'I lost the faith that I could still do it' - Kasia Niewiadoma conquers the ‘Mountain of Emotions’ for Tour de France Triumph

As you approach the final bend of the iconic Alpe d’Huez, a south-facing plateau greets visitors with a ski lift embossed with the words “une montagne d’émotions” (a mountain of emotions) — an apt name for the events that unfolded on the final stage of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. 

In an absolute nail-biter of a showdown, Dutchwoman Demi Vollering (SD-Worx-Protime) won the stage, but Polish rider Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) went home in the yellow jersey, having won the Tour with a historically narrow margin of 4 seconds. 

As the riders collapsed to the ground after reaching the mountain summit, the emotions ran freely, with tears of utter devastation for Vollering. The defending champion had lost the race lead after a crash in stage 5 and had come into the final stage trailing Niewiadoma by 1:15. Despite her efforts to recoup the last time with a tremendous ride up the Col du Glandon and the legendary Alpe d’Huez, she fell just short. 

Unable to match Vollering’s pace, she watched as her rival, accompanied by Pauliena Rooijakker (Fenix-Deceuninck), rode into the virtual race lead. But Niewiadoma refused to give up. Through the valley and to the base of Alpe d’Huez, her strength gradually returned. Gritting her teeth, the 29-year-old clawed her way up the climb, determined to minimize the damage inflicted by the Dutch duo.

As Vollering crossed the finish line in first place, gobbling up the 10 bonus seconds in the process, the clock started ticking. Rooijakker followed closely, and then Évita Muzic (FDJ-Suez) was third across the line. Finally, Niewiadoma, using every ounce of energy left, stopped the clock at 1:01. She had done it—the yellow jersey was hers.

“Four seconds seem magical now,” Niewiadoma reflected in the post-race press conference. “But throughout the stage, I went through a rollercoaster of emotions.”

Niewiadoma had anticipated Vollering’s attack but felt her strength waning at the crucial moment.

“It was terrible because the climb was very hard and I could feel that I am losing my legs, and then she attacked and so it wasn't ideal,” she recounted. “I just knew that I had to stay patient and keep my pace.”

Niewiadoma is no stranger to the podium, but the top step had eluded her for years. After her last General Classification win at the Women's Tour of Britain in 2019,  it had taken five long years before she tasted victory again at La Flèche Wallonne this past April. She credits last fall’s UCI World Gravel Championships with breaking her streak of near-misses, reminding her what winning feels like and reigniting her confidence. After finishing third twice at the Tour de France Femmes, she came to the 2024 race determined to win. But doubt crept in with Vollering up the road and the metres running out.

“To be honest, once again, I lost the faith that I could still do it,” she admitted. “I've gone through such a terrible time on this climb. I hated everything. To be able to pull it off at the finish line with just a couple of seconds is a dream come true. It's going to take some time to let everything sink in.”