Katarzyna Niewiadoma

Katarzyna "Kasia" Niewiadoma (born 29 September 1994) is a Polish racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam. Among her eighteen professional wins are the Amstel Gold Race in 2019, the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio in 2018, and The Women's Tour stage race in 2017. She has twice finished third overall in the Tour de France Femmes, in 2022 and 2023, taking the Queen of the Mountains jersey in 2023. In 2023 she became UCI Gravel World Champion.

Early years
Born in Limanowa, Niewiadoma started racing bikes with local club WLKS Krakus BBC Czaja and soon emerged as one of the most promising women riders in Poland with TKK Pacific Toruń. In 2013, she won two national Under-23 champion titles, finishing 4th overall in both the time trial and road race events. She also finished 5th in the under-23 road race at the European Road Championships.

Following these performances, she received an offer from professional team and became a stagiaire in September 2013. She participated in the Holland Ladies Tour, finishing 10th overall and winning the young rider classification. Niewiadoma was also selected for the road race at the UCI Road World Championships but she did not finish.

2014
Niewiadoma signed a one-year contract with in October 2013 and made her debut in the professional ranks in February 2014. She took her first victory four months later, winning the Swiss race GP du Canton d'Argovie. Preparing for the Giro d'Italia Femminile, Niewiadoma participated in the Polish National Championships, taking bronze in the time trial and finishing 8th in the road race. Her climbing abilities proved to be an asset for the team at the Giro d'Italia Femminile, as she worked for the final victory of Marianne Vos on the mountain stages in the Alps. She finished 11th overall, and 3rd in the young rider classification, marking a successful debut in the biggest race of the elite women's calendar in her first year as a professional.

Niewiadoma then went on to take her first podium spot in a stage race. Together with Anna van der Breggen and Vos she dominated racing during the inaugural edition of the Ladies Tour of Norway and placed 3rd, winning the young rider and mountains classifications. In September, she signed a two-year contract extension with the team and concluded preparations for the World Championships with a start in the Premondiale Giro della Toscana, placing 8th overall. On a hilly World Championships route in Ponferrada, Spain, she led the Polish team in the road race, coming to the finish in 11th place after a sprint from the selected group.

2015
In her second year as a professional, Niewiadoma shone as one of the best young riders in the peloton, giving Poland results it had never had in women's cycling. She once again demonstrated her climbing abilities with 6th place in the inaugural edition of the Strade Bianche Donne, and 5th in the prestigious World Cup race La Flèche Wallonne Féminine. She also took a podium spot in the Holland Hills Classic, finishing behind Lizzie Armitstead and Emma Johansson. In June she won the Emakumeen Euskal Bira, a five-day stage race in the Basque Country, and won silver in the women's road race at the European Games.

Despite being only 20, Niewiadoma started the season's biggest race – the Giro Rosa – as one of 's leaders, alongside world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Anna van der Breggen. She assumed the lead of the young rider classification following the second stage, and held on to the top places on the mountain stages. She then clocked the fifth-fastest time on the demanding route of the penultimate stage, a 21.7 km time trial, and rose to fourth overall with the final stage – culminating in a summit finish – remaining. The long climb to San Domenico di Varzo proved decisive and Niewiadoma crossed the line in 7th, dropping to 5th overall – although she won the white jersey for best young rider and contributed towards Van der Breggen's overall success. With those results under her belt Niewiadoma led the Polish national team at the UEC European Road Championships in Tartu, Estonia and took gold in the women's under-23 road race, bridging to the leading group on the last lap and claiming the sprint ahead of Italy's Ilaria Sanguineti and fellow riders Thalita de Jong and Anouska Koster. She concluded the season at the World Championships in Richmond, Virginia, being a part of a squad that secured bronze in the team time trial. She also led the Polish team in the road race, and sprinted to 7th place.

2016
Niewiadoma improved on her previous result at Strade Bianche – the first event to be held as part of the UCI Women's World Tour – finishing second to Lizzie Armitstead in Siena. She added further top-ten finishes at World Tour level, with seventh at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio, and tenth at the Tour of Flanders, before taking her first win of the season at the Ronde van Gelderland in a three-rider sprint against Natalie van Gogh and Lieselot Decroix. After a fourth-place finish at La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, Niewiadoma took a stage victory and the general classification at the Festival Luxembourgeois du cyclisme féminin Elsy Jacobs. She then followed this up with another stage win and general classification double, at the Giro del Trentino Alto Adige-Südtirol. At the Polish National Championships, Niewiadoma won both the time trial and road race titles – she won the time trial by 24 seconds ahead of Katarzyna Pawłowska, and the road race by 44 seconds ahead of Anna Plichta.

