Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) may have missed out on the win on stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, but the Polish rider is taking today as a victory after gaining 34 seconds on most of her general classification rivals.
Niewiadoma got away in a six-rider group in the final 20km of the stage, following Elisa Balsamo’s (Trek-Segafredo) attack at the right moment, something she put down to the team’s pre-race planning.
“I think that most of the teams were expecting a sprint stage and maybe not that many reconned that stage, because everyone was saying ‘this is another sprint stage’,” Niewiadoma said. “Luckily, we were prepared enough.”
“We had done a recon a couple of days ago, so we had known what to expect. Basically we just wanted to stay safe throughout this stage, not lose any time. If we would gain time, that would be amazing so maybe that’s why we’re very happy right now. We completed our first plan, which was to gain some time on other competitors.”
Joining Niewiadoma and Balsamo were stage winner Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma), Silvia Persico (Valcar Travel & Service), Elisa Longo Borghini and white jersey Maike van der Duin (Le Col-Wahoo). The group quickly gained a 40 second advantage, and worked well to maintain their lead.
“The group was moving because everyone had some sort of interest in it,” Niewiadoma explaining. “We were going for the GC, and of course Marianne, and I thought Balsamo was going for the stage victory, but they were for the GC times.
“I was surprised that we gained that much time because we were basically riding hard only with four, two girls were not very eager to join us, just every now and then. So definitely super happy that they didn’t catch us.”
Though the big climbing days are still to come, Niewiadoma has her eye on the next stages as more opportunities to take time and play to her strengths over the over yellow jersey contenders.
“It’s definitely motivating,” she said. “I feel like I’m not a pure climber who could take two minutes on Annemiek [van Vleuten] on the last stages, so I take my opportunities on those upcoming stages where I feel like they suit me more, it’s more a Classics style of racing. I do believe that if every day I can take some time, everything is possible at the end of the Tour.”
Niewiadoma was also lucky to avoid what became a crash-marred stage in Northeastern France, using her Canyon-SRAM teammates to stay safe on a day where many riders lost chunks of time.
“I was really happy to have my teammates looking after me, putting me in a position where I could find myself feeling safe and secure,” she said. “Just to have them around helps a lot because then nobody interrupts, nobody wants to cut you off because everybody respects your train. Having people who support you is very helpful and keeps your mind at ease.”
