Everything about Katarzyna Niewiadoma

Katarzyna Niewiadoma is a Polish professional cyclist who has become one of the best stage-racers in women's cycling, specially thriving in the 2020's. Part of Canyon//SRAM, she has sealed her name in the sport's history as the winner of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes; but has also won races such as the Women's Tour, Trofeo Alfredo Binda, Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallonne Féminine.

Name: Katarzyna (Kasia) Niewiadoma
Born: 29 September 1994
Place of birth: Limanowa, Poland
Turned pro: 2014
Height: 1.65m

Katarzyna Niewiadoma, also the partner of former pro rider Taylor Phinney, has turned pro in 2014 with Raabobank-lIV Woman Cycling Team after a trainee period the previous summer. After having proven herself in the under-23 ranks, she quickly got used to the feeling of a pro team and within half a year won her first race at the Swiss GP Gippingen. That year she was also 11th at the Giro Donne, 3rd at the Tour of Norway and 11th at the hilly World Championships, proving her worth in the races that featured a lot of climbing.

In 2015 she was 6th at Strade Bianche Donne, 5th at Flèche Wallonne, won the Euskal Emakumeen Bira, finishing 5th at the Giro Donne, won the under-23 European Continental Championships in Estonia and was 7th at the World Championships in Richmond, USA. She had consolidated herself already as a consistent and quality rider who could aim for big wins in the women's World Tour.

This didn't happen in 2016, however what she achieved was another season packed with strong results including a double national title in Poland, wins in two stage-races and the Ronde van Gelderland... Plus 2nd at Strade Bianche Donne, 4th at Flèche Wallonne, 7th at the Giro Donne; 6th at the Olympic Games Road Race; 4th at the GP Plouay and 2nd at the European Championships.

2017 saw her finally win at WWT level for the first time, winning a stage and GC at the Women's Tour. This was added to podium results at Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège; whilst she was also 6th at the Giro Donne and 5th at the World Championships.

In 2018 she made her debut for Canyon//SRAM. She won her first Women's World Tour classic at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda early in the year, which follow yet another runner-up spot at Strade Bianche Donne. The spring wasn't as consistent as she had previously ridden, but she had another Top10 result at the Giro Donne, 3rd at the Tour of California, 6th at La Course by Le Tour de France and a stage & overall victory at the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche.

In 2019 she won the Amstel Gold Race in the spring, adding to another podium at Strade Bianche and Top10 results at Strade Bianche Donne, Tour of Flanders, Dwars door Vlaanderen, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes. She was second at the Women's Tour despite winning a stage and finished fifth at the Giro Donne and fourth at the Tour of Norway to conclude another strong season.

2020 came along and saw her come close to a Giro Donne win after many attempts, she was second to Anna van der Breggen this year. She also had a third place at the European Championships and fourth at La Course by Le Tour de France after only starting her season in August due to the pandemic. 2021 saw her stringing together another big list of quality results all throughout the year which included podium results at the World Championships road race, Dwars door Vlaanderen and Flèche Wallonne - with plenty more Top10's.

In 2022 she didn't win in the spring but finished high in the standings plenty times as usual. She made her debut in the newly created Tour de France Femmes and soared to a strong third place, only a month after finishing third at the Women's Tour as well. Niewiadoma began to focus more on the Grand Tours and finished 10th at La Vuelta before finishing the season with another Top10 at the World Championships.

In 2023 she experienced another very similar year with several Top10 results over throughout the spring classics and Vuelta Femenina, then a podium at Itzulia Women, fourth at the Tour de Suisse Women and another podium at the Tour de France Femmes. Niewiadoma became Gravel World Champion in October, her last race of the season where she beat Silvia Persico and Demi Vollering to a stunning win in Veneto.

But at age 29 she would go on to have her best season to date, in 2024 - amongst other results - she finished second at the Tour of Flanders but then finally won Fléche Wallonne after many close attempts, beating none other then Demi Vollering and Elisa Longo Borghini. She then prepared for the Tour de France Femmes, finishing 8th at the Olympic Games on the way, but it was in France that she thrived. She matched Demi Vollering in the initial hilly stage of the race and then took the race lead on stage 5 after the Dutchwoman crashed whilst leading the race, shedding important time.

Niewiadoma then resisted the attacks on stages 6 and 7 to keep a gap of 1:15 minutes into the queen stage. On this day Vollering and Pauliena Rooijakkers attacked very far away from the finish at the Col du Glandon, dropping Niewiadoma in the process, but the Pole rode an amazing Alpe d'Huez to defend her lead by a mere 4 seconds at the finish line. An incredibly dramatic finale that will be remembered for a long time, and in the end of the race she became the most recent Grand Tour winner.