Moving onto the Giro d'Italia Femminile, Niewiadoma spent a portion of the race in second place overall, before losing more than four minutes on the fifth stage, which dropped her to ninth place; she eventually recovered to seventh overall, winning the young rider classification. She was part of the leading group during the road race at the Rio Olympics, but was unable to follow moves by five other riders, and missed out on a medal; she ultimately finished in sixth place. A fourth-place finish at the GP de Plouay – Bretagne followed later in August, before a fifth-place overall finish at the Holland Ladies Tour. Niewiadoma also won two stages during the race, as well as the points and young rider classifications. She then won two medals at the UEC European Road Championships in France – she won a silver medal in the women's road race, being beaten in the sprint to the line by her teammate Anna van der Breggen; however, she won a gold medal in the concurrent race for under-23 riders, as the only such rider in the lead group overall.

2017
Niewiadoma's spring campaign in the 2017 season saw no wins, but she did record four podium finishes – all coming in UCI Women's World Tour events. Just as she did in 2016, Niewiadoma finished second in Strade Bianche, with Elisa Longo Borghini getting the better of her in the closing metres. In the Ardennes classics, Niewiadoma took three third-place finishes, finishing behind Anna van der Breggen and Lizzie Deignan on each occasion. At the Amstel Gold Race – returning the calendar following a 14-year hiatus – Niewiadoma, Longo Borghini and Deignan were clear of the peloton on the final circuit around Valkenburg aan de Geul, before being caught by Van der Breggen, Annemiek van Vleuten and Coryn Rivera with around 8 km remaining. Van der Breggen soloed away to the victory not long after; in the sprint for second, Deignan prevailed, while Niewiadoma and Van Vleuten could not be separated in the photo finish, and thus shared third place. At La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, Niewiadoma attacked inside the final 10 km, on the Côte de Cherave, with only Deignan and Van der Breggen able to follow. Deignan forced Niewiadoma's hand with an attack before the Mur de Huy, with her teammate Van der Breggen ultimately pulling clear prior to the final ascent. Lastly, at Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes, Niewiadoma was combative, attacking on each of the last two climbs. With Van der Breggen eventually soloing clear to another victory, Deignan and Niewiadoma did battle for second place, with honours ultimately going to Deignan.

Niewiadoma's next start was at The Women's Tour, where she won the opening stage after a nearly 50 km solo breakaway, with a winning margin of 1 minute, 42 seconds over teammate Marianne Vos. Niewiadoma maintained her overall lead for the remainder of the race, ultimately winning the race by 1 minute, 18 seconds ahead of Christine Majerus, and moved atop of the UCI Women's World Tour rankings. She led the team at the Giro d'Italia Femminile, where she finished in sixth place overall, and ceded the World Tour lead to Van der Breggen. She finished ninth in La Course by Le Tour de France, seventh overall at the Holland Ladies Tour, and concluded her season with fifth place in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships, having been part of the lead group in the closing 10 km. Niewiadoma ultimately finished the season in third place in the overall UCI Women's World Tour standings.

Canyon–SRAM (2018–present)
In July 2017, Niewiadoma was announced to be joining the team for the 2018 season, signing an initial three-year deal.

2018
Niewiadoma made her first start with at February's Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, where she finished seventh overall and also aided teammate Hannah Barnes towards her overall victory. A third consecutive second-place finish at Strade Bianche followed; having been dropped by Anna van der Breggen and Elisa Longo Borghini on the penultimate gravel sector, she later rejoined Longo Borghini before dropping her in the final kilometre. A couple of weeks later, she won the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio, after an 8 km solo move; in the process, she moved into the lead of the UCI Women's World Tour rankings. After another top-ten finish at the Tour of Flanders, Niewiadoma returned to the podium at the Tour of California, finishing third on the second stage to South Lake Tahoe, and ultimately third overall in the race.

During the summer months, Niewiadoma recorded finishes of seventh overall at the Giro Rosa, sixth at La Course by Le Tour de France, and fifth overall at the Ladies Tour of Norway, also winning the mountains classification in Norway. Niewiadoma's last warm-up race prior to the UCI Road World Championships was the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche; she won the fifth stage which finished with a summit finish at Mont Lozère, before finishing second to Ruth Winder in Montboucher-sur-Jabron the following day, while gaining 46 seconds on race leader Margarita Victoria García. Taking a 41-second lead into the final stage, Niewiadoma gained further time on García, ultimately finishing 1 minute, 28 seconds clear in the general classification and she also won the mountains classification. In the World Championships, Niewiadoma finished more than seven minutes down on race winner Van der Breggen, in twelfth place.

