Kasia finished 3rd today in the opening UCI Women’s WorldTour race, Strade Bianche in Siena, Italy. While Annemiek Van Vleuten (MTS) went solo to the line, Niewiadoma battled it out to the line with a small group of seven riders on the final Via Santa Caterina climb. Annika Langvad (DLT )took second with the 24-year-old CANYON//SRAM Racing rider stepping onto the podium with third place.

“The race was definitely brutal. A lot of teams were taking the initiative so it was quite fast. I know that I gave everything that I had, and that was third. I’m happy with that. I’m proud of my team, and grateful for their support, and I also noticed that we improved the things that we needed to improve from the last race,” Kasia said.

With most of the action in the race happening in the final third, CANYON//SRAM Racing were constantly active with Hannah Barnes and Elena Cecchini in the most dangerous breakaways in the final 35km of the race. They were each reeled in and it was Van Vleuten who attacked solo on the final gravel sector. While she went to the finish in Piazza del Campo in Siena with a 37 second advantage, Niewiadoma was able to take third with the small chase group splitting on the final climb.

Read some of the other reactions from our team:

ALENA AMIALIUSIK: “The conditions were very different to last year. It was a fast race and there were a lot of crashes but fortunately we weren’t involved. We worked very well as a team, and can be happy with Kasia’s podium!”

TIFFANY CROMWELL: “It was a good race. I made it through the long sector and was able to get back on to help the girls. The team rode a strong race, and Kasia put in a good fight at the end.”

HANNAH BARNES: “It was very different from this year to last year. We were always up there and to get Kasia on the podium is great. It’s such an unpredictable race but it’s a really cool race to be a part of, I love it!”

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