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Will Kasia Niewiadoma prove victorious again during the Ardennes Classics?
The Polish climber was one of the big stars of last year’s races, lighting up Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Amstel Gold Race, and capturing Flèche Wallonne with a devastating final-climb surge.
Niewiadoma shot up the Mur de Huy, launching her sprint with just under 150 meters to go and consigning many of the world’s best riders to a supporting role.
Her finishing surge put two seconds into Demi Vollering and four into Elisa Longo Borghini, with Evita Muzic the only other rider within ten seconds of her.
Her first road win in five years was a major boost to her self-confidence. She went on to take a brilliant victory in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift four months later.
This year Niewiadoma’s spring campaign has been complicated but, with her Ardennes Classics campaign starting Sunday, she confirms she is in a good place to defend her title.
“First of all I need to see what the competition is like, but personally I feel good,” she told Velo.
“I just need to arrive to the start healthy without any problems. I am quite confident.”
‘I felt powerful, ready to go for it’
Niewiadoma is regarded as one of the best climbers in the sport. However her lack of a sprint finish has complicated things in the finale of many races, with numerous second and third places occurring after her victory on stage 4 of the Ovo Women’s Tour in 2019.
Winning Flèche Wallonne and then taking the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift were huge triumphs for her, and she went into this season aiming for victory in one of her favorite races, Strade Bianche.
However complications there frustrated that goal, and her spring campaign thus far.
“This year I wouldn’t say that it was the best start of the season for me, just because of the crash in Strade,” she told Velo.
“Strade was the race that I was really targeting. And I felt powerful, ready to go for it, ready to smash it. Then the crash of course changed the plans.”
Niewiadoma was positioned well in the race with just over 50km to go, but was one of several who was caught up in a fall. She hit her face and was taken to hospital. While there were no serious injuries, the accident disrupted her form and momentum.
“It wasn’t the softest crash so to recover from. It was also a little time consuming. It of course affected the spring until a certain point,” she told Velo.
Things are now the up, with her presence in the winning move in the Tour of Flanders showing she is returning to fine form.
“Now I feel like I am past it and I am ready to begin the season properly,” she said.
“I feel like the right beginning of the season was happening during Flanders week, so I really hope to bring the good shape back to the Ardennes Classic and turn things upside down over there.”
Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race is the start of that. The mainly flat profile of the last two kilometers doesn’t suit her climbing ability, meaning she will be firing off major attacks on the climbs beforehand.
Look for her to also be one of the big animators in next weekend’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège. As for Wednesday’s Flèche Wallonne, few would bet against an in-form Niewiadoma on the dizzying slopes of the Mur de Huy.
