As the 2025 edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift looms just one week away, defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney is chasing more than a second yellow jersey, she’s seeking fulfillment.
Twelve months after capturing the iconic maillot jaune in one of the most dramatic Tour de France finales yet, Niewiadoma-Phinney returns with her sights set on repeating history. Yet, in her own words, she’s not riding to prove herself to others. She’s riding to prove to herself that she can do it.
“The 2024 victory will stay with me forever, but I don’t feel like I’m accomplished for my career,” she said.
“Seeing [Elisa] 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’."
The 2024 women’s Tour came down to just four short seconds —the smallest margin of victory in Tour de France history— after seven days of racing, covering 950 kilometers and 13,566 meters of elevation. Niewiadoma-Phinney edged out Demi Vollering in a nail-biting finale on Alpe d’Huez.
But as the women’s peloton now heads to Bretagne, the Polish rider, racing under her married name after tying the knot with former pro Taylor Phinney, faces perhaps her toughest field yet, as transfer season saw various teams bolstered with new leaders.
Former Tour winner and last year’s runner-up, Demi Vollering, now leads the FDJ-Suez team, where talented climbers like Evita Muzic and Juliette Labous will be riding in her service. Her former team, SD Worx-Protime, brings multiple GC cards in Anna van der Breggen and Lotte Kopecky. Then, there’s also Marlen Reusser, now taking the lead at Movistar, and GC-contenders Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance–Soudal) and Elisa Longho Borgini (UAE Team ADQ) are coming off strong showings at the Giro.
Still, Niewiadoma-Phinney insists she’s not thinking about her rivals.
“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,” she commented.
Niewiadoma-Phinney acknowledged that “you’re only as good as your last race” and that’s where there may be some question marks. Yes, she won the Polish National Road Racing championships in June, her last race, but she’s been absent from the WorldTour podium this season so far.
After a fourth place at Ronde van Vlaanderen and La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, she missed out on the top 10 at the Vuelta España Femenina. It wasn’t until the Tour de Suisse Women that she signaled her return to form, with two stage podiums and third overall in the GC.
Is this just a case of peaking at the perfect moment? The 30-year-old certainly seems confident in her build-up.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how I will be performing because I really put a lot of hard work into this race. You never know how everyone else is, but I’m just excited to see where everything that we did, especially on training camp, will put us,” she said. “I just want to let my legs talk once we race.”
She seems to be handling the pressure of a title defense with composure as well, stating:
“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. I want to get another yellow jersey and enjoy the moment again, but yeah I’m not like obsessed.”
At the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, Niewiadoma-Phinney will be joined by a stacked roster, including former Tour stage winners Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and Ricarda Bauernfeind, climbing talent Neve Bradbury and Soraya Paladin, time-trail specialists Chloé Dygert and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka.
"Winning a stage was just… I mean, I still get goosebumps thinking about it,” said Ludwig. “Now, being part of the team defending the yellow jersey? That’s a whole new level. It’s both exciting and humbling. There’s pressure, of course - but it’s the kind of pressure you want as a rider. I can’t wait to work toward a common goal - trying to win the TDFFAZ for the second year in a row. It’s a huge challenge, but we’re ready to give it everything.”
Niwiadoma-Phinney’s title defence starts on July 26 in Vannes. From here, the Tour cuts a diagonal line through the centre of France, from coastal Bretagne to the ski resort of Châtel les Portes du Solei on the Swiss border. At 1168.6 kilometres and with over 18,000 meters of climbing across nine days, this is the race’s longest and most mountainous edition yet.
You’ll find coverage of all the action right here on cyclingweekly.com.
