"I told her at the bottom of the climb that she was the strongest" - Niedermaier helps Niewiadoma to a historical victory
CyclingSaturday, 08 August 2026 at 09:00
CANYON//SRAM enjoyed a perfect day of racing on Mont Ventoux. Not only has Kasia Niewiadoma dominated her GC rivals and jumped into the yellow jersey, her young teammate Antonia Niedermaier successfully defended her white jersey and so the German formation could hold two highly-valued jerseys on the final podium in Nice. If everything goes ideally.
The 2026 Tour de France Femmes became increasingly complicated for Canyon after both their GC cards lost substantial amount of time in stage 4 individual time trial, but Mont Ventoux delivered the promised shake-up of general classification and Niewiadoma suddenly stands on top. In addition, Niedermaier has been able to tag along Paula Blasi, her main white jersey opponent, to defend 5th overall.
"I'm so happy for Kasia. I've always believed in her. I told her at the bottom of the climb that she was the strongest, that she could do it. She's simply incredibly strong," said Niedermaier at the finish.
For the runner-up from this year's Giro d'Italia Women, the fifth place at Tour is not a breakthough result, but it would be a result which would undeniably underline the young German climber's status as a high-profile GC contender not only for future, but also for present. And a white jersey is a more than welcome bonus.
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"It's also a real pleasure to keep the white jersey. I had a lot of fun, and I also enjoyed being alongside Kasia on the podium. It was truly a wonderful moment. I think it will give our team an extra boost."
A little too early to celebrate
For now, the focus shifts from dreaming back to racing. The ladies have two more stages to conquer. Saturday's stage from Sisteron to Nice will be more of a test of resilience than quality with the longest stage of this year's edition (171.9 kilometers), but the final stage on Nice circuit will be an opportunity to turn the race upside down.
"A lot can still happen between now and Nice. For us both to be on the final podium, her in yellow and me in white, that would be the ideal scenario."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- I assume Kasia is right b.c. she is more feminine.whkman09-08-2026
- "partner" ...drinkwhkman09-08-2026
- Clown statement from a CLOWN !frieders309-08-2026
- Was that Mouse next to him ? Trying to hold his hand?frieders309-08-2026
- A question: chasing back to Vollering’s wheel after being cut off doesn’t take any energy, does it? Of course it does. The complaint is very clearly that she was forced to chase and waste energy exactly in the way that let Vollering pull away. Given how she was positioned before the turn and after the turn, I see her anger. Also, racing is a team sport, and teams use all sorts of tricks to isolate riders. This is one of them. She has every right to be angry and lose respect for them, as well. Sometimes it’s appropriate to believe two things at once.RidesHills09-08-2026
- That is honestly adorable. Anyone who gives Vingegaard grief for focusing on his family should look at this and eat their words. What exactly is wrong with loving the people you love? Her caption, his delight, the way he runs with her, c’mon, it’s adorable and human and private but we get to see some of it and that’s cute.RidesHills09-08-2026
- you forgot the 😉Ketterechts09-08-2026
- yes. that could already be seen during the tour. he was unable to ride away from the likes of del toro, seixas, remco and lipo in the last stages he did ...Ketterechts09-08-2026
- I think there is something to what Kasia is saying because when Demi attacked, Kasia was SO far out of position. I was wondering how she let that happen. but if she had to stop pedaling, well, that would explain it. of course that doesn’t mean it was bad racing by FDJ. maybe Kasia should have been positioned better to start with. The easiest way to prevent an attack is to do what she did yesterday - start the attack.mij09-08-2026
- I lost respect of Kasia with this whining. IF she was cutoff, it was the least of her concerns as she had no energy to keep up regardless.onegear2908-08-2026
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