Leaving for Plouay, Soraya Paladin jokes that on her first outing after the Tour de France Women's cycling It took his body two hours to feel like a rider again.The one that ended last Sunday on Alpe d'Huez was a tiring week for everyone, for the girls of the Canyon Sram Racing but he wore the yellow jersey. The defense of Kasia Niewiadoma The impact of Demi Vollering's frontal attack is still fresh in our eyes, but perhaps not everyone has grasped the hard work that went into getting to that point. Soraya will help us do so, athlete born in 1993 who is the team's reference for legs and charisma.
Niewiadoma had already been third at last year's Tour de France Femmes, in a career of some nice victories and many placings. Yet in the season that saw her win at the Flèche Wallonne, the Polish girl appeared in front of her teammates with her gaze raised and the confidence of being ready for the yellow jersey. And that was enough for them to put themselves completely at his disposal. Paladin tells his story, questions and answers chasing each other as he recalls the long journey.
Did you really start out with the idea that he could win?
With the idea of try to win it, because we believed in KasiaHe proved to be a strong performer. He said he had prepared well, so why not? We knew that. on the other side there was a strong opponent, but it was right to give her the importance she deservedShe arrived knowing she had a great opportunity, so we, as a team, stood by her and set out to try and win it.
You mentioned a very tough week: how demanding was it?
Every year the Tour, as we know, is a demanding race because the level is very high. This year we started from Holland, so flat races and a lot of nervousness in the group.I don't want to say they were dangerous stages, but you could feel the tension. The Dutch roads don't give you a moment's respite; you always have to be careful about every bend, every dangerous road you come across… So we always went fast, always full speed aheadThere was never a day when we arrived at the finish line saying that, all things considered, we had gotten away with very little. Plus, having to protect Kasia by keeping her in front was an added mental stress. So we arrived at the end a little more tired than usual. In addition the last stages were the most dangerous for the general classification, so you're always tense.
How much effort did you put in in Holland, even though there weren't any big climbs, to stay ahead?
We knew these were the stages that were the easiest on paper, but where we could lose everything. Kasia also likes to run at the front, so She specifically asked to have her companions around her to get through these stages unscathed, with as little risk and stress as possible.When it's like this, there's a lot of tension. And aside from the physical fatigue, there are the dynamics of the race where anything can happen. Everyone wants to be in front, but there's no room. And so it happens that even within the limits of fairness, some elbows are raised.
From the very start, it was said that this Tour would be decided on the final climb. Was there ever the idea of giving it a twist before the finale?
The only day when there was the idea of trying, but it depended on how the race would go, was the one on the Liège course. In April on those roads Kasia had shown that she could go fast and in fact she managed to gain a few seconds on some of her opponentsBut doing something in the other stages was too difficult. In today's cycling, in our cycling, even for women it's difficult to make a difference in a not too tough stage, because the teams are well organized to help their leader. Furthermore no one had ever done so many kilometers with so much altitude difference in the last days of such a demanding Tour, so you could see that they were all a little worried about the last two stages.
How much did you feel about the fact that the Tour extended all the stages on average?
It was heard a lot, because then There were also some quite long transfers and it was difficult to restWe were always on edge.
Had you done any recons on the various routes?
I went to see the Liège stage and the Dutch ones in the days between the Amstel and the Flèche Wallonne. Instead, Kasia, with Bradbury and Chabbey, had reconnoitered the last three or four stages. For this reason when we arrived at the start of the last ones, at least they knew what awaited them. Luckily, I've only done Alpe d'Huez once, and that was enough for me. It's actually a beautiful climb and very rideable. In my opinion the Glandon, which we did before, is much harder.The last few kilometers were hell.
Did you know Vollering would attack…
We had talked about it in the meeting and I had imagined it. A minute and 15 seconds to recover for Demi was a lot, but also not enoughI told everyone that if she wanted to try, since she had nothing to lose and knowing how she's always raced, I don't think she would have waited until Alpe d'Huez. Then when I saw that they'd sent some of their teammates on the breakaway, all the more reason I told Kasia that I would try to attack her on the first climbHe hoped that those fleeing would come over the hill ahead of him so he could find them in the valley. Therefore our tactic would be stay with Kasia even if they had gone on dangerous escapes. And then in the valley before Glandon we would have tried to close the gap as much as possible.
Did you expect Kasia to be able to make such a defense?
I hoped so and I think she hoped so too. But we knew that on the other side there was a great champion, who has shown that she can achieve great feats.So you hope for it, but you also know it might not come true. She was good, mentally clear throughout the race. She didn't let herself get carried away by emotions and the fact that at a certain point she was about to lose her shirtShe did what she had to do and she succeeded.
There's been some gossip about your straightaway ride on August 15th when Vollering, wearing the yellow jersey, crashed 6 kilometers from the finish in Amneville. What can you say? Did you notice she'd crashed?
As I said before, we were mostly focused on staying ahead in the dangerous momentsWe knew that this was a complicated ending and at the same time suitable for Kasia, almost a classic. So We set out to give her a leadout, hoping she could make the podium to get the bonus points. (Niewiadoma then finished second behind Vas, taking a 6” time bonus, ed.) We knew there was this big downhill road and then some curves, which we took in front.
Didn't you hear anything?
I heard some commotion behind, but in those moments it's hard to turn around and understand what's going on. In front there were still two SD Worx athletes who were going full speed ahead and I didn't even worry about Demi falling, otherwise I imagine they would have gotten up again. So we continued on our train and only later did we learn that Demi had fallen and lost secondsSo much so that when Kasia arrived she didn't even know she had taken the shirt.
How were the evenings after the stages?
There have been ups and downs, because we lost Elise Chabbey in the early days, who was an important athlete for us on the climbs. That was a bad moment. Then Kasia fell, but luckily she didn't hurt herself.Chloe (Dygert, ed.) also fell and we thought she had done worse than she ended up doing. There are always those moments of tension that you have to know how to manage, but otherwise the mood was high. We knew we would give everything for reach the top of the last stage without regrets.
And how was the evening at the top of Alpe d'Huez?
We had no plans, the team didn't want to plan anything out of superstition. Then once we won, first we celebrated on the bus while we were waiting for Kasia, then the staff organized an aperitif in a local hotel and we all toasted togetherIt was beautiful. Then, since we had a hotel in Grenoble, and some of the girls had flights the next morning, that last transfer also happened in the middle of the night.
Did helping Kasia mean that you left knowing you had no personal options?
They told us from the start. It wouldn't be impossible to find a spot, but it all depended on how the race went. But it didn't bother me. Kasia is a very honest girl and I know that if she says she has prepared a goal well, she is really there to win it.I didn't even worry about the fact that I didn't have a chance of getting anything done, and it was worth it.
You also proved that you were in the right condition for the Olympics…
Let's say that's how it went, come on. I haven't heard yet Sangalli Speaking of future plans, he congratulated me on the Tour. Now let's think about Plouay. A race like this one week after the Tour is an unknown quantityThe body needs to unlock itself, so it can react very well, and vice versa. I really like the journey, maybe I can give myself a nice treat…
