Amstel Gold Race Ladies edition: The Reactions
Kasia Niewiadoma’s triumph in the 27th La Flèche Wallonne Femmes marks a significant milestone in her career. The Polish cyclist from Canyon//SRAM finally claimed victory after enduring a winless streak of 1770 days, outsprinting the 2023 winner Demi Vollering from SD Worx-ProTime and the Italian national champion Elisa Longo Borghini from Lidl-Trek. Her victory was particularly sweet as it came on the challenging final climb to the Mur de Huy, a segment where Niewiadoma had previously finished second in 2021. Overcome with emotion, Niewiadoma shed tears at the finish line, embodying the spirit of perseverance with her long-awaited win.
Kasia Niewiadoma
‘’This victory means a lot to me. I really hope that with this victory I have inspired a lot of people who are pursuing their dreams to keep going. I’ve failed a lot of times, with many near-misses, and never stopped believing. Reward is always there, waiting for us.’’
Demi Vollering
‘’tried find my own rhythm in the final climb to the Mur de Huy, as I did last year. I wanted to ride at the front for as long as possible and as hard as possible. My goal was to be in first position from the bottom to the top, yet Kasia had the power to come around me and win. I was hoping her legs would explode and I could come back, but she did hold on. It was nice to see her win – she is a very strong rider who is always up there.’’
Elisa Longo Borghini
‘’Our leader today was Gaia Realini, but she was struggling due to the cold weather and she eventually told me to take my chance. It was a very hard day because of the tough weather conditions. I was very lucky to have teammates to take care of me by providing me with warm clothes and warm tea. I am happy with today’s result. It adds up with the great season I’ve had so far’’
Maaike Boogaard
‘’I think we had like all four seasons from the start to the finish, we only missed the snow. Otherwise we had everything. It was really a hard race and the weather conditions made it extra hard. It was a hard edition this year. It was so cold and the roads being wet, it was 5 degrees, it felt like you had ice water in your shoes.’’
Next race coming up is Liege – Bastogne – Liege this coming Sunday