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Published on:

13th Sep 2024

Kasia Niewiadoma: The queen of the Tour de France Femmes

Kasia Niewiadoma breaks down the exceptional 2024 Tour de France Femmes sharing the inside track of that incredible victory. Kasia also had a life changing year away from the road, marrying her long term partner Taylor Phinney. Now she joins the podcast to discusses her goals in cycling and her plans for the future.

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Transcript
Speaker:

Hello everyone, and welcome back

to another stage of the odd tandem.

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We have a very special guest

who had a very special:

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She won Fleche Wallone.

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She got married.

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She won the tour de France Femmes Jensie.

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How awesome was it having Kasia

Niewiadoma-Phinney on the pod today?

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It was absolutely fantastic.

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I mean, talking about her marriage,

you know,

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where do you want to go

and, have dinner their party

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We talked about the Tour de France,

how close it was four seconds.

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She won the tour de France.

She explained to us the entire day.

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She went through all the pain

she went through.

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So it was absolutely fantastic

talking to her.

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And I've known Taylor Phinney

for a long time.

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He is obviously a super fan and super

supporter of Kasia He is also responsible

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for doing our Little Diddly

during the intro and the outro music.

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So it's just funny how

that kind of everything comes together.

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So relax, sit back and enjoy

the conversation today with Kasia.

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All right everyone, very, very special

guests we have today on the odd tandem.

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The world knows her as Kasia

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Niewiadoma, but now it's Kasia Niewadoma.

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Phinney.

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Welcome to the show.

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Thank you so much for having me.

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Oh, well,

I tell you, I could not be happier.

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And we're talking about,

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you know, we had you on an earlier

podcast under a different name,

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and, we asked Taylor

when he was going to put a ring on it,

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and he did that.

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It seemed like you guys came back

to America for a little bit of a,

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you know, training camp or a vacation.

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And you went back to Europe,

a married woman.

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Tell us about the whole process.

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So much happened this year.

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So we got engaged last year,

just after tour de France.

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And then we kind of started

playing the wedding.

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But I feel like none of us really knew

what we wanted at the end.

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And like, the whole plan especially

that weddings in Poland are huge.

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It's like a two day event.

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And it's a big thing.

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So in some ways I was like, damn,

I don't know if I'm ready for such

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a massive planning, and especially that

this year has been already quite big.

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So all we knew

is that we just wanted to be married

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and to kind of like

move on in the relationship.

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So we decided to elope.

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We flew to Colorado,

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got married in Colorado mountains,

and yeah,

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it was super easy and very unique

and special for both of us.

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So, yeah, now we kind of need

to start playing the ceremony

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or the official part, but,

we're just happy with how everything went.

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It was very true to who we are. So.

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So. Yeah.

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And now I'm mature, a mature lady.

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And am you planning

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a second part of that, wedding in Poland

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with your family site,

or how how is that going to be,

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played out?

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Yeah.

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To be honest, I'm very indecisive person

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because one day I wake up and I'm like,

okay, we're getting married in Poland,

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and I'm like, talk with Polish people,

planning everything,

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organizing everything.

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And all of the sudden I'm like,

I don't know, maybe it should be Spain

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or maybe Andorra or like,

I just change locations

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all the time and, yeah, I don't know.

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I feel like we also were talking that

because as an athletes,

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we are faced with so many different

big events

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that having a big wedding

is not something that we resonate with.

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So perhaps it's gonna I don't know,

but we also change our mind self.

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And so to be honest, none of us really

know what are we going to end up with.

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We kind of have a date

for the official wedding, but,

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nothing major is booked or planned.

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Yeah, we we got eloped.

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Or my wife

and I eloped in:

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And, we went to Hawaii.

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Kind of on a vacation,

and we just said, you know what?

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I don't have the energy

to do all this planning stuff

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and look at the invite lists.

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So we looked and we, the funny thing

was, you have to have witnesses, right?

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So the witness was the photographer

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slash video videographer,

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and then the,

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the ukulele player,

because we were in Hawaii.

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So on our, on our marriage certificate,

there's the,

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the giant gentleman that was the ukulele

player, that was our, was,

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so but it made things a little bit easier

because, like you said,

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you have a busy schedule.

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I mean, you're a professional athlete.

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You have to train. You have to recover.

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It's very, very difficult to,

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take the time,

especially during the season, to do it.

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So. Yeah.

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Congratulations. Thank you.

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I couldn't be happier.

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I mean, it's been a, Yeah,

a huge year for you.

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But before we get into all the nuts

and bolts of,

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the podcast, we have a couple quick fire

questions for you.

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You ready for these?

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Yeah.

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Ready.

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Okay, so, favorite one day race

because you've won them both Fleche

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Wallone or Amstel Gold.

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I think it's Strade Bianche,

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but if I have to choose between

both of them, I would say I'm still

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okay.

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That's perfect for this next question,

then, Because you're reigning world

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gravel champion and reigning tour de

France Femmes champion.

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What's your favorite surface?

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Gravel or road?

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Die hard road?

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To be honest, I just love road riding.

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Gravel is something

that, gives like some sort of,

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I don't know, variety

to my training schedule, but anytime

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I'm on the road, I'm like,

oh yeah, finally I'm back.

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Okay, okay, so we know that your new

husband is a man of many, many talents.

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Mate, you know,

I've known him a very, very long time.

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He is an amazing individual.

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So what is the

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your favorite meal

that Taylor cooks for you?

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He actually just made pasta party for me,

so, I mean, we call it pasta party.

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Basically, it consists of a huge bowl

filled with pasta and different,

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different flavors in there.

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But I had a big ride today.

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So he was on dinner duty.

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Okay, okay.

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He is he is quite the, he's the man.

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He's the supporter. Yeah. Yeah.

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So last one, what is your preferred way

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of winning by seconds or by minutes

by four seconds.

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Yeah.

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I think we were just saying after

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the race that I need to really embrace

those four seconds

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and kind of a joke around the phone,

or we actually also started ?

