The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2024 champion and most exciting rider in the pro peloton, Kasia Niewiadoma is beloved by fans for her attacking instincts and open personality.

She’s on top of the cycling world – and doesn't plan on giving up the crown.

About Kasia Niewiadoma

Date of birth
29 September 1994
Nationality
Polish
Hometown
Andorra
  • Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2024
    1st
  • La Flèche Wallonne 2024
    1st
  • UCI Gravel World Championships 2023
    1st

Racing

Team
CANYON//SRAM Racing
Discipline
Road, Gravel
“Four seconds seem to be magical now.”
Kasia Niewiadoma - CANYON//SRAM Racing


Behind the athlete

The expectation of others is one of the curses of being a pro athlete.
Kasia Niewiadoma has spent a decade lighting up the UCI Women’s WorldTour with her explosive, exciting riding. But for some, that’s not enough. They think she should win more. Attack less. Be more patient. But to judge her like that is to misunderstand the essence of what makes the 29-year-old such an extraordinary bike rider.
When she won La Flèche Wallonne in April 2024, her first victory on the road since 2019, nothing changed for the Pole:  
“I hadn't been allowing anyone to make me feel like I should be chasing that victory. Sure, it was a long time between road wins, but for me every single year in between I was taking personal victories that made me truly happy. A podium overall at the Tour de France Femmes in 2023. The Gravel World Championships. Every year there was something that kept me motivated and pushing harder. So honestly, the victory happened, but I didn’t feel like I’d been missing it.”
A few months later, however, she won the Tour and everything did change for her.
Kasia Niewiadoma

Tour winner!

Before the start of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, Kasia was unafraid of stating her ambitions: she was there to win.
“I think we are seeing a more mature, bolder Kasia than ever before,” said Erik Zabel during the race. “At the same time, I would never want to change how Kasia is: racing with her heart on her sleeve. That’s what makes her such a great rider.”
After a measured first few stages that included a thrilling three-up sprint against Demi Vollering and Puck Pieterse on stage four, a crash took down Demi Vollering in the finale to stage five and Kasia took the yellow jersey. After the stage, the CANYON//SRAM rider knew she had been fortunate, but accepted the good fortune this time.
“I lost so many races or jerseys because of bad luck, or because something happened to me. For once, luck was on my side and I was in front of the crash, so I’m just trying to remind myself of that.”
Still wearing yellow with one stage to go, the race was set for a final mountains showdown. Could Kasia hold off her rivals up the mythical climbs of the Col du Glandon and Alpe d’Huez and win the Tour?
Kasia Niewiadoma

Speed dreams

It is a sign of how far women’s pro cycling has come that when Kasia was a young pro, she couldn’t even dream of yellow.
“I remember when I started dating my husband [former cyclist Taylor Phinney], he would always talk about his dream of wearing the yellow jersey,” she said after taking the jersey on stage five. “I remember thinking it was a shame I couldn’t have those dreams. I thought how women’s cycling was missing such a great opportunity, so it feels so surreal to have the yellow jersey now.”
Unable to follow Demi Vollering over the top of the Col du Glandon on the race’s final stage, and still trailing at the foot of Alpe d’Huez, Kasia rode the climb of a lifetime to doggedly minimise the seconds she was losing to her SD Worx rival.
“To be honest, once again, I lost the faith that I could still do it,” she admitted afterwards. “I went through such a terrible time on this climb. I hated everything.”
Vollering won the stage and the seconds ticked torturously down. It was the greatest finish to a Tour de France in the history of the sport, and Kasia came out on the right side – just.
“To be able to pull it off at the finish line with just a few seconds is a dream come true. It's going to take some time to let everything sink in.”

Related Stories

Aug 22, 2024
A true testament for women's cycling as CANYON//SRAM Racing's Kasia Niewiadoma celebrates in yellow and Fenix-Deceuninck's Puck Pieterse claims the white jersey
Feb 21, 2023
What happens on a team training camp? Kasia Niewiadoma takes us with her while in Mallorca with CANYON//SRAM Racing.
Aug 15, 2024
Nine seasons at the highest level. A relationship built on trust, and a constant demand for greatness from both sides.
Apr 26, 2024
Stay up-to-date with the latest news, and route details for the Tour de France Femmes 2024. Get all the updates on the highly anticipated women's cycling event.
Sep 9, 2022
We take a look at the road bikes of Movistar, Alpecin-Deceuninck and CANYON//SRAM Racing.
Content is loading
Loading animation image