2019
For the fourth year in a row, Niewiadoma finished in the podium placings at Strade Bianche, adding a third-place finish to her three second-place finishes. Over March and April, Niewiadoma recorded six top-ten finishes (four of which were sixth-place finishes), peaking with victory at the Amstel Gold Race. Niewiadoma attacked on the last ascent of the Cauberg with former teammate Marianne Vos, before pulling clear with a gap of a few seconds over Annemiek van Vleuten; Van Vleuten attempted to close down the margin in the final 2 km but Niewiadoma was able to hold on for her second Women's World Tour one-day victory, after her earlier success at the 2018 Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio.

After a fifth-place overall finish at the Tour of California, Niewiadoma jointly led the team at The Women's Tour with home rider Hannah Barnes. On the fourth stage, which included three ascents in the Burton Dassett Hills (including the race's first hilltop finish), Niewiadoma outsprinted Liane Lippert to the finish line for the victory, moving up to second place overall but on the same time as Lippert. The following day, Niewiadoma finished second to Lizzie Deignan in Builth Wells, with Deignan taking the race lead by one second ahead of Niewiadoma; Deignan added a further second to her advantage on the final day, to take the general classification by its closest winning margin to that point. Niewiadoma did come away from the race with the mountains classification, edging out Christine Majerus by one point.

won the opening stage team time trial at the Giro Rosa, and with Niewiadoma being the first of the team's riders to cross the finish line in Castellania Coppi, she assumed the race leader's pink jersey for the first time in her career. She held the race lead until the fifth stage, when Van Vleuten won by almost three minutes to overturn a previous gap of forty-seven seconds. Niewiadoma's main time loss came on the penultimate stage, finishing at the Altopiano del Montasio, losing almost four minutes compared to Van Vleuten and Anna van der Breggen, dropping her from third to sixth overall; she did regain fifth place in the general classification on the final stage, finishing almost eight minutes down on Van Vleuten. She finished fourth overall at August's Ladies Tour of Norway, but finished outside the top-20 in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire, stating that she had "mentally cracked" during the race. She also extended her contract with until the end of the 2021 season.

2020
Niewiadoma's 2020 season started following the COVID-19 pandemic-enforced suspension of racing, failing to finish at Strade Bianche for the first time in her career. She won her second elite European Road Championships medal, winning a bronze medal in the road race in Plouay, having been part of a four-rider breakaway alongside Annemiek van Vleuten, Elisa Longo Borghini and Chantal Blaak. She again made into the race-winning move at La Course by Le Tour de France two days later, but missed the podium with fourth in the small group sprint. At the Giro Rosa, Niewiadoma spent almost the entire race in the top-three placings, recording two top-three stage finishes on her way to second place overall, behind Anna van der Breggen; she wore the race leader's pink jersey on stage eight, as the overnight leader Van Vleuten withdrew due to injuries suffered in a crash during the finish to the previous stage. Prior to the end of the season, Niewiadoma finished seventh in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships, and tenth at La Flèche Wallonne Féminine.

2021
Having missed the podium with a fourth-place finish at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio, Niewiadoma finished second in a sprint-à-deux with Annemiek van Vleuten in Dwars door Vlaanderen. In April 2021, Niewiadoma signed a new three-year contract with, extending her tenure with the team until the end of the 2024 season. Three top-ten finishes in the Ardennes classics followed, with her best result being another sprint-à-deux loss, this time to Anna van der Breggen, at La Flèche Wallonne Féminine. Further fourth-place finishes came at the Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes and the Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria, before missing out on a stage victory at the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas to Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig. After a sixth-place finish at La Course by Le Tour de France, Niewiadoma elected to forego participation in the Giro Rosa, instead concentrating on the road race at the COVID-19 pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics. Niewiadoma ultimately finished outside the top ten placings, a result that left her "disappointed".

A fourth second-place finish in 2021 occurred for Niewiadoma during the penultimate stage of August's Holland Ladies Tour, missing out to former teammate Marianne Vos. She finished sixth overall at the Challenge by La Vuelta, before contesting the road race at the UEC European Road Championships, where she just missed out on a medal, finishing fourth. Niewiadoma's near-miss was not repeated a fortnight later in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships in the Flanders region of Belgium. Niewiadoma launched several attacks on the circuits in and around Leuven, but was not able to gain clear ground, and the race came back together for a reduced group sprint; despite her attacks, Niewiadoma had enough energy to contend for the medals, and secured a bronze medal behind Elisa Balsamo and Vos, for her first individual World Championships medal. She finished the season with a crash and DNF at Paris–Roubaix Femmes, suffering a sore knee in the process.

