Kasia Niewiadoma is cycling’s latest example for why you should never give up

Cyclist
Kasia Niewiadoma is cycling’s latest example for why you should never give up

‘I really hope that race will inspire a lot of other people to just keep believing, keep pursuing their dreams. The reward is always there waiting for us.’ – Kasia Niewiadoma.

1,770 days. That’s the length of time between Kasia Niewiadoma’s last two individual road cycling victories. By the time an exhausted front group approached the foot of the Mur de Huy – the ferocious final challenge of La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday – the Canyon-SRAM rider sat in a perfect position at the head of the race.

Breath visible in the freezing conditions, Niewiadoma rose out of the saddle like a bird taking flight, kicking away from her rivals with gritted teeth on the steep gradient.

Once over the line, she collapsed into the arms of her soigneurs, sobbing on the ground and shaking her head in disbelief. It was here she remained as teammates arrived to her side, depleted with the day’s efforts, and she recounted the story of her triumph to each one. Elise Chabbey lit up as she realised who had won the race. Perhaps with each regained breath and retold story, the achievement began to sink in further for Niewiadoma.

The 29-year-old is a well-liked presence both in the peloton and for cycling fans around the world, and you would be hard pressed to find a more popular victor of La Flèche Wallonne. It was also a lengthy journey to be back on the top step of the podium – where she belongs.

Five years in the making

The last time Niewiadoma won a road race came on Stage 4 at the 2019 Women’s Tour, which happened to be the race’s first summit finish. She distanced a battling Liane Lippert in the last 300m, raising her hands aloft in the rain at Burton Dassett.

The following month, Canyon-SRAM won the opening day team time-trial of the 2019 Giro Rosa and, because she crossed the line first, Niewiadoma wore the maglia rosa. She kept it for four stages until it was taken away by Annemiek van Vleuten.

Persistence and podiums

She has been well-acquainted with the podium since then. Notching almost 30 second and third places, Niewiadoma has been consistently there or thereabouts, and she’s always been improving as a rider.

In professional sport, it’s understandable that outright victory is the goal and the defining statistic, but winning does not define a person. This victory drought still brought Niewiadoma podiums in abundance as well as the experience needed to grow and develop, and it presumably taught her life lessons off the bike too.

Appearing in her element at the 2023 Tour de France Femmes, she shone on the final weekend, dropping everyone on the descent before holding off everyone bar Demi Vollering on the Col du Tourmalet, winning the polka dot jersey in the process. In an interesting twist, Niewiadoma and Lotte Kopecky both finished the race 3:03 down on yellow jersey Vollering and Niewiadoma would have to settle for third overall.

Her resolve never wavered. Her persistence paid off. In her first gravel race she powered to a dominant victory at the UCI Gravel World Championships. Speaking afterwards, she said, ‘After such a long time of not winning a race, it’s so special to win this.’

A lesson for us all

When Niewiadoma reached the top of the Mur de Huy, she did so after four years and 310 days of road racing resilience. 

After winning La Flèche Wallonne, Niewiadoma delivered a powerful post-race speech, ‘I really hope that with that victory, I inspired a lot of people who are pursuing their dreams for so long. I’ve experienced a lot of failures, a lot of second and third places. I never stopped believing.’

Her long journey returning to the top step of the podium is a lesson for all of us in perseverance. Her victory is a testament to the human spirit and what we can achieve with tenacity. A belief that we can achieve anything if we keep at it.

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