Tour de France Femmes winner Katarzyna Niewiadoma searching for best legs: "I just don't have this pure power on the flat"
Cycling
After a challenging start to her 2025 campaign, 2024 Tour de France Femmes champion Katarzyna Niewiadoma continues to search for top form. Having recovered from a crash at Strade Bianche last month, the CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto rider endured another difficult day at Dwars door Vlaanderen.
Niewiadoma showed her usual fighting spirit but ultimately lacked the flat terrain power needed to match race winner Elisa Longo Borghini. Attempting to follow the decisive move, Niewiadoma was unable to stay with the Italian on a key section of the course where she simply did not have enough power.
“Definitely a bummer to be dropped from Longo's wheel, because sometimes it's just about those extra seconds of suffering, but once we got out of the saddle into the next cobbles it just felt like I couldn't find the rhythm or I just don't have this pure power on the flat," she told Cyclingnews at the finish.
Despite losing contact, Niewiadoma remained aggressive in the chasing group, launching several accelerations and briefly forming an elite selection behind the leader. The gap to Longo Borghini dropped to 17 seconds, but a lack of unity in the group meant the move never truly threatened.
"Then no one wanted to work, I think because Balsamo was there," she explained. "But SD Worx had two riders, so it was really weird from their side, I don't know what they were doing, to be honest. I think it was just a lack of cooperation."
While the result may have been frustrating, Niewiadoma was still able to take positives from the race as she builds towards the Tour of Flanders.
"I'm kind of unsatisfied in some ways, but also, it was a really good race, a good final burning legs event before Flanders," she said. "It was interesting to see who's really strong and how's the field."
Reflecting on the decisive moment, she drew some encouragement from the fact that only herself and Ellen van Dijk were able to initially follow Longo Borghini before fading away.
"If I could stay with Longo, I would be super happy, at least I know that the shape is pretty good because I think only myself and Van Dijk stayed with Longo, and then we blew up," she said. "But hopefully Flanders is more climby, so it suits me more. As I said before, I feel like I just missed the pure power on the flat."
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