"It is so special to win here" - Katarzyna Niewiadoma happy with first win in years at Gravel World Championships

It had been a very long time since Katazryna Niewiadoma had raised her arms in victory, but that happened yesterday at the Gravel World Championships. She managed to capitalize on great form and legs on the day to take the rainbow stripes.

“I really have no words for it. It's my first rainbow sweater. I'm just so happy. I felt good on the first climbs and I saw the others suffering,” the Polish rider said in a post-race interview. “So as we got closer to the end, I attacked, expecting Demi or someone else to join me and hoping that together we would have a chance to stay away. It wasn't my intention to ride away alone, I just wanted to thin out the group. I knew the last lap through the course reconnaissance and knew that there were some technical passages. That's why I thought it was a good time to go.”

Niewiadoma took advantage of the tough course to go solo. She attacked in the latter parts of the race and there wasn't effectively a response strong enough to bring her back. Silvia Persico and Demi Vollering were the only two riders to come home relatively close, but the Polish climber was by far the strongest on the day and took a much deserved title.

“After not winning a race for such a long time, it is so special to win here. I really feel like I had the best equipment today. I quickly learned that in gravel racing it is extremely important to get all the material details right," the 29-year old added. "It was my first gravel race and I had so much support from Canyon and SRAM to prepare for today. Tiffany [Cromwell] also answered many of my questions before the race. This win feels great. I am extremely grateful to everyone who helped.”