'I’m not obsessed' - Niewiadoma relaxed before Tour de France Femmes defence

Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney will start her defence of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift on Saturday concentrating on herself rather than on her rivals as she bids for a second yellow jersey.

Always thoughtful and reflective, it is perhaps that inner strength which drove her to the biggest win of her career at the race last year. Until then, the Canyon//SRAM-zondacrypto rider was a regular visitor to podiums, but not a regular winner. 

There were notable wins at Trofeo Binda, Emakumeen Bira, the Women’s Tour and Amstel Gold, among others, but these victories were spread over eight or nine seasons. She was consistent at the Tour, too, finishing third on both previous editions. And then there was 2024.

Always consistent in the hillier classics, she bagged a string of top 10 placings before winning La Flèche Wallonne, a race she’d been on the podium at twice before. Then she backed off, spending time in Colorado, training at altitude with her fiancé, now husband, former professional Taylor Phinney. At the Tour last year she got through the opening three stages before inheriting the overall lead when Demi Vollering crashed on stage 5.

In the Alps she resisted Vollering on stage seven to Le Grand Bornand, before the final day at Alpe d’Huez. There we witnessed one of the most heroic, agonising defences in the sport’s history, chasing Vollering up the famous climb an dashing the Tour by four glorious seconds.

This year’s build up has been much the same. There were no wins in the spring classics, but the same consistent results and American training camp, before reclaiming the Polish road title she last held in 2016. So how does she view her upcoming title defence?

“I’m feeling at ease that I’ve already won this race and don’t feel like I’m desperate, but I truly just want to defend it,” she said. “I want to get another yellow jersey and enjoy the moment again, but yeah I’m not like obsessed.

“I’m coming to this race not focusing on others. I get asked all the time about the other riders but I really don’t care about them. I do care about my own performance and that of my teammates, so for the upcoming race, all I want to do is make sure that each of us feel perfectly prepared, not only physically but also mentally – just ready for the yellow jersey fight.”

Canyon//SRAM-zondacrypto head to Brittany with a strong team invested in supporting Niewiadoma, but neither of the two previous winners has successfully defended the yellow jersey.

“As some people say, you’re only as good as your last race. I guess the 2024 victory will stay with me forever but I don’t feel like I’m now accomplished for my career. Seeing Longo Borghini defending her pink jersey [at the Giro d’Italia Women] definitely gave me extra motivation and faith to be like ‘we can do it as well’. So, I just want to let my legs talk once we race, because of course, before you can have millions of different scenarios. Once the race starts, then the reality hits. 

“So, I do hope that the hard work that we put into the preparation will pay off.”