Katarzyna Niewiadoma is the winner of this year's Tour de France! Before the last stage of the race, the Polish woman had a 27-second advantage over the runner-up. Successes in this field for over ten yearsIn 2022 and 2023 she won third place in the Tour de France Femmes, and shortly afterwards she won the world championship in gravel cycling. Interestingly, years ago she was told that she was “too pretty to race”. – It happened before the Olympics, but it doesn't make any sense to me – this is how she said about this issue in an interview with “Wysokie Obcasy”.
Katarzyna Niewiadoma hasn't always been supported in sports. These are the words from her coach
During her career, the athlete heard from her first coach that “cycling is not a sport for women”. Are you curious how she received these words? – Women often hear that something is not for them, strange divisions are created. I did not feel it to such a degree, because I spent a lot of time with my brother, cousins or boys from my class – she confessed to “Wysokie Obcasy”. From a young age, Niewiadoma was focused on a sporting goal. It was not without sacrifices. – Yes, now I look back at how my teenage years have passed, the time when teenagers discover the world… But I have to admit that I have never been more eager to go out to parties. I enjoyed training with my group and meeting new people more. Of course, I missed weddings and birthdays because of training and going to races, but I never felt like I was missing out on anything – said the interested party participant herself.
She got her passion for cycling from her father. She also doesn't complain about the support from her partner.
In an interview with Wysokie Obcasy, Niewiadoma admitted that she owes her interest in cycling to her father. “At first, he would take my older brother along for training. Maybe he thought that riding on the road was too dangerous for me? It was also important that my brother was able to ride longer distances. So I sat at home and waited, but the desire to get on the bike grew in me. Finally, Dad showed up with a racing helmet and announced that we were going to a race the next day, I would race.” – she confessed. What is known about the sportswoman's partner? Her heart was stolen by Taylor Phinney, an American road and track cyclist. It is obvious that the athletes were united by the passion they develop together. “For us, holidays are always holidays with bikes. Wherever we go, we discover the world, riding mountain bikes or cross-country bikes. This year we rode in the Pyrenees near Andorra and France, and in the surrounding area” – this is how Niewiadoma talked about this relationship in an interview for Sports Review. Photos of the sportswoman’s husband can be found in our gallery.