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LAPDUÉ, France: Poland’s Katarzyna Niewiadoma fought hard on the race’s final grueling Alpine climb to win her first women’s Tour de France title by just four seconds on Sunday.
The 29-year-old Canyon SRAM rider reached the summit of the daunting Alpe d’Huez one minute behind stage winner Demi Vollering to retain control of the yellow jersey.
“It was crazy to be honest, the whole stage was like a roller coaster,” an emotional Nivea Doma said. “I had a really bad time on the climbs, like I hated everything, and then to get to the finish line and find out I won the Tour de France, it was crazy! It was so exciting.”
The fifth stage of the Tour de France took a major turn on Thursday when Wohlerin crashed hard six kilometres from the finish line in Amneville, leaving him 1 minute 47 seconds behind the leader.
But the Dutchwoman fought back and entered the final stage, she narrowed the gap to 1 minute 15 seconds.
Defending champion Wöllering then put in a strong performance in Sunday’s 150km race from Le Grand-Bornand to the Alps, overtaking compatriot Pauliena Rooijakkers in a sprint to win the stage.
Niviadoma struggled on the uphill course of Glandon and looked set to lose the lead, but her rivals raced ahead and temporarily took the lead in the general classification over multiple stages.
But the Polish rider managed to regroup and fight back in the final 5km to regain precious seconds.
After crossing the finish line, both Wöllerling and Nieviadoma endured a nerve-wracking wait for officials to confirm who would be the final rider to take the yellow jersey in the third edition of the women’s Tour de France.
When the news of the Poles’ narrow and historic victory spread, both men broke down in tears, with very different emotions.
Having finished third in each of the first two Tours de France and a disappointing eighth in the 2024 Olympic road race, the win was all the more sweet for Niewiadoma.
“I think last year’s third place was a reward for me with this win, as I was very disappointed to be stuck with a crash during the Olympics two weeks ago,” said the Limanova native. “I feel like my team and myself were very lucky this week.”
Niewiadoma completed the eight stages in 24 hours, 36 minutes and 07 seconds, just four seconds ahead of second-placed Vollering, with Rooijakkers finishing on the podium just six seconds behind.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X: “This is one of the greatest achievements in Polish sports history. Bad luck at the Olympics, a little bit of luck now, but the most important thing is skill.”
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