Strade Bianche is a kind of races the place Kasia Niewiadoma has needed to turn out to be accustomed to the bittersweet feeling of repeatedly being getting ready to a long-sought after end result however this 12 months the Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto rider needed to endure an altogether completely different kind of disappointment, a race-ending crash.
After her first fall Niewiadoma managed to get again on and proceed however the second, which occurred with simply over 50 kilometres to go within the 136km occasion, was a special matter. Niewiadoma got here down on a sweeping descent, coming down on the left of the street close to the barrier. Her teammates rushed to attempt to detangle her from a motorcycle which had landed on prime of her and likewise one other nevertheless it quickly grew to become clear her race was achieved.
“You already know, as an athlete, if you prepare for thus lengthy and spend quite a lot of time making ready for sure targets, chasing little particulars simply so you possibly can enhance, and then you definately really feel like that is it – such as you’re in form, you will have good legs – and then you definately crash out of the race, it simply looks like one thing has been taken away from you,” mentioned Niewiadoma in a workforce assertion. “Generally, it’s onerous to digest that over not having the ability to compete within the remaining as a result of the legs aren’t there.”
“So yeah, positively, being within the ambulance and never feeling nice, plus realizing that the prospect was simply taken away from me, felt very upsetting.”
The extra optimistic information, nonetheless, was that after being taken to hospital the 2024 Tour de France Femmes champion was cleared of main damage and that workforce mentioned she ought to be “again on a begin line within the close to future”.
It is just the second time within the 30 12 months previous’s 11 participations on the occasion that Niewiadoma has not completed. After coming sixth in her debut in 2015, second by way of from 2016 to 2018 and third in 2019 there was then the primary DNF in 2020. That got here in a brutally sizzling COVID-19 pandemic delayed version. Since then, till this 12 months, it has been all prime ten finishes together with two frustratingly shut podium misses with fourth.
“I don’t really feel like I’m dissatisfied anymore, nevertheless it’s simply extra like a heartbreak – coming again right here once more and getting kicked about another way,” mentioned Niewiadoma. “I’m unsure if I’m extra upset about the truth that, once more, I used to be not capable of present what I really signify proper now.”
Nevertheless, in a later instagram submit wanting again on the race which was received by Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), Niewiadoma was capable of embrace a few of the positives.
“I suppose I bought a special perspective now! It at all times may very well be worse so I’m grateful for what I’ve bought, on this case: fairly robust bones.”
