In the end, there is only one winner. Around 150 athletes compete in the race. Victory is only possible thanks to the crucial support of teammates who sacrifice their own ambitions for a stronger champion. Yet the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift crowns only one rider in yellow: Annemiek van Vleuten in 2022, followed by Demi Vollering, Kasia Niewiadoma Phinney, and finally Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in the summer of 2025. Each of them knows how much they owe to their teammates, especially the loyal domestiques who accompany them deepest into the mountains. Before a new champion is crowned in Nice on Sunday, August 9, the official Tour website gives the floor to these exceptional second-in-command riders, who share their roles alongside “PFP”, Kasia, or Demi, while painting a different portrait of the contenders for the Yellow Jersey.
Antonia Niedermaier: “Kasia is a true fighter” (II/V)
At 23, Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon//Sram) is preparing to ride her first Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift with a key mission: to support Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, winner of the race in 2024, on the biggest climbs of the 2026 edition, notably Mont Ventoux. A latecomer to cycling, the young German learned her trade by watching the Polish champion. She has just shown at the Giro d’Italia Women that she now belongs among the best riders in the world. “I’m just here for Kasia, and it’s really special for me to discover this race,” says Niedermaier as she looks ahead to experiencing the battle for the Yellow Jersey from up close.
|
Model and Inspiration: “Kasia Never Gives Up” At 23, Antonia Niedermaier is still a very young cyclist, especially considering that she has only been fully dedicated to the sport for four years. “Ronny Lauke (Canyon//Sram manager) came to see me at the Junior European Championships,” recalls the rider who won the silver medal in the time trial in Trento (2021). “He told me he was going to set up a young riders’ team and offered me a place in it. I didn’t know what to do after high school anyway, so I gave it a try to see where it would take me.” The young German then joined the team led since 2018 by Kasia Niewiadoma. She was accompanied by her compatriot Ricarda Bauernfeind (a stage winner on the 2023 Tour) and half a dozen other young talents who quickly met the Polish star. “We attended the same training camp when I joined Generation,” Niedermaier explains. “I didn’t know much about cycling, it was my first year in the sport, but of course I knew who Kasia was. We talked together and then started working together the following year. I’ve always enjoyed working with her because she has always believed in us,” Niedermaier says. “She supports young athletes so they can reach the top and there have never been any barriers with her. Kasia has always been there trying to help us.” Niewiadoma-Phinney also leads by example. “She is a true fighter,” marvels her young lieutenant, inspired by the victorious battle her Polish leader fought to secure overall victory in the 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. “It was a real thriller. I was in front of the TV shouting at her: ‘Go Kasia, go, go!’ I still get goosebumps thinking about it. It was a great moment and I was very happy. Kasia is an exceptional cyclist. Even when she has nothing left in her legs, she keeps fighting. I think that’s the secret of her success: she never gives up and always keeps trying.” |
|
Listening to and Supporting Kasia: “She Always Says What She Wants” Before her first Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift next month, Niedermaier and Niewiadoma-Phinney have already shared twenty-five race days together. “I can learn from her at every race,” insists the German rider, who first worked in support of the Polish star at the Tour de Romandie in the autumn of 2023. “I was super nervous, I kept telling myself: ‘I don’t know what to do,’ but we actually managed quite well,” smiles Niedermaier, who finished 19th in the Swiss race while her leader took 2nd place behind Demi Vollering. A few months later, Niewiadoma-Phinney turned the tables on the Dutch champion to win La Flèche Wallonne Femmes, a prelude to her triumph on the Tour. In the Ardennes, Niedermaier had a front-row seat: “The weather was awful, with rain, snow... It was total chaos. We had to be even more present for our leader, stay near the front on narrow roads and poor surfaces. And then Kasia won, and we were so happy... I was climbing the Mur de Huy when I heard the news on the radio. I thought: ‘Wow!’” “When your leader wins, you feel like you are part of that victory,” says Niedermaier, who recently experienced the role of team leader herself at the Giro Women, where she finished second overall. “It is important to always keep your teammates motivated, to be there for them off the bike and spend time together, even in difficult moments. On a Grand Tour, there are always ups and downs. A leader gives confidence back to the others. She is there for them in their private lives, not just on the bike. Kasia always says what she wants and what she needs, and during the race, we communicate a lot,” adds Niedermaier. “So it is actually quite easy to do the job for her, because we always know what to do. And when we have done the work for her, she is grateful.” |
|
First Tour, First Goals: “Just Here For Kasia” “The Giro gives me a lot of confidence... I’m really looking forward to the upcoming races and especially the Tour.” The recent battles in Italy have confirmed to Niedermaier and her team that she has what it takes to support Niewiadoma-Phinney on the highest summits of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, notably Mont Ventoux, which awaits the peloton on Friday, August 7. “Until now, it was a dream for me. I will really start preparing for the Tour after the national championships,” says the German rider, who won the time trial and finished 2nd in the road race last year. “We are also due to go on an altitude training camp in Andorra.” “I don’t feel any pressure,” explains Niedermaier, who naturally looks to her long-time leader: “I’m just here for Kasia, and it’s really special for me to discover this race. I think the atmosphere is completely different. I feel that for her it is different too. I’m curious to see how she will handle all this pressure and all these spectators. I can’t wait to see her and I’m sure she will perform very well.” “I want to be a good support for her, but of course I would also like to have my opportunities,” says the German rider. “But in the end, it is on the big climbs that I will have to help her as much as I can. She will tell me what she needs and I should be the last rider with her on the difficult stages. I simply hope to have a good first Tour and continue the positive momentum of this year.” |
Web-série "Femmes du Tour", presented by CB
What we see: the race. What remains unseen: their thoughts. Caught between pressure, dreams and determination, the champions reveal themselves as the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift approaches.
Episode 1 : Cédrine KERBAOL
Episode 2 : Elise CHABBEY
And six more profiles coming soon here.
