Katarzyna Niewiadoma about her best moments of 2023: "On the Col d’Aspin, when Annemiek attacked, I felt like I could carry on"

Katarzyna Niewiadoma was off to a slower start of the season in 2023, missing few watts here and there in the early Classics. Even so, the Polish cyclist scored few top 5s, so it was not so bad of a spring in the end. However the rest was yet to come for Niewiadoma, as she came second on the mythical Tourmalet, before going to take her first rainbow jersey.

"It’s always tricky to actually know how to prepare yourself for the Classics so that you don’t overdo it, but you have enough to sustain your performance from Strade Bianche at the beginning of March to Liège at the end of April. I think, with my coach we were a bit too soft with the training because with every week I could feel I was getting stronger and by the time I was getting into good shape the Classics had finished!"

"On the Col d’Aspin when Annemiek attacked I was able to stay with her - not only to hang on, but I felt like I could carry on, and that definitely gave me confidence. I was happy that I was able to stay away and the bunch never caught me, except for Demi," Niewiadoma says in an interview with CyclingNews.

Despite not starting in Glasgow due to an illness, Niewiadoma still grabbed a rainbow jersey on gravel, ending the season on a high note. "It’s like nothing I have ever done before. You go hard from the start and there is very little element of riding in a peloton. It felt like we were all doing a time trial, with a steep climb in the final. The thing that gave me confidence was knowing that other people behind were suffering too!"