'I wish I didn't have the crash but I'm optimistic' – Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney back in contention at Ardennes Classics after Milan-San Remo fall

Former Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne winner Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney is leading the Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto selection at this year's Ardennes Classics as she seeks a Liège-Bastogne-Liège title to complete the Ardennes triple.

The Polish road champion is set to be a top contender at all three races this month, starting at the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday.

In 2026, Niewiadoma-Phinney has second places to her name at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Strade Bianche. Amstel Gold Race will mark her return to competition following a heavy crash on the descent of the Cipressa at Milan-San Remo almost a month ago.

"The crash in San Remo definitely wasn't ideal. Also, I did not know how long would it take me to feel 100% healthy and good for proper training on the bike. But, I was taking every day as a step forward," Niewiadoma-Phinney said in a team press release.

"The last three weeks required a lot of physio, osteo and just extra work in general, to make sure that after each training, I would put my body back to where it should be. That's the dark side of crashing – it happens and then there is something lingering with you for weeks.

"Luckily, I can train properly and do my work; the only change is that I need to invest a lot of time after riding because it's now easier to incur additional injuries. But I'm happy with where I'm at. I wish I didn't have the crash, of course, but I'm optimistic for the Ardennes classics."

Niewiadoma-Phinney won Amstel Gold Race in 2019 with a late solo move up the Cauberg before holding off Annemiek van Vleuten in the dying metres. In 2024, she added La Flèche Wallonne to her palmarès, beating Demi Vollering and Elisa Longo Borghini to the line atop the Mur de Huy. Her best result to date in Liège is third on her debut in 2017, as Anna van der Breggen soloed home for victory.

She'll be backed up by a strong Canyon selection at all three races this season, building up to the 156km Monument in Liège on Sunday, April 26.

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Soraya Paladin, Antonia Niedermaier, Neve Bradbury, and Justyna Czapla fill out her support squad for the Ardennes. Niewiadoma-Phinney said that Liège-Bastogne-Liège is the main goal of the three upcoming races, even if "all three hold a special place in my heart."

"Honestly, I love all of them equally. If you were to ask me which one I would want to win the most, I think I would say Liège just because I've never won it before so to complete all three Ardennes would be something special. But all three hold a special place in my heart – I really like this type of racing and they're all super fun," she said.

"I definitely see [winning Liège] as a possibility, but everything has to go well. Of course, there are some really strong teams that we saw racing well this year. So, sometimes I feel like the hard part is just like racing against those bigger teams.

'But sometimes you just need a little bit of luck on your end and then things play out in the right way. I always think about Annemiek [van Vleuten] in such cases because very often, she was able to create the race that she wanted, making others suffer and going on to win. So I'm striving to have this confidence and also those possibilities."

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