2022
Niewiadoma did not grace a race podium until April's Brabantse Pijl, where she outsprinted Liane Lippert for second place behind the race winner, Demi Vollering. At The Women's Tour in June, Niewiadoma finished both of the Welsh stages in second place; on stage four, she was beaten by Grace Brown, while Elisa Longo Borghini beat Niewiadoma the following day. In the final general classification, Longo Borghini beat Brown by one second, with Niewiadoma in third place, five seconds in arrears. In July, she was named as one of the pre-race favourites for the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes, and eventually finished third overall, having recorded five top-ten stage finishes and been in the top-three overall from the second stage. She concluded her season with tenth overall at the Challenge by La Vuelta, and then eighth place in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships, having attacked late on.

2023
Having not won a race since 2019, Niewiadoma attempted to break her win hoodoo in the spring classics, however her best results were fourth in the Amstel Gold Race, and fifth in the Tour of Flanders. She returned to the podium at the Itzulia Women, finishing third on the opening stage and ultimately, third overall behind teammates Marlen Reusser and Demi Vollering.

In October, Niewiadoma won the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships with a solo attack in the final 25 km to beat Silvia Persico and Demi Vollering over a 140 km course in Veneto, Italy.

Personal life
Since 2016, Niewiadoma has been in a relationship with American professional cyclist Taylor Phinney.

Major results
Source:

Gravel

 * 2023
 * 1st Jersey rainbow.svg UCI World Championships
 * 1st Big Sugar

Road

 * 2011
 * Klomnice
 * 1st Road race
 * 9th Time trial
 * UEC European Junior Championships
 * 8th Road race
 * 10th Time trial


 * 2012
 * 2nd Time trial, National Junior Championships
 * Klomnice
 * 7th Time trial
 * 8th Road race


 * 2013
 * 1st MaillotPolonia.PNG National Hill Climb Championships
 * 2nd Overall Langenloiser Radrenntage (ARBO Cup)
 * Klomnice
 * 3rd Road race
 * 3rd Time trial
 * National Championships
 * 4th Road race
 * 4th Time trial
 * 4th Overall Górski Walbrzyski Wyscig Kolarski
 * 4th Cup of Poland – Postomino (ITT)
 * 5th Road race, UEC European Under-23 Championships
 * 7th Overall Tour de Feminin – O cenu Českého Švýcarska
 * 10th Overall Holland Ladies Tour
 * 1st Jersey blue.svg Young rider classification


 * 2014
 * 1st GP du Canton d'Argovie
 * 1st Frauen Prolog Grand Prix Gippingen
 * 3rd Overall Tour of Norway
 * 1st Jersey polkadot.svg Mountains classification
 * 1st Jersey white.svg Young rider classification
 * 3rd Time trial, National Championships
 * 8th Overall Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile – Memorial Michela Fanini
 * 8th Overall Holland Ladies Tour
 * 9th Omloop van het Hageland


 * 2015
 * UEC European Under-23 Championships
 * 1st UEC Champion Jersey.svg Road race
 * 5th Time trial
 * 1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Emakumeen Euskal Bira
 * 1st Jersey polkadot.svg Mountains classification
 * 2nd Silver medal blank.svg Road race, European Games
 * National Championships
 * 2nd Time trial
 * 4th Road race
 * 2nd Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria
 * UCI World Championships
 * 3rd Bronze medal uci.svg Team time trial
 * 7th Road race
 * 3rd Holland Hills Classic
 * 5th Overall Giro d'Italia Femminile
 * 1st Jersey white.svg Young rider classification
 * 5th Overall Belgium Tour
 * 5th La Flèche Wallonne
 * 6th Strade Bianche


