Twelve months after sealing the most dramatic Tour de France Femmes title to date, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney is back to defend her crown. Her four-second victory over Demi Vollering on Alpe d’Huez in 2024 made history, but the Polish rider insists her career still feels incomplete.
Speaking ahead of the 2025 edition, which starts on 26th July in Vannes, she made it clear that this is about more than a second yellow jersey. “The 2024 victory will stay with me forever, but I don’t feel like I’m accomplished for my career,” she said. “I want to get another yellow jersey and enjoy the moment again, but I’m not obsessed.”
Niewiadoma-Phinney heads into this year’s race with a sense of calm, focused on her own preparation and that of her Canyon SRAM teammates rather than the threats around her.
“I’m coming to this race not focusing on others. I get asked all the time about the other riders but I really don’t care about them. I do care about my own performance and that of my teammates. All I want is to make sure we’re physically and mentally ready for the yellow jersey fight.”
Last year’s victory was a career breakthrough after many near-misses in major stage races. She now returns to a much-changed landscape, with Vollering leading FDJ-Suez, Kopecky and the returning Anna van der Breggen co-leading SD Worx-Protime, and Elisa Longo Borghini heading up UAE Team ADQ off the back of a strong Giro. Marlen Reusser now leads Movistar, while Sarah Gigante is targeting GC for AG Insurance-Soudal.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Thomas MaheuxNiewiadoma-Phinney’s own form had been quietly improving. After a subdued spring that saw her place fourth at both the Tour of Flanders and Flèche Wallonne, and miss the top ten at La Vuelta Femenina, her third overall and two stage podiums at the Tour de Suisse Women hinted that her timing might be perfect. She also won the Polish road title in June – her final tune-up before the Tour.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how I will be performing because I really put a lot of hard work into this race,” she said. “You never know how everyone else is, but I’m just excited to see where everything we did, especially on training camp, will put us. I just want to let my legs talk once we race.”
There’s no sense of pressure getting the better of her, despite what’s at stake.
“I’m feeling at ease that I’ve already won this race and don’t feel like I’m desperate, but I truly just want to defend it,” she added.
This year’s route is longer and tougher than ever, stretching 1,168.6 kilometres across nine days, with over 18,000 metres of climbing. The race starts on the Atlantic coast in Bretagne and finishes in the Alps at Châtel les Portes du Soleil, near the Swiss border.
Canyon SRAM bring one of the strongest teams on peper to support her. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and Ricarda Bauernfeind offer punchy climbing depth, while Neve Bradbury and Soraya Paladin are capable of shaping mountain stages. For the flat stages and time trial, Chloé Dygert and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka bring extra power.
“Winning a stage was just… I still get goosebumps thinking about it,” said Uttrup Ludwig. “Now being part of the team defending the yellow jersey? That’s a whole new level. There’s pressure, of course – but it’s the kind of pressure you want as a rider. I can’t wait to work toward a common goal – trying to win the TDFFAZ for the second year in a row.”
For Niewiadoma-Phinney, that goal is clear. Not to prove she belongs, but to feel it.
