Katarzyna Niewiadoma

Niewiadoma signed a one-year contract with Rabo–Liv in October 2013 and made her debut in the professional ranks in February 2014. She took her first victory four months later, winning the Swiss race GP du Canton d'Argovie.[5] Preparing for the Giro d'Italia Femminile, Niewiadoma participated in the Polish National Championships, taking bronze in the time trial and finishing 8th in the road race. Her climbing abilities proved to be an asset for the Rabo–Liv team at the Giro d'Italia Femminile, as she worked for the final victory of Marianne Vos on the mountain stages in the Alps. She finished 11th overall,[5] and 3rd in the young rider classification, marking a successful debut in the biggest race of the elite women's calendar in her first year as a professional.

Niewiadoma at the 2014 UCI Road World Championships

Niewiadoma then went on to take her first podium spot in a stage race. Together with Anna van der Breggen and Vos she dominated racing during the inaugural edition of the Ladies Tour of Norway and placed 3rd,[6] winning the young rider and mountains classifications. In September, she signed a two-year contract extension with the Rabo–Liv team and concluded preparations for the World Championships with a start in the Premondiale Giro della Toscana, placing 8th overall. On a hilly World Championships route in Ponferrada, Spain, she led the Polish team in the road race, coming to the finish in 11th place after a sprint from the selected group.[8]

In her second year as a professional, Niewiadoma shone as one of the best young riders in the peloton, giving Poland results it had never had in women's cycling. She once again demonstrated her climbing abilities with 6th place in the inaugural edition of the Strade Bianche Donne,[5] and 5th in the prestigious World Cup race La Flèche Wallonne Féminine.[5] She also took a podium spot in the Holland Hills Classic, finishing behind Lizzie Armitstead and Emma Johansson.[9] In June she won the Emakumeen Euskal Bira, a five-day stage race in the Basque Country,[10] and won silver in the women's road race at the European Games.[11]

Despite being only 20,[1] Niewiadoma started the season's biggest race – the Giro Rosa – as one of Rabo–Liv's leaders, alongside world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Anna van der Breggen.[1] She assumed the lead of the young rider classification following the second stage,[12] and held on to the top places on the mountain stages. She then clocked the fifth-fastest time on the demanding route of the penultimate stage, a 21.7-kilometre (13.5-mile) time trial,[13] and rose to fourth overall with the final stage – culminating in a summit finish – remaining.[13] The long climb to San Domenico di Varzo proved decisive and Niewiadoma crossed the line in 7th, dropping to 5th overall – although she won the white jersey for best young rider and contributed towards Van der Breggen's overall success.[14] With those results under her belt Niewiadoma led the Polish national team at the UEC European Road Championships in Tartu, Estonia and took gold in the women's under-23 road race, bridging to the leading group on the last lap and claiming the sprint ahead of Italy's Ilaria Sanguineti and fellow Rabo–Liv riders Thalita de Jong and Anouska Koster.[15] She concluded the season at the World Championships in Richmond, Virginia, being a part of a Rabo–Liv squad that secured bronze in the team time trial.[16] She also led the Polish team in the road race, and sprinted to 7th place.[17]

Niewiadoma (in blue) talking with Lizzie Armitstead before the 2016 La Flèche Wallonne Féminine.

Niewiadoma improved on her previous result at Strade Bianche – the first event to be held as part of the UCI Women's World Tour – finishing second to Lizzie Armitstead in Siena.[18] She added further top-ten finishes at World Tour level, with seventh at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio,[19] and tenth at the Tour of Flanders,[20] before taking her first win of the season at the Ronde van Gelderland in a three-rider sprint against Natalie van Gogh and Lieselot Decroix.[21] After a fourth-place finish at La Flèche Wallonne Féminine,[22] Niewiadoma took a stage victory and the general classification at the Festival Luxembourgeois du cyclisme féminin Elsy Jacobs.[23] She then followed this up with another stage win and general classification double, at the Giro del Trentino Alto Adige-Südtirol.[24][25] At the Polish National Championships, Niewiadoma won both the time trial and road race titles[26][27] – she won the time trial by 24 seconds ahead of Katarzyna Pawłowska, and the road race by 44 seconds ahead of Anna Plichta.