 * 2016
 * UEC European Championships
 * 1st European champion jersey 2016.svg Under-23 road race
 * 2nd Silver medal europe.svg Road race
 * National Championships
 * 1st MaillotPolonia.PNG Road race
 * 1st MaillotPolonia.PNG Time trial
 * 1st UCI Womens World Tour - Youth.png Young rider classification, UCI Women's World Tour
 * 1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Festival Luxembourgeois du cyclisme féminin Elsy Jacobs
 * 1st Jersey white.svg Young rider classification
 * 1st Stage 2
 * 1st Jersey pink.svg Overall Giro del Trentino Alto Adige-Südtirol
 * 1st Mountains classification
 * 1st Young rider classification
 * 1st Stages 1 & 2a (TTT)
 * 1st Ronde van Gelderland
 * 2nd Strade Bianche
 * 4th GP de Plouay
 * 4th La Flèche Wallonne
 * 5th Overall Holland Ladies Tour
 * 1st Jersey green.svg Points classification
 * 1st Jersey light blue.svg Young rider classification
 * 1st Stages 3 & 6
 * 6th Road race, Olympic Games
 * 7th Overall Giro d'Italia Femminile
 * 1st Jersey white.svg Young rider classification
 * 7th Trofeo Alfredo Binda
 * 8th Giro dell'Emilia
 * 10th Tour of Flanders


 * 2017
 * 1st Jersey green.svg Overall The Women's Tour
 * 1st Stage 1
 * 2nd Strade Bianche
 * 3rd Amstel Gold Race
 * 3rd Overall UCI Women's World Tour
 * 3rd La Flèche Wallonne
 * 3rd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
 * 5th Road race, UCI World Championships
 * 6th Overall Giro d'Italia Femminile
 * 7th Overall Holland Ladies Tour
 * 8th Tour of Flanders
 * 8th Trofeo Alfredo Binda
 * 9th Dwars door Vlaanderen
 * 9th La Course by Le Tour de France


 * 2018
 * 1st Jersey pink.svg Overall Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche
 * 1st Jersey polkadot.svg Mountains classification
 * 1st Jersey blue.svg Combination classification
 * 1st Stage 5
 * 1st Trofeo Alfredo Binda
 * 2nd Strade Bianche
 * 3rd Overall Tour of California
 * 5th Overall Tour of Norway
 * 1st Jersey polkadot.svg Mountains classification
 * 6th La Course by Le Tour de France
 * 7th Overall Setmana Ciclista Valenciana
 * 7th Overall Giro Rosa
 * 8th Dwars door Vlaanderen
 * 9th Tour of Flanders
 * 10th GP de Plouay


 * 2019
 * 1st Amstel Gold Race
 * 2nd Overall The Women's Tour
 * 1st Jersey black.svg Mountains classification
 * 1st Stage 4
 * 3rd Strade Bianche
 * 4th Overall Tour of Norway
 * 5th Overall Tour of California
 * 5th Overall Giro Rosa
 * 1st Stage 1 (TTT)
 * 6th Trofeo Alfredo Binda
 * 6th Tour of Flanders
 * 6th La Flèche Wallonne
 * 6th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
 * 10th Dwars door Vlaanderen


 * 2020
 * 2nd Overall Giro Rosa
 * 3rd Bronze medal europe.svg Road race, UEC European Championships
 * 4th La Course by Le Tour de France
 * 7th Road race, UCI World Championships
 * 10th La Flèche Wallonne


 * 2021
 * 2nd La Flèche Wallonne
 * 2nd Dwars door Vlaanderen
 * 3rd bronze medal uci.svg Road race, UCI World Championships
 * 4th Road race, UEC European Championships
 * 4th Trofeo Alfredo Binda
 * 4th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
 * 4th Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria
 * 6th Overall Challenge by La Vuelta
 * 6th La Course by Le Tour de France
 * 8th Overall BeNe Ladies Tour
 * 9th Strade Bianche
 * 10th Overall Vuelta a Burgos
 * 10th Amstel Gold Race


 * 2022
 * 2nd Brabantse Pijl
 * 3rd Overall Tour de France
 * 3rd Overall The Women's Tour
 * 4th Strade Bianche
 * 5th Amstel Gold Race
 * 6th Overall Setmana Ciclista Valenciana
 * 8th Road race, UCI World Championships
 * 8th Tour of Flanders
 * 9th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
 * 10th Overall Challenge by La Vuelta


 * 2023
 * 3rd Overall Tour de France
 * 1st Jersey polkadot.svg Mountains classification
 * Jersey red number.svg Combativity award Stage 7
 * 3rd Overall Itzulia Women
 * 4th Overall Tour de Suisse
 * 4th Amstel Gold Race
 * 5th Tour of Flanders
 * 6th Strade Bianche
 * 10th Overall La Vuelta Femenina


 * 2024
 * 1st La Flèche Wallonne
 * 2nd Overall Setmana Ciclista Valenciana
 * 2nd Tour of Flanders
 * 4th Strade Bianche
 * 5th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
 * 7th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad