Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney was once again among the final contenders for the second monumental of the year, sprinting to fourth in the Tour of Flanders. This followed her second place in 2024 but demonstrated her return to classic racing after her huge crash at Strade Bianche.
“In some ways, all the bad luck and the things I had to deal with are now behind me, so it feels like a fresh, nice start for what’s next. Of course, fourth place isn’t what a rider dreams of or fights for, but I’m also realistic. I know the girls ahead of me are just much faster – really good sprinters. Preferably, I would have arrived solo or in an even smaller group over the Paterberg, but everyone was still riding incredibly well despite being really tired at that point.”
Niewiadoma-Phinney was really pleased with the performance of her Canyon//SRAM Zondacrypto team: “We were all fighting with our hearts, doing our best in positioning and being in the front, making the race hard, and following attacks. I feel like we checked all the boxes – everyone did a great job, not only the riders but all the staff as well. As I said previously, maybe this is a fresh start for what’s coming this year. Before now, there were always small things missing, but today, the pieces finally came together and worked out almost perfectly.”
Photo: Thomas Maheux and Canyon//SRAM
The great teamwork set her up for the key parts of the race. The triple test of Koppenberg, Taaienberg and Oude Kruisberg tore the race apart. This year, pure power proved more decisive than good fortune.
“With the dry conditions this year, it was all more about strength and less about luck. As we could see in the last two editions, when it rained, a lot of riders would have to walk up or get off their bikes on the Koppenberg, so of course you lose a lot of time. Therefore, the Koppenberg in wet weather was often where the big splits happened – but this year, you could see bigger groups making it all the way to the Kwaremont.”
It’s Kasia’s seventh top-ten finish in Belgium’s biggest race – further cementing her status as one of the most consistent and capable riders on the toughest of Spring Classics terrain.