At the 2016 Holland Ladies Tour, Niewiadoma won the jerseys for the points (green) and young rider (light blue) classifications.

Moving onto the Giro d'Italia Femminile, Niewiadoma spent a portion of the race in second place overall, before losing more than four minutes on the fifth stage, which dropped her to ninth place; she eventually recovered to seventh overall, winning the young rider classification. She was part of the leading group during the road race at the Rio Olympics, but was unable to follow moves by five other riders, and missed out on a medal; she ultimately finished in sixth place.[6] A fourth-place finish at the GP de Plouay – Bretagne followed later in August,[28] before a fifth-place overall finish at the Holland Ladies Tour. Niewiadoma also won two stages during the race,[29][30] as well as the points and young rider classifications.[30] She then won two medals at the UEC European Road Championships in France – she won a silver medal in the women's road race,[31] being beaten in the sprint to the line by her Rabo–Liv teammate Anna van der Breggen; however, she won a gold medal in the concurrent race for under-23 riders,[31] as the only such rider in the lead group overall.

Niewiadoma, wearing the Polish national road race champion's jersey, at the 2017 La Flèche Wallonne Féminine. Niewiadoma finished third in all three Ardennes classics races in 2017.

Niewiadoma's spring campaign in the 2017 season saw no wins, but she did record four podium finishes – all coming in UCI Women's World Tour events. Just as she did in 2016, Niewiadoma finished second in Strade Bianche, with Elisa Longo Borghini getting the better of her in the closing metres.[32] In the Ardennes classics, Niewiadoma took three third-place finishes,[6] finishing behind Anna van der Breggen and Lizzie Deignan on each occasion. At the Amstel Gold Race – returning the calendar following a 14-year hiatus – Niewiadoma, Longo Borghini and Deignan were clear of the peloton on the final circuit around Valkenburg aan de Geul, before being caught by Van der Breggen, Annemiek van Vleuten and Coryn Rivera with around 8 kilometres (5.0 miles) remaining. Van der Breggen soloed away to the victory not long after; in the sprint for second, Deignan prevailed, while Niewiadoma and Van Vleuten could not be separated in the photo finish, and thus shared third place.[33] At La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, Niewiadoma attacked inside the final 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), on the Côte de Cherave,[34] with only Deignan and Van der Breggen able to follow.[35] Deignan forced Niewiadoma's hand with an attack before the Mur de Huy, with her Boels–Dolmans teammate Van der Breggen ultimately pulling clear prior to the final ascent.[36] Lastly, at Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes, Niewiadoma was combative, attacking on each of the last two climbs. With Van der Breggen eventually soloing clear to another victory, Deignan and Niewiadoma did battle for second place, with honours ultimately going to Deignan.[37]

Niewiadoma at the 2017 The Women's Tour, where she won the opening stage and the green jersey as the winner of the general classification

Niewiadoma's next start was at The Women's Tour, where she won the opening stage after a nearly 50-kilometre (31-mile) solo breakaway, with a winning margin of 1 minute, 42 seconds over teammate Marianne Vos.[38] Niewiadoma maintained her overall lead for the remainder of the race, ultimately winning the race by 1 minute, 18 seconds ahead of Christine Majerus,[39] and moved atop of the UCI Women's World Tour rankings.[40] She led the WM3 Pro Cycling team at the Giro d'Italia Femminile, where she finished in sixth place overall, and ceded the World Tour lead to Van der Breggen.[41] She finished ninth in La Course by Le Tour de France, seventh overall at the Holland Ladies Tour,[42] and concluded her season with fifth place in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships, having been part of the lead group in the closing 10 kilometres (6.2 miles).[43] Niewiadoma ultimately finished the season in third place in the overall UCI Women's World Tour standings.[44]

In July 2017, Niewiadoma was announced to be joining the Canyon–SRAM team for the 2018 season,[45] signing an initial three-year deal.[46]