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called four seconds.

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Hey, once we start with the four seconds

now, that brings us straight back, to,

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Yeah, another big part of your year

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apart from the wedding

was these four seconds.

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The morning of the

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last stage,

did you think you had enough time

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in your hands

to play for the yellow jersey to keep it?

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Or you were like, well, I don't know.

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How is this gonna play out?

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You're going to attack early or not?

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At the morning of this stage,

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how did you feel about your advantage?

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Then,

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to be honest,

I think that throughout the whole tour

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I wasn't really paying much attention

to the time difference

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between me and other riders,

because just from the experience, I know,

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that if I study the results

after each stage,

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I somehow get too hard on myself or

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I get in some ways insecure.

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So what I usually do

is, is like focus on each stage

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personally, like what I could do best

and like together with my team.

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So, of course, reconning the,

final stage,

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I knew that it was going to be super hard

and on and on.

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And I'll do it

as you can lose, like four minutes easily.

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You know, it's such a long,

long climbs that once

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your legs say no, it's like Adele,

you know, bye bye.

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But I just knew in some ways,

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having those two hard climbs

make things easier,

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because it's now that we've finished

the tour de France in the list

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where positioning is super important

and like you're on those small roads

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and there are so many different factors

that can affect your result.

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I knew that all I have to do

is just do my best, and it was one option.

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There were no other options.

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I mean, of course

like backing up or slowing down

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could have been an option,

but it would never cross my mind.

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So even on Glandon

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when Demi went and I did feel I just like

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did feel great at that point, I felt like,

okay, it's still a long way to go.

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And I kind of carried on my pace and yeah,

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but the morning before,

I think also with the team,

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because I've been with my team

for so many years that I feel

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very comfortable and I can be myself

and they know how to support me

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and what to tell me to like,

keep me sane and not crazy.

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So that was helping because everyone just

let me be who I wanted to be.

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And no one was like,

you got this or like whatever.

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It was just very chilled.

And there were like,

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just before we started,

they just told me, we believe in you.

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And I think I was kind of carrying

that thought

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in my head for a long time.

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Well,

I know we're going to get back to that,

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but I want to kind of back up

a little bit, you know,

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the preparation for the Olympics.

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And then immediately after the the tour de

France Femmes, how did you prepare?

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Because I mean, you're preparing a one day

very, very important race.

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And then a few days later,

starting the biggest stage race on the

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Women's World Tour calendar.

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What was

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your mindset going into the Olympics?

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Because I read some things that you were

a little bit disappointed and,

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you know, you had a fire in your belly

from stage one of the tour de France.

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That was very, very apparent to us

super fans watching you.

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But what was your preparation leading up

to the Olympics with the tour de France,

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the tour de France, from

just a few days after?

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Yeah.

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So to be honest, I was mainly focusing

on tour de France preparation,

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just because I know that for me

it's very easy

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to pick up on those like 30s

to three minutes afterwards.

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I think that that's something

that I have naturally, like I need 1

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or 2 sessions in order to feel strong

in that area and like feel sharp.

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But long climbs is still my weaker part,

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and it's something that requires

extra work.

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So with my coach,

we were focusing for four weeks.

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I mean, actually at the classic directly

just on the tour de France.

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The last two stages, especially,

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so then like two weeks before Olympics,

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we kind of added some sharpness.

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And after two sessions, as I said before,

I was like, okay, I'm ready.

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Like, I got this.

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I don't need to work too much on it.

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And also, you know,

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when you race the whole spring,

you naturally still have it in your body.

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And luckily I wasn't injured or I didn't

have any health problems beforehand.

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So I feel like I was able to maintain

all the work

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that they build up

from January on in my body.

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So Olympics definitely was a big goal

and I felt strong coming from altitude.

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But then like being stuck behind the crash

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and not making the move to bridge

across earlier, but kind of like waiting.

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I think I just made the mistake

of like leaving

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nothing but like wanting others

to do their work beforehand.

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So then I could use it and bridge across.

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But then, like there were

not that many others who wanted to

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bring the breakaway closer or the group

that was there.

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So I just ended up racing to

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to get back to the front

instead of like racing for the medal.

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So that was very, disappointing

in the way that I felt that I couldn't

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get rewarded for all the hard work and

all the sacrifice I was doing beforehand.

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And I know that I spent

like months on altitude

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and then like, you have this big goal

and it doesn't go as you planned.

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So it's like, then I was like,

what am I doing?

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Like, you know, I'm spending so much time

preparing for something

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and I cannot even

get like slight reward. So

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on the other hand, it was nice to like

get that tour started

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because that was a nice distraction

from Olympic heartbreak.

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Let's say.

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In the Olympics, you realized

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your shape was actually better

than your result, right?

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Yeah.

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What was your mindset

going into the tour de France?

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Do you said, hey team, I am really good.

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I'm trying to win.

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Or you go, let's aim for a podium.

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What was your mindset

going into to Women's Tour de France?

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I think from the moment I started

preparing for tour de France,

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I was saying loudly that I come

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to win this race,

that I do all the work to win the race,

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just because in the past

I felt like I was kind of shying away

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from expressing what I really want

because like that I would want to avoid,

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like this failure feeling afterwards

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or, I don't know, like somehow

protecting myself.

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And then, this year I realized that

the more I express what I want,

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the more faith there is also inside me,

and I can grab it so,

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together with my team,

we just knew that we are

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here to win the bike race and to win

the biggest bike race in the world,

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and that felt or that statement

within stress.

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Anyone out or winning

with any sort of tension or nervousness.

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Within us, everyone was just like like,

let's fucking do it.

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Like positive energy, but also very

empowering and everyone wants it together.

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So, I think that just with my team over

the last couple of years,

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we really created the

atmosphere or the vibe that

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is helping, especially

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riders, to to just be themselves

and to express what they want

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and get the full back up and support

for that.

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Well, talk about support.

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Stage five.

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You had it, Demi.

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Didn't you know you're

coming into the final six kilometers?

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That terrible crash happens.

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The race is full gas.

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Yeah.

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And you have Chloe Dygert on the front.

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Just absolutely drilling it when you know

what happened behind happened behind.

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That's bike racing, Yeah, right.

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Was that planned that Chloe

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would take you into that final sector?

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And drill it all the way to the finish

to to make sure

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that you were in good position?

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Or was that was that lucky?

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To avoid that, that crash.

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So stage five

was the only stage that we never recon

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like none of us, had seen that either

riders or directors.

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It was like an unknown fate for us.

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So, of course, with Veloviewer,

you can see that, okay, there's a descent

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quite close to the final section,

and with some weird corners.

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So we got to be in the front.

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I think that every single team is told

to be in the front in sections like this.

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So, it was chaotic

just before we hit the descent,

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and I was so lucky

actually having Soraya [Paladin] bringing

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Chloe and I to the front,

she did just in the last moment.

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And then we were sitting on the SD Worx

wheels.

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So I was like, okay, this is sweet.

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I see everything

what's happening like, let's do it.

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And the last one point,

I think seven kms were uphill.

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So we knew that

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that would be like a chance

for me to maybe gain some seconds, like,

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I think that I feel confident saying

that I'm better at the shorter punchy

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stuff than Demi is, Demi is a better

climber, long term climber,

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let's say so I thought maybe I can like

I don’t know strip a couple of seconds.

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So having Chloe there was a plan to like

have there

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all the way until like whenever

I was supposed to attack.

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But then of course like we saw the

the group of only like I think

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ten riders and we also like

they have all of our teammates.

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So like she started to ride

hard on the flats already.

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So I was like, okay,

the moment she's tired, I just let go.

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And the first thought was like, we go for

the sprint and actually finishing second.

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I was like, super disappointed

because I thought that I almost had it.

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I didn't know that Blanca [Vas] was there.

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Then I was like kind of angry.

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And then they tell me like,

oh, we got in yellow.

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So that was like a nice roller coaster

that it ended up with, with the reward.

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Another question about that day.

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Were you aware

or were you surprised by the tactics of,

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team SD Works with, you know, like,

it's just Vas going for the win?

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Lorena Wiebes sprinted for top ten. Yeah.

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And maybe, not enough

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riders got called back to help.

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To help Demi Vollering to limit the loss.

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Was surprised by that.

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Or was it just chaos and chaotic

and there was no radio connection there?

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Yeah, it was definitely super chaotic.

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I think that also a lot of riders

were very tired

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because the stage was relentless.

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We were going up and down

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and everyone tried to be in the breakaway

and the breakaway never, never went.

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So, you know, those stages were there

just attacks to go into breakaway.

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But always somebody brings it.

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Then it's

it's like a washing machine for 4.5 hours.

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So I do remember just like being,

you know in this days of like let's

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okay, five kicks ago or whatever, you just

focus on the final and it's so loud.

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And to be honest,

I was unaware of anything that happened

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until like after the finish line

when we actually saw

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some social media content

and some videos cause...

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No one knew what was going

on, and I don't know

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if even if the SD Worx girls knew

what was going on because it's also like,

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it's not that you always have cars just

behind you and the connection is amazing.

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So yeah, it was,

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I think in the finals,

especially when it's like up and down

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and lots of corners, it's hard

to even like be so connected

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with what they tell you in the radio,

because you also focus not to crash

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or not to like do anything that would cost

you your time so

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I can see them, just like riding blindly

at the end of the day.

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But then also, I don't know,

like I know that

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when they crash on the first stage,

the girls waited for me directly

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and no one told like,

hey, you have to wait for.

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Yeah. Like they,

you know, at two to wait for me.

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So I don't know, that comes with like,

what is your relationship

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with the teammates or maybe there is

something that we don't know about

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and probably will never,

you know, will never learn.

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Thanks for telling our viewers

and our listeners a little bit about,

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the lack of radio contact

sometimes, like everyone just assumes,

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because we see it on TV

and we know what's going on that,

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that everybody in the peloton does.

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But like you said,

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if the car’s not right behind you

or the batteries or the battery in

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the thing is a little bit low,

you know, it's flying blind.

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But yeah, especially I would say it

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like I know

that almost every single classic I finish,

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I finish last 20kms without the radio,

just because peloton consists

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of like 150 girls

and there are just groups everywhere.

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And it's not that the jury lets

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the car to, like, blast

through all the girls and go to the front.

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So I feel like it's normal

that you lose the connection.

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It's nothing unusual, special, and maybe

indeed people don't know about it.

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Okay, so I find myself in this situation

quite often.

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Jens was a yellow.

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He wore the yellow jersey multiple times,

many of our guests do.

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So I'm always left out

because I never wore the yellow jersey.

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Oh no.

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I want to hear about you

getting up on the podium

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for the first time ever and putting on

the most coveted jersey in cycling.

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What was that experience like?

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To be honest, the first

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time wasn't as special

as the following days.

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Just because the circumstances,

just because in some ways

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I felt like as if I did something today.

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Me so I took that, I don't know,

as if I stole that jersey, you know,

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because there is this

this there was direct

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talk of like all day we crash and like,

nobody waited for her.

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And you hear it

and you feel it everywhere.

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So like, I definitely

had a nice moment with my team,

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but they feel like it

just felt a little odd in some ways.

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And then like, the following days

were like a full celebration.

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But I mean,

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you just told us before you had a crash

early in that race as well.

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So everybody goes through some bad luck,

right?

388

:

It is.

389

:

I mean, Bobby and me we had that Oh, yeah.

390

:

That is just part of it. Right.

391

:

Fortunately, your crash wasn't too bad.

392

:

Right on.

393

:

Earlier in the race, but,

so there's no no need to feel guilty.

394

:

I just want to say that because everybody

has his share of bad luck and good luck.

395

:

Yeah, yeah. Of course.

396

:

And this is part of racing.

397

:

And I think if you crash, I mean,

398

:

everyone reacts to crashes differently

and everyone crashes.

399

:

In a way

that we cannot experience ourselves.

400

:

So I don't know,

like what people feel like.

401

:

I know that my first instinct is to,

like, quickly

402

:

find my bike and go, you know, like,

you just want to ride.

403

:

You don't want to, stay.

404

:

You just,

like, feel like you got to be moving.

405

:

Sometimes I feel like I jump on the bike

and I don't have a chain on.

406

:

And then you have to, like, stop again

and, like, fix your bike somehow.

407

:

So, yeah, like, on the first stage,

actually,

408

:

there were so many crashes

because we started in Rotterdam.

409

:

That's where we lost our teammate.

410

:

Elise [Chabbey].

411

:

And like, crashing there wasn't ideal

because the following day

412

:

we had the double stage.

413

:

So, like, waking up super early

than, like, getting on a bike.

414

:

Like, I felt quite broken.

415

:

But then luckily, like, I kind of, like,

416

:

was able to heal myself quite quick.

417

:

So, yeah, it all depends on the timing

418

:

and like how you deal with it

and how you move on.

419

:

Tell me a little bit more

about that double stage,

420

:

because the only double stage

that I remember

421

:

doing as a pro

was Criterium International.

422

:

But we, we, you know,

that was a very special day

423

:

because it was the day

that the daylight savings started.

424

:

So we lost an hour.

425

:

So we had to get up even earlier.

426

:

And then Jens would normally crush

everybody in the morning stage.

427

:

And then the time

trial was in the afternoon

428

:

and it was a two day,

three day, two day three stage race.

429

:

And it was Jensie,

430

:

probably one of the most stressful races

that we do all year because of that.

431

:

And you got

432

:

you ladies had a double day

thrown in on stage.

433

:

What.

434

:

Two in the second,

second and third stage.

435

:

So a road stage and then a very short time

trial in the afternoon.

436

:

But then you had six more road stages

after that.

437

:

Yeah.

438

:

Tell our viewers and our listeners

what it's like

439

:

or what what you experienced

in your team experience during that

440

:

uber stressful

second day of the tour de France.

441

:

Yeah, to be honest,

I think that like, huge appreciation

442

:

should go towards our staff members

because mechanics had to deal.

443

:

Okay. You have seven riders.

444

:

We have two bikes each on the road,

445

:

two bikes each on its proper time trail.

446

:

So you have four bikes for a rider

that you have to take care of.

447

:

And you have to maintain

and make sure that everything is working.

448

:

So. And same thing.

449

:

They are working, extremely early

just to prepare everything for us.

450

:

So I will say that for the rider is

451

:

in some ways manageable

because you just follow the schedule.

452

:

But I don't think it's very fair

for people

453

:

who work around

to make our lives easier, because

454

:

I when I

455

:

saw them just basically all out,

you know, full guys.

456

:

I told them from the start

until the evening,

457

:

and then it was just day two, you know,

then the bigger stages are coming.

458

:

So, yeah, it wasn't

I don't know what was the idea behind it,

459

:

but personally

I wasn't a biggest fan of it.

460

:

And, I remember from the days

with, split days, your body really,

461

:

or your mind wants to go to sleep

after the first stage.

462

:

Oh, yeah.

463

:

But you cannot.

464

:

You have to keep yourself somehow.

465

:

You can go into some meditation mode,

but you're not allowed to sleep at all,

466

:

because then the fatigue five hours

to wake your body up again.

467

:

Right. And it's tricky.

468

:

You eat something and then your body goes,

okay, this is my time to rest

469

:

and to sleep and, and but you go,

no, no, no, you cannot go to sleep, right?

470

:

Yeah. How was it for you?

471

:

Yeah, definitely.

472

:

In some ways, call it.

473

:

We were lucky, but it was such a busy day

for us moving from place to another.

474

:

Especially that we were changing hotels

and there's like logistics of packing and

475

:

but still like coming back to a hotel

to take a shower and like to get a lunch.

476

:

So we ended up just being also in a rush

477

:

for the whole day, actually,

for like the whole tour was like

478

:

there was no time at all for yourself

to kind of like

479

:

sit down and chill a second because,

480

:

maybe because we started in Holland,

so transfers were quite long,

481

:

and then you arrive to the starting venue

and there's always more things

482

:

to do before the tour.

483

:

And then,

484

:

yeah, I felt like we were just in the move

all the time.

485

:

When you get to the hotel and so quickly

486

:

go get the massage quickly,

go get the dinner.

487

:

Little key meaning.

488

:

And then it's like 9:30.

And what do you do?

489

:

You just, like, quickly

check your messages and you go to sleep.

490

:

Did you feel having the yellow jersey

that you had,

491

:

a lot more responsibility after the race

in terms of press conference and stuff?

492

:

Because you're no stranger to being on

the podium of the tour de France Femmes.

493

:

You've done it twice. But yeah.

494

:

What what was that like?

495

:

Because we rarely hear how much extra time

and energy that that takes from.

496

:

Yeah, the yellow jersey wears.

497

:

To be honest, that experience

498

:

definitely made me think of Pogacar

or any rider in the grand tour

499

:

that has to do it for like say it,

500

:

let's say two weeks because you don't

get the jersey straight away.

501

:

But it's definitely our plus

because it's podium as a driving control.

502

:

It's like TV

and then it’s a press conference.

503

:

And it's not that you go to those

like sometimes

504

:

you have to wait for

things, so you just end up,

505

:

arriving

506

:

hour to hour and a half

after your teammates.

507

:

But in with the yellow jersey on your,

on your shoulders.

508

:

Did you experience that the public

recognizes you more, give you more support

509

:

because from my experience,

the defense are fairly fair.

510

:

Whoever's in a yellow jersey,

a French, an American or a Polish rider

511

:

did give you full applause

and respect was a decision.

512

:

Yeah. Your case?

513

:

Yeah.

514

:

It was definitely a very nice experience,

515

:

not only for myself,

but also for my whole team.

516

:

It was really cool

to see how that jersey awakens.

517

:

People like, I don't know, everyone

recognized was recognizing us

518

:

and wishing us

good luck and being our best friend.

519

:

I definitely see why tour de France

is so special for a lot of riders.

520

:

It's because you go through those

experiences that basically never happened.

521

:

You know, it's just very unique and

522

:

it's also very beautiful to feel

that support

523

:

coming from strangers, because it's not

that these people know us,

524

:

but they genuinely come,

525

:

to just watch us race

and they want to be friends in some way.

526

:

So it was really nice

because it's all sort of people,

527

:

you know, starting from young girls

to like our older guys.

528

:

Everyone is just there for

529

:

one purpose, like the beauty of cycling.

530

:

So that was really cool.

531

:

So over here in the States,

we had the stream,

532

:

the coverage, and on stage eight,

you know, you took the jersey and stage

533

:

five defend it

and six and seven and stage eight

534

:

the it was a little bit delayed.

535

:

So we didn't get to watch anything

until basically halfway up the Glandon.

536

:

So I'm sitting there like excited as all

get out,

537

:

and halfway up the Glandon.

538

:

Everything's in order.

539

:

I have five.

540

:

My wife and I have five rescue dogs,

and they were ringing

541

:

the doggie doorbells,

so I had to take them outside.

542

:

I walked around and I said, hey,

you know, they've got,

543

:

you know, six

more kms of the Glandon to go.

544

:

It's all going to go down on the,

on the, on the Alpe d’Huez.

545

:

So I'm out there walking them around.

546

:

They're taking their own sweet time.

547

:

I come back in and all of a sudden

I don't even know what I'm

548

:

watching anymore because you're,

you're like 40s away from Demi.

549

:

And I just left to walk

my dogs, like, ten minutes prior.

550

:

I understand

551

:

that you went through

a little bit of a bad moment there,

552

:

which all cyclists do, but

553

:

on the descent in the yellow jersey,

554

:

you're in a group of, you know, 5 or 6,

555

:

normally in that situation,

556

:

every other woman, every other person

in that group would just point to you

557

:

and say, it's your job,

but you had some help from Lucinda Brand.

558

:

I think it was from Lidl-Trek

559

:

and I she, she, she did more than her fair

share of work. Yes.

560

:

She had a teammate, what I found

interesting is she's also Dutch.

561

:

And Demi, who was up

the road was Dutch was it didn't seem like

562

:

you guys were, were talking,

but that was probably the most valuable

563

:

teammate or person you could have had

in that group at that time.

564

:

Yeah.

565

:

Was that talked about

or was that just that tactic

566

:

for little track to get their climber

a little bit closer before Alpe

567

:

d’Huez just happened to help you?

568

:

Yeah,

I think they had their own on business

569

:

because Gaia [Realini] is known

as a very good climber and I think, Alpe

570

:

d’Huez suited her perfectly

because it's steep and she's very small.

571

:

So usually does the climb

where she makes a difference.

572

:

If it was like say 4 or 5% climb,

then I guess it would be harder for her.

573

:

So I think they had

like a full belief in Gaia.

574

:

But of course that work was perfect for me

575

:

and we know each other very well

and we love each other also.

576

:

I think that would actually

I think that this whole tour

577

:

was like, beautiful rewards

for all the years I was racing.

578

:

Because

even when I think about last year, turmoil

579

:

like when I was out there in the valley

on my own,

580

:

they only had like two teammates

helping her to bring the gap closer.

581

:

They like, close me to five seconds

at the end and now I happen to have some

582

:

not not teammates, but riders

that were happy to rotate with me.

583

:

And I just like thought that, you know, in

some ways it's not like a life karma,

584

:

but it was really nice

to see certain moments

585

:

that were just like falling

perfectly into places.

586

:

So, I think it comes to just like

being also,

587

:

you know, if you like somebody,

you don't mind working together, I think

588

:

because, yeah, we had a good laughter

after the finish line.

589

:

I like that the strikes send me

590

:

a message with his credit card number

591

:

saying, like, you can transfer the money

to this account.

592

:

So that was really fun.

593

:

Yeah.

594

:

And with, being a little bit

595

:

behind me, did you feel the pressure

to take more risk on the downhill

596

:

or you descend it within your limits,

like always?

597

:

Or you said, I can gain 10s extra here

598

:

if I go down faster.

599

:

I definitely wasn't thinking

about gaining some time on the descent

600

:

just because, anytime I would create

a gap between losing and Gaia losing,

601

:

that would be waiting for Gaia

and I knew that I need to sign that

602

:

for the club section,

so I kind of like, try to stay with them.

603

:

Yeah.

604

:

That was I was kind of

I don't know, to be honest.

605

:

It was so weird.

606

:

But the whole stage I felt calm.

607

:

Definitely.

608

:

On Glandon. It's a long climb.

609

:

It's like 8kms.

610

:

I think that it's not,

of course, all about it, but I think what

611

:

they did wrongly on that climb was that

612

:

they only had like a little bit of bottle.

613

:

I didn't think anything.

614

:

And it's like almost an hour effort.

615

:

So towards the end I just felt like,

you know, when you go hard

616

:

but you feel like that

pain lingers around.

617

:

It's not that you go hard

and you process the pain

618

:

and it's like kind of

is there and you feel it,

619

:

but it's like staying in your body

and it builds up.

620

:

So that's what

I started to feel towards the end.

621

:

And then Demi attacked and I was like,

sweet of course she attacks now.

622

:

So on the descent I quickly like took

623

:

whatever I had in my pockets.

624

:

And as you descend from from Glandon,

625

:

halfway through

you have this very short, painful kicker.

626

:

It's like one.

627

:

Okay. 10%.

628

:

Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, I remember no.

629

:

Oh, yeah.

630

:

Yeah, you're at the top. And then,

one more little.

631

:

Yeah. Got so. Oh yeah. Exactly. Yeah. So

632

:

after, like,

633

:

having some food at the table of Glandon,

I was like, thinking about this kicker.

634

:

And I was like, oh, man.

635

:

Like, it's going to be the worst.

636

:

But then I started it

and I'm like, yo, I'm like, this is good.

637

:

Like,

I could just find my pace, find my rhythm.

638

:

And then that was actually the moment

where I was like, okay,

639

:

like fuel as much as you can and like,

anything is possible.

640

:

That's when I actually started to think,

to stay more focused and concentrated

641

:

and like, the game isn't finished

because I felt like I was back.

642

:

I wasn't just like slow

and sluggish person on the bike,

643

:

but I had my energy back.

644

:

But for us on TV, we had so much

more information than than you had.

645

:

Yeah, things,

things were going back and forth.

646

:

But it wasn't just Demi,

it was Paulina Rooijakkers

647

:

who was with her that could also win

the tour de France Femmes.

648

:

Yeah, she won the sprint.

649

:

I mean, it's two of the most dangerous

ladies going up the road.

650

:

You refill your belly, and basically,

it's an individual time trial.

651

:

Up, up to us, right? Yeah.

652

:

So did you know the time gaps?

653

:

And if you did,

what was your pacing strategy for that?

654

:

Because we were on pins and needles

the whole entire time, you know.

655

:

And then, you know, I took into account

the time bonus sprints.

656

:

And, you know, I saw like right away

657

:

I said she won it, but on TV

they weren't sure.

658

:

And yeah, what

what was going through your head?

659

:

Switch back

after switch back on that iconic climb

660

:

where one day, you know,

you just find yourself in this situation

661

:

where you have to give everything

for the yellow jersey.

662

:

All the marbles are on, on in play here.

663

:

What was that all about?

664

:

What was take us through that hole?

665

:

To be honest,

I started the climb because, you know,

666

:

the first two cars are quite steep.

667

:

It's like straight and steep.

668

:

And I started it.

669

:

I was like, I'm not looking at the power.

670

:

I just like, follow my feelings.

671

:

And I, like, quickly

glance down and I'm like, oh shit.

672

:

Like,

I have to do that for the whole climb.

673

:

And then I was like, kind of like,

oh no, like, what did I put myself into,

674

:

you know?

675

:

And then I was like,

okay, now just do it. Do it.

676

:

And, at some point

677

:

I got into this phase

where I knew that I just have no choice.

678

:

And what can I do now either I stop

and I quit, or I just, like,

679

:

carry on this immensely

difficult and uncomfortable pace.

680

:

So they just said, so,

681

:

there was like so much going on

from the crowd and from my radio.

682

:

So I was like,

683

:

could you please stop talking to me

like I needed some sort of silence?

684

:

So the team gave me a moment

where I could just

685

:

because, like, you know, when you train,

for the most part,

686

:

like you hear nothing is the silence

and you find your rhythm and you, like,

687

:

feel your body.

688

:

And I felt like I was needing it

so much to just, like,

689

:

be in silence for a second

because it was so loud and cold again.

690

:

So much pain going through the body.

691

:

They stopped talking immediately,

and then I was like, oh shit.

692

:

Like, I actually need them.

693

:

Like I need

also some sort of guidance and timing.

694

:

And then I was able to find my rhythm.

695

:

And then I started to go further, further.

696

:

And the guys realized that actually, it's

not that gap is growing.

697

:

They were getting more and more excited

than like,

698

:

giving me some sort of,

tips and pieces of advice.

699

:

But to be honest,

700

:

it's like it's still hard, like crazy

for me to even talk about this experience

701

:

because it was such a crazy pain.

702

:

And I think, like all of us

went through it in some ways

703

:

because it's like you just know

that you cannot bog down,

704

:

like you cannot slow down,

you cannot do anything.

705

:

So the only thing I was like,

kind of hoping to get this

706

:

like some sort of drafting in the corner

section sometimes before the corner.

707

:

I would like one riders a vehicle

or guy two to go through

708

:

so I could get a little sort of recovery

because every corner is like flattens out.

709

:

But there's actually

710

:

it is always laughing at me, like what

I was doing, like, you know, flicking

711

:

elbow on like a 10% gradient,

like it wasn't going to help at all.

712

:

But yeah, it was insane suffering

713

:

and so rewarding at the end.

714

:

But I did like set any sort of tactic.

715

:

It was just like,

716

:

let's see, like I have no choice.

717

:

Just go as hard as I can,

hoping that it was going to

718

:

be finished as soon as possible.

719

:

Jensie sorry, a quick follow up question.

720

:

How long did you ask

or how long were you granted

721

:

your moment of Zen with silence?

722

:

Maybe for like for three four case?

723

:

Okay, so a significant amount.

724

:

Yeah, okay.

725

:

But it was perfect. Yeah, it was perfect.

726

:

And, I guess you already answered

my next question.

727

:

If you would have lost to tour de

France was four seconds,

728

:

would you find a place where

you could have gone a little bit faster,

729

:

or you were all the time

perfectly at the mix?

730

:

Yeah,

I, I definitely know that, I'll do it.

731

:

It was all I had.

732

:

It was maximum because, like,

733

:

like the last especially

734

:

three guys were so hard

that where I, the attack

735

:

I like I had Tay[lor Phinney]

and my friend David running

736

:

next to me and I being recognized them

like I didn't see anything.

737

:

And I remember this moment

seeing any going.

738

:

And in my head directly, I'm like,

no, like I, I'm not doing it.

739

:

But somehow my body carried me on.

740

:

So it was very interesting

because normally I feel like buddy doesn't

741

:

want to do it, but you like mentally

force yourself to do something

742

:

and this time I just like kind of stood up

743

:

and grinded my way back to to her wheel.

744

:

But I know, like I was actually thinking

745

:

because it's like very, popular now.

746

:

Like how high cadence,

you can have going uphill.

747

:

And that's something I struggle with.

748

:

Like my cadence is never high.

749

:

So I was like researching past winners

and their cadences or their riding style.

750

:

And of course, like, I came across Pantani

and the fact that he was like,

751

:

out of the saddle in the drops,

like going uphill.

752

:

So I was training

before the tour de France

753

:

and that was like doing some Air Force.

754

:

And just when

755

:

I was like getting super dead, I was like,

let's try that one time you think?

756

:

And I was like, actually, it's

working for like 1 minute or 2 minutes.

757

:

So I was just like grinding that,

like trying to get some extra power.

758

:

So just to confirm something,

759

:

Taylor, the love of your life,

your lobster new husband

760

:

is gets into a van, drives

all the way to watch you.

761

:

He's running beside you, yelling.

762

:

And you were so much in the zone

that you didn't know he was there.

763

:

I didn't see him at all.

764

:

And he was like, right there.

765

:

I could only see in the TV.

766

:

And he was

it was great, you know, like right there.

767

:

Because then like I cross the finish line

and then I'm like, worst

768

:

sailor, worst sailor.

769

:

And then, person from

my team told me that, yeah,

770

:

he was like down the road

standing cheering for you.

771

:

So then I was like waiting for him and

772

:

when we had time to chat about his, like,

773

:

yeah,

we were running for like 20s next to you.

774

:

It was one of the coolest images

I've ever seen on on TV, you know,

775

:

you know, knowing, knowing him as long as

I have and being such a big fan of yours.

776

:

That that was it for me.

777

:

I have to say, I,

I had to a little teary.

778

:

Teary eyed, to say the least. But they.

779

:

And,

coming into the last kilometer or 500m,

780

:

when did you believe you have it?

781

:

Or when did your car tell you?

782

:

Keep going.

783

:

And you going to win the tour only

after the line.

784

:

Or was 100m.

785

:

500m to go 1000m to go.

786

:

When did you believe I'm going to take it?

787

:

Or was it only after you crashed

after the finish line

788

:

and somebody told you actually

you won the tour de France?

789

:

Yeah, to be honest, because of that

790

:

crazy pain, when I finished, the race,

791

:

when I crossed the finish line,

I was just so happy that it was over.

792

:

Like,

I forgot that I was doing tour de France.

793

:

I was just like, yes.

794

:

You know, just like people just like,

go away.

795

:

Like create some space

because they just wanted to break,

796

:

you know, it was like, because

all of the sudden everyone comes in.

797

:

So I was just overwhelmed by that.

798

:

And as I'm laying on the ground,

then like,

799

:

going back to planet Earth and I'm like,

okay, like what actually is happening?

800

:

And then, Beth whispered to me, like,

I think we have it, and I'm like, what?

801

:

And then all of the sudden

it's like this insane yelling in my ear

802

:

because the guys learn

they got a confirmation in the Arabia.

803

:

So I was like, what? Like,

what are you saying?

804

:

And they just, like, be saying, you think?

805

:

But it was just a growl

like crazy yelling.

806

:

So it was such,

807

:

insane, let's say one minute of my life

from,

808

:

like, crossing the finish line,

being extremely tired to, like,

809

:

not knowing what was happening to then,

like having this hope

810

:

that maybe actually we want

and to realizing that yes, we want it.

811

:

You share

812

:

this ectasy with so many people,

everyone is just like,

813

:

you know, shaking you and hugging

you and it's really, really beautiful.

814

:

So you're

now the tour de France Femmes winner.

815

:

You're going to be asked to do

a lot of things.

816

:

Your opinion is going to carry

a lot of clout.

817

:

The last two tour de

France winners were Dutch

818

:

and the tour de France Femmes

started in Holland.

819

:

What do you think the chances are

820

:

of the tour de France

from now starting in Poland?

821

:

And then if you.

822

:

What else would you like to see

823

:

in the tour de France Femmes in 2025?

824

:

And then maybe forward because us guys.

825

:

Yeah, it's not for us to say,

but I'm really interested to hear

826

:

what the winner of this year would like

to, to do or to say or to change.

827

:

To be honest, I

828

:

definitely would like to see the tour

growing in stages.

829

:

I think already next year

we have nine stages.

830

:

I don't want to say,

or I don't think that three weeks tour

831

:

is something that I would be

super happy about, but like having

832

:

something longer that will stand out,

like say two weeks tour.

833

:

Our longest was ten days Giro Rosa,

so something

834

:

a bit longer and maybe that, I mean,

the tour is super hard from day one,

835

:

but I think it would be nice to,

836

:

race for a little longer.

837

:

Not necessarily.

838

:

The stages don't have to be like this

year, 150 and 160 kms all the time.

839

:

Because I also believe that

if it's a little shorter, is more

840

:

aggressive, and actually it's harder

when you have like 130 kms

841

:

But to be honest, I

842

:

really enjoy racing in France because,

843

:

it also like it feels like,

okay, this is tour de France.

844

:

When we are in France,

845

:

I think we feel like it was tour de France

when we were in Rotterdam.

846

:

I felt like we were just like doing

a big classic.

847

:

There or a big race.

848

:

There is something special about the

crowds in France, so they really enjoy.

849

:

And what do you think

the tour de France is?

850

:

Well-balanced?

851

:

There are stages for the sprinters, for

the breakaways, for the climb climbers,

852

:

or you would like it

to have maybe a longer TT

853

:

or team time

trial or more or less mountains.

854

:

Well what what your if you could choose,

what would you like?

855

:

What would you like there?

856

:

To be honest,

I really like the first edition because,

857

:

there were some gravel stages.

858

:

There were some late stages

for classic riders,

859

:

some stages for pure sprinters,

860

:

and of course the last two stages

were full pure climber.

861

:

So I felt like it was very well balanced.

862

:

But it's

I think that that was like a great example

863

:

of what the tour could look like,

for the next year.

864

:

To be honest, in some ways

I hope for the activity.

865

:

I think that this discipline

is so beautiful

866

:

and somehow it's pushed away

or less and less races.

867

:

When I put that into the schedule.

868

:

Because

869

:

it's like, I don't know, it

allows you to suffer with your teammates.

870

:

And it also is more special

when you win it, I think.

871

:

I've never I'm not sure we won a Team Time

trial together.

872

:

And probably I would want to see more

873

:

classic style stages

874

:

with the shorter, punchy climbs.

875

:

I always find that the most interesting

876

:

also for the rider,

because sometimes on the I mean,

877

:

climbing stages are

878

:

really good,

but sometimes it's just like grinding,

879

:

you know, it was like you have to go

your pace hard based all the time.

880

:

And with the classic style racing,

like what we had this year,

881

:

finishing in Liege there is so much more

that comes into the final result.

882

:

You know, like even that positioning game

and like knowing the course and knowing

883

:

when you have to be in the front,

when you can kind of like realize this,

884

:

it's more engaging.

885

:

Well, the tour de France Femmes

is in the rearview mirror.

886

:

And as we know in cycling, it's like,

what have you done for me lately?

887

:

Right? Yeah.

888

:

I never won the tour de France,

so maybe it's a little different for,

889

:

for for you guys and gals,

but what's next?

890

:

What?

891

:

You know, we got the world championships

in Zurich, which is a great course.

892

:

You said that

tailor made you a huge bowl of pasta.

893

:

So you're out there training hard?

894

:

Yeah. What do we

895

:

what's in store

for for you in the next coming months?

896

:

Yeah.

897

:

So actually, I post

898

:

tour time was quite interesting

in the way that,

899

:

I was immersed

into doing a lot of social media

900

:

things and like, interviews and podcasts,

and it feels like an ongoing journey.

901

:

And that really tired me out, and I feel

like I just want to finish my season.

902

:

I felt zero motivation

going out for a bike ride,

903

:

and then as I was

going to Rome on the race, I got Covid

904

:

and I was forced to take

like four days off.

905

:

And during that time I was like, oh no,

like I actually want to be riding my bike.

906

:

Like I felt that something

was taking away from me.

907

:

So, normal.

908

:

I never want to get sick this time.

909

:

I'm so thankful for

910

:

being sick because that allowed me

to, like, rebuild the real motivation.

911

:

Because now I like today.

912

:

I went for 6.5 hours

and that was strong the whole time.

913

:

I feel like,

okay, I can be riding again. So,

914

:

I think that's very important

915

:

to for me to feel the motivation

because then I can put the work in.

916

:

And that also allows me

to, like, dream big about my goals.

917

:

So definitely going to Zurich

and seeing the course.

918

:

Yeah.

919

:

I want to go there for that

rainbow jersey.

920

:

I know in some ways I like,

921

:

it's not maybe a dream,

but I know that sometimes you need a bit

922

:

of some sort of luck and I'm like, oh,

maybe Demi will focus on Lotte [Kopecky].

923

:

Lotte on Demi.

924

:

I would just, like, find my way out,

you know, to the finish line.

925

:

But yeah, that's definitely a big goal

because I feel like the year

926

:

so far it's been great.

927

:

So why not to top

it off with another jersey?

928

:

That sounds like a pretty fantastic plan.

929

:

And you might, for next year's

930

:

season will be the tour defending

your title the biggest call.

931

:

Or you go, oh no, I tick, tick this box.

932

:

Now I'm going to move on

and try to win Giro

933

:

Rosa or de Vuelta Espana Feminine?

934

:

Yeah. Any plans like that or you go.

935

:

It's too far away.

I haven't thought about that.

936

:

To be honest, at first

I was having that feeling then like, okay,

937

:

I don't want, I don't want that aim again

for the same race.

938

:

I was like, let's do gira now.

939

:

But, some time, passed and I was like,

I got my desire back.

940

:

I think that sometimes

when you're tired and

941

:

physically and mentally,

then you don't really think clearly.

942

:

But I think that the main

when I think about:

943

:

the main goal is winning Strade Bianche

for now.

944

:

Well, Kasia,

945

:

thank you so much for taking so much time

and being so generous with it.

946

:

We're giving you the the good vibes voodoo

947

:

because, you said you were a little tired

from all the social media stuff

948

:

that you had to do, and now you're stoked

to train, and we're stoked to watch you.

949

:

And just.

950

:

It was fantastic season.

951

:

Fantastic tour de France Femmes,

and we wish you the best

952

:

for the rest of the season

and for the future.

953

:

And thank you again

for coming on the autumn.

954

:

Yeah. Thank you so much.

955

:

for the great.

956

:

Yes, that's everything for this week.

957

:

Now please

remember to follow us at or tandem

958

:

on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

959

:

and wherever you got your podcasts.

960

:

Huge thank you to Kasia

for joining the podcast.

961

:

And also remember, if you want to see

the video version of this podcast,

962

:

it's up on our YouTube channel right now.

963

:

YouTube.com/@OddTandem.

964

:

And if you want the full,

uninterrupted version

965

:

of this podcast

and your name in the titles,

966

:

just head to our Patreon

where you can sign up for

967

:

just five bucks a month

and keep this podcast going.

968

:

That's patreon.com/OddTandem.

969

:

Thanks to our Patreon members

Scott, Steven Kimbrough, Marie

970

:

Teixeira, Jeff Kralik, Brian Colon,

Chris Merritt,

971

:

Tim Farriss, Jim, David Swartwout,

Bill Babcock, Nancy Ness,

972

:

Michael Terblanche,

Jim Burns and Swim school Bob

973

:

who’ve done just that

And please keep sharing the podcast

974

:

and keep leaving your reviews

wherever you're listening.

975

:

It really helps us to build our audience.

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About the Podcast

The Odd Tandem Cycling Podcast with Bobby Julich and Jens Voigt
Bobby Julich and Jens Voigt on all things cycling
Bobby Julich and Jens Voigt are back with a brand new cycling podcast. Speaking to the biggest names in the professional peloton and sharing their wisdom from their own careers.