When Antonia Niedermaier stepped onto the podium as the best young rider – and fourth place overall – as the Tour de France Femmes concluded in Nice, it was a huge result for the 23-year-old debutant but also an exciting step into the future for her team.
Canyon-SRAM were celebrating finishing on the podium of the Tour five times in a row with Niewiadoma-Phinney on Sunday night. But with the Polish rider reportedly on the way out of the team for 2027, according to Daniel Benson, that streak might come to an end. Or will it?
Of course, it won't be with Niewiadoma-Phinney that the team finish on the podium if she is indeed headed for pastures new, but the team seem to have a ready-to-go successor in Niedermaier.
Latest Videos FromCyclingnews
"We wanted to build her slowly. It's her first Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and this is an exceptional result for a first appearance," team manager Ronny Lauke said.
"And so now she knows what it all means to be in this race and how much bigger it is than any other race she has competed in. So the future is bright."
Niedermaier finished second at the Giro d'Italia Women only a few weeks ago, but came to the Tour as a secondary rider to Niewiadoma-Phinney, without really even attention as a co-leader and certainly no leadership tensions. It was under those circumstances that she was able to thrive.
"It was her first time here and could enjoy it, and she wasn't really in the big focus. She enjoyed that as well, not talking to you folks every day," team DS Rolf Aldag told reporters in jest on Sunday.
"[She had] a little bit more time off. She's more the introvert person. And I think that was really, really good for her to have Kasia with her. The pressure was on Kasia all the time, and she has this routine, and she handles it in a good way. And Antonia can [absorb] that all and come back next year, and it's not going to be a shock to her system.
"She felt now how it was to defend the jersey. One day she might have to defend the yellow jersey, and we're looking forward to being part of it."
Niewiadoma-Phinney's departure is not yet confirmed, but from the way Aldag spoke, it seemed very clear that Canyon-SRAM are looking at Niedermaier as a potential new Grand Tour leader.
"There's a long way 'til next year," he said. "I think we will probably drink some beer tonight and reflect next week, and send all our reports, and write up what we can do better next year. And then we will see what we're going to do. And probably by November, we're going to make a plan for what we're going to do in the Tour 2027."
Anyone who has been watching Niedermaier's rise will know what a talent she is, but this Tour really confirmed that she is the complete package when it comes to Grand Tour racing. A fantastic climber, strong in the TT – which will likely only become more important as women's Grand Tours grow – and mentally resilient.
Her success in the Canyon-SRAM jersey was made even sweeter by the fact that she isn't a rider the team just found or signed as a ready-made talent, they have built her career and performance from the beginning.
Niedermaier was part of the very first cohort of riders on the Canyon-SRAM Generation team when it was launched in 2022, and has come up steadily through their programme to become one of the most exciting Grand Tour prospects in the peloton.
"It's part of our DNA to bring riders into the sport, like giving them that pathway without having that big pressure from the beginning, so I believe it played a role [in her success this year]."
Support our unrivalled coverage of the Tour de France Femmes and women's cycling by subscribing to Cyclingnews. In return, you get unlimited access to high-quality journalism, with breaking news, race analysis, and expert insight from inside the women's peloton. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! Join today.
