Less than 24 hours after her dominant win in Trofeo Alfredo Binda, Kasia Niewiadoma says her first ever victory in a one-day UCI Women’s WorldTour (UCIWWT) race is starting to sink in.

“It was an amazing day for me and my team yesterday. It’s been really hard to sit down and realise what we have achieved. Only when I woke up this morning it kind of hit me that finally I managed to deliver the first one-day WorldTour victory for the team and for myself!” said an elated Niewiadoma.

“Feelings are GREAT! I’m lost for words….still now. I’m happy, my heart is happy, my mind is happy, so it seems like I’m having a wonderful part of my life right now! I’d love to be able to continue this great flow until the end of my career,” the 23 year old said with a wink.

After collecting six podiums at one-day races since 2016, and despite the win at OVO Energy Women’s Tour last year, Niewiadoma said standing on the top step in a one-day UCIWWT race had been a long time coming.

“Many times I got second and third but this long-awaited victory seemed to be unreachable! I understand how important it is to have strong teammates around you and a great director behind the wheel of the car.”

Niewiadoma continued “I can finally see how many small details counted for this victory. There are so many people who contributed in this result and I just feel sorry that I couldn’t have taken them with me to the podium yesterday!”

While it was Niewiadoma’s first win, it also marked the first victory at a one-day race on the UCIWWT level for CANYON//SRAM Racing in the start of its third year.

Team Manager Ronny Lauke said “We now have a well-balanced group of riders that are motivated and hungry for success. The new riders have brought in a fresh feel, but also the continuing riders have grown and matured. The way each rider prepares for a race, approaches the race, and how the group functions within a race is different than before and this is the spirit we want to maintain.”

Lauke said the early success of the team at Setmana Ciclista Valenciana and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad catapulted the team into the next races with even more confidence and positivity.

“Every rider has stepped to a new level. We knew the quality of Kasia but with the support of these teammates and the team spirit she can use her strengths even better. The group now can sprint, climb and handle classics. We need to discover our time trial strength but overall the group is very balanced,” said Lauke.

While Niewiadoma has more than a week before her next race, the Polish rider said she is feeling inspired for the next part of the season.

“I am motivated even more than before, but it’s not about my own results. I’m motivated about the power of our team! We are whole and I know that each of us can win a race this year and this is my goal!”

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