HUY (Belgium) – «To be honest, I like this process – says Kasia Niewiadoma, winner of the Flèche Wallonne – the path of my career. It's not that hard to be me and swallow so many placingsI think winning is really special, but I also believe in personal development. And whenever I feel like I can make a difference or help my teammates progress, it's always a positive thing for me. In the end, victory is just a result. Sometimes it's better to feel good even if you haven't won, than to realize you've made a mistake. It's just about keeping your confidence high and knowing that if you put in the effort, work hard and smile, then victory will come sooner or later.».
It's starting to get dark outside when Kasia Niewiadoma arrives to tell her story. This year the Women's cycling's Fleche Wallonne she left later: it was two in the afternoon and the sun was still thereThe girls asked for it to avoid the four-thirty morning wake-up call and spare the team staff a sleepless night. Apparently, the late arrival will allow television to broadcast it live, whereas in the past it had always been shown on tape.
Five years of fasting
Kasia smiles and lights up the room. Polish from Limanova, who will turn thirty at the end of September, wears the jersey of Canyon SramThe last victory dates back to gravel world championship last fall, but he hadn't raised his arms on the road since 2019. Yet he always tried. Those who follow women's cycling are used to seeing her attack and be caughtShe dreamed big at the Tour de France Femmes, when she attacked on the Tourmalet putting the yellow jersey in her sights, but it was taken from Vollering and had to settle for second place on the stage and third place overall.
"This Fleche Wallonne," he says, "means a lot to me. It's been so long since my last victory, and that's why I'm super proud of my team, of myself, of my supporters, of my fans who have never stopped believing in me. After all those second, third, fifth, and eighth-place finishes, everyone continued to have faith in me. I never received a negative message from anyone. This certainly made me believe that victory was within reach and I just had to be patient.
«My coach and I have tried or simulated sprint races like this several times, so I was pretty confident that I could maintain high power in the last 20-30 seconds of the raceToday I woke up convinced that this was the day. Winning in these conditions is special, I can't wait to get back on the bus and then to the hotel and celebrate with my friends».
Longo-Realini: substitution on the fly
Elisa Longo Borghini is satisfied. Over the years, the Fleche Wallonne had ended up putting it aside: too many placings and too few satisfactions, to the point of convincing himself that it wasn't his race. This time, however, the weather made it even tougher, shifting the focus from explosiveness to enduranceAnd as for that, the Piedmontese doesn't fear too many comparisons.
«The weather conditions – explains the recent winner of Flanders – they were really difficult and also a bit unexpected for April. I was lucky enough to have teammates around me, who brought me warm clothes and even hot tea. All day long they kept an extra eye on me and Gaia. She is very small and when it's so cold, she even has trouble taking things out of her pockets, even for the type of rider which is. Things then changed in the last few kilometersHe kept telling me to go because he wasn't well, he was cold. Sometimes you do what you want and other times you do what you can.Today I did what I could, and so did she. I was also suffering from the cold, even though I usually feel good about it, so I can't imagine how "Gaietta" is now.
The perfect attack
About the competition and its winner, Elisa has words of esteem and indirectly arrives confirmation that Kasia Niewiadoma's success has pleased. More than it would have been with yet another victory by Demi Vollering.
"I think that Niewiadoma started at the perfect spot – he says – because looking at the previous editions, both men's and women's, the big difference was made in the last 150 meters. Today she was the strongest and to be honest, I'm happy she wonShe's still a good athlete, someone I have a lot of respect for, and she deserved to win. I don't know if I could call my sprint that. More than a sprint, it was a slow death.I held out as long as I could, then I started to fade away."
The Return of Cavalli
The light went out just a little earlier for Marta Cavalli. Cremonese hadn't even started the season due to the fall into retreatShe had just appeared at the Binda Trophy, then disappeared on Teide together with Evita Muzic. Three weeks of work, the descent last week, and finally the return to the group. The Ardennes and then the Vuelta, which was not in the plans, but was added at the last minute.
«It was a tough race mostly because of the weather – he explains – because I'm coming off a winter where I've always cycled in warm conditions, so the cold isn't one of my favourite conditions. I was really motivated today, so I gritted my teeth and sought comfort from my teammates. We knew she'd stop after half the race, and when we started seeing the sun, I started to feel a little more positive. On the last wall, those legs that you get once every five years to achieve a big result were missing., but overall I'm happy with my feelings. I wasn't exactly one of the favorites when we hit the wall, I had to give up a bit. But come on, there's another one on Sunday..."
La Liege knock on doors and Niewiadoma and Vollering also made it known that the latest Ardennes player is among their desires.The Amstel was shortened. The Freccia was shortened too, because to start it later they made significant changes to the route: if it hadn't been cold, the selection would have been much lower. But Liège will be a sort of showdown. And it looks like the weather won't be the best on Sunday either.