Niewiadoma made her first start with Canyon–SRAM at February's Setmana Ciclista Valenciana,[46] where she finished seventh overall and also aided teammate Hannah Barnes towards her overall victory.[47] A third consecutive second-place finish at Strade Bianche followed; having been dropped by Anna van der Breggen and Elisa Longo Borghini on the penultimate gravel sector, she later rejoined Longo Borghini before dropping her in the final kilometre.[48] A couple of weeks later, she won the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio,[49] after an 8-kilometre (5.0-mile) solo move; in the process, she moved into the lead of the UCI Women's World Tour rankings.[49] After another top-ten finish at the Tour of Flanders,[50] Niewiadoma returned to the podium at the Tour of California, finishing third on the second stage to South Lake Tahoe, and ultimately third overall in the race.[51][52]

Niewiadoma (far left) won the mountains classification at the Ladies Tour of Norway

During the summer months, Niewiadoma recorded finishes of seventh overall at the Giro Rosa,[53] sixth at La Course by Le Tour de France,[54] and fifth overall at the Ladies Tour of Norway, also winning the mountains classification in Norway.[55] Niewiadoma's last warm-up race prior to the UCI Road World Championships was the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche; she won the fifth stage which finished with a summit finish at Mont Lozère,[56] before finishing second to Ruth Winder in Montboucher-sur-Jabron the following day, while gaining 46 seconds on race leader Margarita Victoria García.[57] Taking a 41-second lead into the final stage, Niewiadoma gained further time on García, ultimately finishing 1 minute, 28 seconds clear in the general classification and she also won the mountains classification.[58] In the World Championships, Niewiadoma finished more than seven minutes down on race winner Van der Breggen,[59] in twelfth place.

For the fourth year in a row, Niewiadoma finished in the podium placings at Strade Bianche,[60] adding a third-place finish to her three second-place finishes. Over March and April, Niewiadoma recorded six top-ten finishes (four of which were sixth-place finishes), peaking with victory at the Amstel Gold Race.[61] Niewiadoma attacked on the last ascent of the Cauberg with former teammate Marianne Vos,[62] before pulling clear with a gap of a few seconds over Annemiek van Vleuten; Van Vleuten attempted to close down the margin in the final 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) but Niewiadoma was able to hold on for her second Women's World Tour one-day victory,[63] after her earlier success at the 2018 Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio.

Niewiadoma at the 2019 The Women's Tour, where she finished second overall. During the race, she also won the penultimate stage and the mountains classification.

After a fifth-place overall finish at the Tour of California, Niewiadoma jointly led the Canyon–SRAM team at The Women's Tour with home rider Hannah Barnes.[64] On the fourth stage, which included three ascents in the Burton Dassett Hills (including the race's first hilltop finish), Niewiadoma outsprinted Liane Lippert to the finish line for the victory,[65] moving up to second place overall but on the same time as Lippert.[66] The following day, Niewiadoma finished second to Lizzie Deignan in Builth Wells,[67] with Deignan taking the race lead by one second ahead of Niewiadoma; Deignan added a further second to her advantage on the final day, to take the general classification by its closest winning margin to that point.[68] Niewiadoma did come away from the race with the mountains classification, edging out Christine Majerus by one point.[68]

Canyon–SRAM won the opening stage team time trial at the Giro Rosa,[69] and with Niewiadoma being the first of the team's riders to cross the finish line in Castellania Coppi, she assumed the race leader's pink jersey for the first time in her career. She held the race lead until the fifth stage, when Van Vleuten won by almost three minutes to overturn a previous gap of forty-seven seconds.[70] Niewiadoma's main time loss came on the penultimate stage, finishing at the Altopiano del Montasio, losing almost four minutes compared to Van Vleuten and Anna van der Breggen,[71] dropping her from third to sixth overall; she did regain fifth place in the general classification on the final stage, finishing almost eight minutes down on Van Vleuten.[72] She finished fourth overall at August's Ladies Tour of Norway,[73] but finished outside the top-20 in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire, stating that she had "mentally cracked" during the race.[74] She also extended her contract with Canyon–SRAM until the end of the 2021 season.[75]

