Kasia Niewiadoma won the Queen of the Mountain classification at the finish of the LOTTO Thüringen Ladies in Schmalkalden, Germany. Kasia wore the jersey since stage four and secured the final points needed in today’s final stage to win the classification overall.

Rainy conditions greeted the peloton for much of the last 105km stage. CANYON//SRAM Racing played an aggressive tactic with several attempt for breakaways from Kasia, Nastya Kolesava, Tiffany Cromwell and Awen Roberts in particular. It was a strong performance from 18-year-old Awen who comes from CANYON//SRAM Generation and joined the World Tour Team for the six-day stage race.

In the final kilometres, an attack from Kasia reduced the leading group to just six riders but as the finish line approached the group again swelled to around fifty riders. Sandra Alonso (WNT) late attack gave her the stage victory ahead of a small groupr sprinting for the minor podium places. Ruth Winder (HPH) won the tour overall with Kasia in seventh place in the general classification.

RIDER REACTIONS

Kasia Niewiadoma: “Awen was super good today! She surprised me big times, and it was cool to see how committed she was to helping and always making the move into the break! She has a good race instinct; soon enough, she will be present in the final of the races more frequently.

The race had a strange, passive dynamic. Only a few teams were interested in making it hard, and there was a peculiar dynamic of who would be chased and who would not. But that’s part of cycling.

It was a big learning week for all our youngsters, BUT most importantly, they were improving daily and trying to fix whatever was pointed out! I saw a group of young riders needing help finding their place in a peloton, to riders attacking and creating breakaways in just a couple of days.

I’m pleased with these six days of racing. The stages and efforts I put in contributed well to shaping my preparation for the Olympics and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

The QOM jersey was a reward for all the attempts to win a stage! I wish the climbs were closer to the finish line or that the hard part of the race would come later and not in the first 20km to make the race more interesting.”

Awen Roberts: “It was a great experience racing with the world tour team! I’ve learned so much throughout this week. Going into it, I knew the races would be hard, and it was just that with the different stages and conditions. I’m proud of how I raced and how I was able to help the team.”

Nastya Kolesava: “It’s been a solid week for us. We wanted stage victories, but only some things always go as planned. The climbs were too short for Kasia, but despite this, she took the green jersey home! It’s impressive how my teammates were racing, and their never give up attitude. I learned the most important thing—how to race aggressively and smartly, and back up each other in the hardest part of the race! I have never attacked as much as I did in the second stage. It’s a really good experience. I’m grateful for my teammates and for teaching us!”

Alex Morrice: “Heading into Thüringen, I was very motivated to race again with the team because of the long time away due to my injury at the start of April. I was excited to see how I could get stuck into racing and build my confidence after spending a lot of time training indoors on Zwift. I enjoyed racing with our experienced riders Kasia and Tiff and working as a strong team where we all backed each other up. I could push myself after six solid days of racing.”

“I’m very happy that I learned a lot every day and was able to help Kasia on Stage 4 for her big solo attack, which earned her the Most Combative Rider award. It was a great experience, and I loved being back with the team again. All the staff were amazing, looking after us so well before, during, and after every stage! I’m looking forward to my next race with the team.”

Justyna Czapla: “I’m very pleased with the tour and how we improved our teamwork from day to day. After the Tour de Suisse and the national championships, I had another six hard days of racing in Thüringen. I did everything I could to support the team in the best possible way. It wasn’t easy, but I’m so grateful for every experience I gained during those race days, especially from our most experienced riders, Kasia and Tiffany. It was nice to have them as leaders for our relatively young team.

We can highlight our very active riding on this tour. We were all committed to making the race as hard as possible to create the best situation for us. Kasia’s attacks were super strong, and my breakaway on stage three was a nice highlight for me.”

Tiffany Cromwell: “We came to the race with a mix of youth and experience. The main goal for the race was to chase stage wins and not focus on the GC. We also aimed to help teach the younger riders how to race aggressively and support a more experienced rider. Kasia used this race as a way to help prepare for upcoming goals. For me, it was a race to take opportunities and be the team sprinter since we didn’t have a sprinter here. It’s come at the end of a long racing block, as I haven’t had a break from racing so far.

We didn’t achieve the stage win, but it wasn’t without trying. We definitely raced aggressively to make the race hard. It was tricky to get breakaways away, and for Kasia, the climbs needed to be harder to get away for a solo stage win. My best sprint came on day two. That was fun. It was too straight and a headwind for my strengths on day three. The other days, I wasn’t there to contest. On the last day, we decided to try to secure the QOM jersey, and Kasia managed to do that.

We ticked many boxes but couldn’t come away with the main goal of a stage win. We can be proud of the way the team raced. Kasia and I helped guide our teammates who have less race experience. Having Adam and Andre as Sport Directors in the car was also helpful. Between us, we tried to encourage them to take their chances, too. The key was teaching them to back each other up when trying to create breakaways. It took some time, but they were doing it a lot better by the last day. They were either trying to split up the race or support Kasia. Nastya was handy with the positioning, and that helped us in the sprints. It was interesting how they all handled the stage race and the good and bad days that come with that. We had a few surprises, especially Awen, on the last stage. In her longest-ever stage race, she suddenly found her legs on the last day and supported Kasia in the front.

It was a nice week of racing without the high pressure of a World Tour race. I hope my teammates learned something from me throughout the week that they can take into their next races.”

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