Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney is zeroed in on her attempt to win a second consecutive yellow jersey at the Tour de France Femmes, reiterating that she is unconcerned about how well her rivals have prepared and is solely focused on her performance and that of her Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto teammates ahead of the nine-day race set to begin on July 26 in Vannes.
“I’m coming to this race not focusing on others. I get asked all the time about the other riders, but I really don’t care about them," Niewiadoma said in a recent press release.
"I do care about my own performance and that of my teammates, so for the upcoming race, all I want to do is make sure that each of us feel perfectly prepared, not only physically but also mentally – just ready for the yellow jersey fight."
Niewiadoma-Phinney won the 2024 Tour de France Femmes in dramatic fashion on the slopes of Alpe d'Huez, beating runner-up Demi Vollering by what she called 'a magical four seconds'.
It was a significant moment in cycling history, marking the smallest margin of victory in the women's or men's Tour de France, as Greg LeMond beat Laurent Fignon by eight seconds to win the 1989 Tour de France.
Niewiadoma-Phinney said that even though she has already won the title at the French Grand Tour, she is still very motivated to win it for a second time, adding that Elisa Longo Borghini's (UAE Team ADQ) recent victory at the Giro d'Italia has given her some additional inspiration.
“The yellow jersey will always remain the yellow jersey. As some people say, you’re only as good as your last race – I guess the 2024 victory will stay with me forever, but I don’t feel like I’m accomplished for my career," she said.
"Seeing [Elisa] Longo Borghini defending her pink jersey [at the Giro d’Italia Women] definitely gave me extra motivation and faith to be like ‘we can do it as well’. So, I just want to let my legs talk once we race, because, of course, before you can have millions of different scenarios. Once the race starts, then the reality hits. So, I do hope that the hard work that we put into the preparation will pay off.”
She admitted that having won the race already means she feels less pressure, and it puts her nerves at ease.
"I’ve already won this race and don’t feel like I’m desperate, but I truly just want to defend it. I want to get another yellow jersey and enjoy the moment again, but yeah, I’m not like obsessed.”
Canyon-Sram zondacrypto will support Niewiadoma-Phinney's yellow-jersey defence with a powerful team that includes Grand Tour stage winners Ricarda Bauernfeind, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, and Neve Bradbury, along with Soraya Paladin, Chloé Dygert and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka.
This edition of the Tour de France Femmes is set to cover nine days of racing, entirely in France, from July 26 to August 3, making it the longest yet of any edition of the new women's Tour de France. It will feature main ascents Col de Madeleine, Col de Joux Plane, and a mountaintop finale at Châtel.
“I’m just looking forward to the whole week. It’s a very special week filled with many ups and downs, and I like seeing how the team deals with that and how we go through the days," Niewiadoma-Phinney said.
"In some ways, it’s just thrilling, you know. We spend a lot of condensed time together chasing the same goal, so it always brings us closer together.
"I’m also looking forward to seeing how I will be performing because I really put a lot of hard work into this race. You never know how everyone else is, but I’m just excited to see where everything that we did, especially on training camp, will put us.”
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