, the dust is settling. The cycling world is adjusting to the end of the Tour de France, four weeks of drama split between the men’s and women’s events.
Niewiadoma will head back home weighing things up and, in truth, can be happy with where she is.
Twelve months ago she finished third overall, 6:35 behind Van Vleuten, and 2:47 off Vollering.
This time around, she was just 3:03 away from winning the race, and that tiny 11 hundredths of a second away from the second step on the podium.
The progress she has made in a year is obvious. And that’s before you consider that the inclusion of a time trial this time around made things more challenging.
She leaves the race knowing that she is a better rider than before, and will have renewed motivation and focus for the future.
Reflecting on her performance, she takes particular satisfaction from Saturday’s big day in the mountains. Not just from the result, but also from the brave and aggressive way she achieved it.
“To be honest, having done yesterday’s stage gave me amazing feelings, because I finished second on Tourmalet just behind Demi,” she said.
“I am not going to lie, before the Tour de France, after the classics, I was doubting myself, because I felt like I was working hard but somehow I was missing something. I wasn’t really able to be the main one that creates the final. That is never easy mentally, because of course you want to be the one who hurts others.
“So being able yesterday to be in the front and then being away on the Tourmalet definitely gave me extra motivation and strength and, in some ways, a f** yeah! feeling.”
Niewiadoma and Canyon-SRAM end the Tour de France Femmes on a high. She talks about the positive changes Backstedt has brought about and an energizing atmosphere in the squad, and it is clear she sees the future with excitement.
She’s 28, she’s coming into her competitive prime, and she’s made clear progress since last year’s edition of the race.
Vollering may be the woman of the moment, but Niewiadoma is poised to thrive too.