It’s been a long-awaited return of the women’s Tour de France, and well worth the fight for Kasia Niewiadoma. The Polish rider intends to shoot for the stars during the eight-day race in pursuit of more than stage wins and the coveted yellow jersey. She aims to become part of change, progress and the history of cycling.
It’s been over three decades since women have competed in the pinnacle of professional bike racing at the Tour de France – Marianne Martin, Maria Canins, and Jeannie Longo won the yellow jersey between 1984 and 1989.
This summer marks a pivotal moment for the sport as a world-class peloton of 24 women’s teams will take their places on the start line at the Tour de France Femmes avez Zwift.
Niewiadoma will be one of over a hundred of the best cyclists in the world competing in the race, and all will go down in history as the first women since the 80s to take the start line at the Tour de France. For the women’s field, it’s an event that replaces the stepping-stone event La Course, held from 2014 to 2021.
“I will say that I’m looking forward to the whole process, taking it one day at a time and focusing on our goals and trying to enjoy the audience and attention that we’re getting from social media without getting too stressed, paranoid or overwhelmed.”
Niewiadoma spoke with Cyclingnews in a phone interview from her home in Andorra, just a few days before her departure to Paris.
“I’m looking forward to keeping the good spirit up and trying to do our best, and then I feel this is going to be great about this Tour. I feel like I’m just looking forward to trying to make a history.
“Trying to win a stage and come up with the tactics or moves that will allow us to be part of the race. It would be great for my team, which has supported us for so many years, to bring the result that everyone was working for.
“It’s not only about us as riders, but many staff members work so hard, and they commit all of their time to make our lives more comfortable and easier. I’m looking forward to a night when we can pop open champagne and celebrate together what we achieved.”
Niewiadoma will join Canyon-SRAM in Paris on Friday, arriving later than some teams to delay some of the pressure and expectations that go along with competing at one of the most popular sporting events in the world.
“I still have a couple of days to charge the battery. I’m kind of like keeping it normal. The team wanted us to get there a bit earlier, but then we thought, ‘maybe we should just…
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