Defending Tour de France Femmes champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney may not have climbed onto the top step of the podium again in Châtel on Sunday evening, but she was more than happy to take part in the post-race ceremony for the fourth year in a row.
Niewiadoma-Phinney has finished on the final podium in each of the four editions of the revived race, scoring three third places to go with her nail-biting overall victory atop L'Alpe d'Huez last summer.
She rounded out this year's race with third on the closing stage, in the process moving up a spot after she and five others, including overall winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike), distanced second-placed Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) on the descent of the race's final hors catégorie climb, the Col de Joux-Plane, with over 50km left to race.
The 30-year-old Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto leader said after the race that her own level has improved since her victory last year, but noted that the level of the peloton has risen, too, an observation several other riders have made during the race.
"It's definitely higher. But so is every single rider. This is the growth of women's cycling," she said in the post-race press conference. "I knew that I did everything I could to prepare for the battle. Let's say my shape was really great.
"I think that the teams are stronger. It's less about having a rider than domestique riders who can now make it over the climbs. You can see that a lot of teams have grown in depth – like they have really strong riders who can help their leaders.
"Even what I noticed this year, Pauliena Rooijakkers always had people that would help her with her descending or positioning in the peloton. So, it all kind of rolls of the dice, let's say, makes it faster."
The 2025 Tour was one which pivoted on the 19km climb of the Col de la Madeleine on stage 8, with Ferrand-Prévot soaring into yellow with a dominant victory after several days of GC stalemate.
Despite the relative lack of moves among the GC contenders during the preceding seven stages – the top five in the stage were separated by just 35 seconds heading into the Madeleine – Niewiadoma-Phinney said she didn't have any regrets about the opening week of the Tour.
"For the first seven stages, I felt that there was a group of seven of us that were on a similar level. It felt that none of us really wanted to invest more, but maybe that was just because of how the course looked," Niewiadoma-Phinney said.
"It's not that we would finish on a mountain earlier, or we will have really crazy, steep climbs. It was all about kind of gradual, steady climbing, which, once you're on the wheel, you benefit so much. So, I feel like everyone was just focusing more on saving versus spending."
In the end, it did all come down to the Madeleine, with Niewiadoma-Phinney finishing in eighth on the day, dropping off the podium as Giro d'Italia Women sensation Gigante moved up six into second.
The Australian, while being the second-strongest woman in the race in the high mountains, had revealed her main weakness – descending – numerous times during the climbs of the Massif Central earlier in the week.
With Niewiadoma-Phinney and Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ) both keen to take advantage of Gigante's fatal flaw and leapfrog her in the overall standings in Châtel, it was no surprise to see them attacking on the descent of the Joux-Plane mid-stage.
In the end, the pair came across the line with more than 3:30 in hand over Gigante, both moving up a place onto the podium.
"We both wanted to move up in the GC, so it was like, 'OK, let's see what happens after the main climb,'" Niewiadoma-Phinney said. "Because, of course, you can say, 'Oh, let's do this and that,' but you still have to ride a 12km climb at like 8% so it's not easy to make it to the top first."
Come the race's conclusion, Niewiadoma-Phinney said she was pleased with third place overall, even if she ended the Tour four minutes down on Ferrand-Prévot.
"I'm definitely super happy to finish on the podium. Also, knowing that every single edition we finish on the podium is something special. We feel proud of that."
Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our Tour de France Femmes coverage. Don't miss any of the breaking news, reports, and analysis from one of the biggest women's stage races of the season. Find out more.