Niewiadoma's 2020 season started following the COVID-19 pandemic-enforced suspension of racing,[76] failing to finish at Strade Bianche for the first time in her career. She won her second elite European Road Championships medal, winning a bronze medal in the road race in Plouay, having been part of a four-rider breakaway alongside Annemiek van Vleuten, Elisa Longo Borghini and Chantal Blaak.[77] She again made into the race-winning move at La Course by Le Tour de France two days later, but missed the podium with fourth in the small group sprint.[78] At the Giro Rosa, Niewiadoma spent almost the entire race in the top-three placings, recording two top-three stage finishes on her way to second place overall,[79] behind Anna van der Breggen; she wore the race leader's pink jersey on stage eight, as the overnight leader Van Vleuten withdrew due to injuries suffered in a crash during the finish to the previous stage.[80] Prior to the end of the season, Niewiadoma finished seventh in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships,[81] and tenth at La Flèche Wallonne Féminine.[82]

Having missed the podium with a fourth-place finish at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio,[83] Niewiadoma finished second in a sprint-à-deux with Annemiek van Vleuten in Dwars door Vlaanderen.[84] In April 2021, Niewiadoma signed a new three-year contract with Canyon–SRAM,[85] extending her tenure with the team until the end of the 2024 season. Three top-ten finishes in the Ardennes classics followed, with her best result being another sprint-à-deux loss, this time to Anna van der Breggen, at La Flèche Wallonne Féminine.[86] Further fourth-place finishes came at the Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes and the Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria,[87][88] before missing out on a stage victory at the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas to Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig.[89] After a sixth-place finish at La Course by Le Tour de France, Niewiadoma elected to forego participation in the Giro Rosa, instead concentrating on the road race at the COVID-19 pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics.[90] Niewiadoma ultimately finished outside the top ten placings, a result that left her "disappointed".[91]

Niewiadoma (right) after winning the bronze medal in the road race at the 2021 UCI Road World Championships; she finished one second behind Elisa Balsamo (centre) and Marianne Vos (left).

A fourth second-place finish in 2021 occurred for Niewiadoma during the penultimate stage of August's Holland Ladies Tour, missing out to former teammate Marianne Vos.[92] She finished sixth overall at the Challenge by La Vuelta,[93] before contesting the road race at the UEC European Road Championships, where she just missed out on a medal, finishing fourth.[94] Niewiadoma's near-miss was not repeated a fortnight later in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships in the Flanders region of Belgium. Niewiadoma launched several attacks on the circuits in and around Leuven,[95] but was not able to gain clear ground, and the race came back together for a reduced group sprint; despite her attacks, Niewiadoma had enough energy to contend for the medals, and secured a bronze medal behind Elisa Balsamo and Vos, for her first individual World Championships medal.[95] She finished the season with a crash and DNF at Paris–Roubaix Femmes, suffering a sore knee in the process.[96]

Niewiadoma did not grace a race podium until April's Brabantse Pijl, where she outsprinted Liane Lippert for second place behind the race winner, Demi Vollering.[97] At The Women's Tour in June, Niewiadoma finished both of the Welsh stages in second place; on stage four, she was beaten by Grace Brown, while Elisa Longo Borghini beat Niewiadoma the following day.[98][99] In the final general classification, Longo Borghini beat Brown by one second, with Niewiadoma in third place, five seconds in arrears.[100] In July, she was named as one of the pre-race favourites for the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes,[101] and eventually finished third overall, having recorded five top-ten stage finishes and been in the top-three overall from the second stage.[102] She concluded her season with tenth overall at the Challenge by La Vuelta, and then eighth place in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships, having attacked late on.[103]

Having not won a race since 2019, Niewiadoma attempted to break her win hoodoo in the spring classics, however her best results were fourth in the Amstel Gold Race, and fifth in the Tour of Flanders.[104] She returned to the podium at the Itzulia Women, finishing third on the opening stage and ultimately, third overall behind SD Worx teammates Marlen Reusser and Demi Vollering.[105][106]

In October, Niewiadoma won the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships with a solo attack in the final 25 km to beat Silvia Persico and Demi Vollering over a 140 km course in Veneto, Italy.[107]

2023

1st UCI World Championships

1st Big Sugar