Poland’s Katarzyna Niewiadoma on Sunday won her first women’s Tour de France title by just 4 seconds as she dug in during the race’s grueling final Alpine ascent.
The 29-year-old Canyon SRAM Racing rider summited the daunting Alpe d’Huez mountain 1 minute, 1 second behind stage winner Demi Vollering to maintain her grip on the yellow jersey.
“It’s so crazy to be honest, the whole stage was such a crazy roller coaster,” Niewiadoma said. “I’ve gone through such a terrible time on this climb, like I hated everything, then to arriving at the finish line and learning that I won Tour de France, which is insane. It’s so mind-blowing.”
Photo: AFP
The Tour was turned upside down on Thursday during the fifth stage when the Netherlands’ Vollering was caught up in a huge crash 6km from the finish in Amneville, losing 1 minute, 47 seconds on the leader. She fought her way back and going into the final stage, she had cut that gap down to 1 minute, 15 seconds.
Reigning Tour champion Vollering then produced a barnstorming performance in Sunday’s 150km slog from Le Grand-Bornand to Alpe d’Huez, outsprinting compatriot Pauliena Rooijakkers to the line to claim the stage win.
Niewiadoma struggled on the Glandon ascent and seemed set to throw away her lead as her rival surged ahead and provisionally took the lead in the general ranking at several stages.
However, the Polish rider managed to regroup and fought back in the final 5km to claw back precious seconds.
Vollering and Niewiadoma faced a nerve-wracking wait once across the line for the official confirmation of who was to be the last to hold the yellow jersey in the third edition of the women’s Tour.
The duo dissolved into tears of drastically varying emotions when the news filtered through that the Pole had claimed a historic win by the narrowest of margins. After third-placed finishes in the previous two Tours and a disappointing eighth-place finish at the Olympic Games road race, the victory tasted even sweeter for Niewiadoma.
“I think last year’s third place was there to reward me with this victory and same as two weeks ago I was so disappointed getting stuck behind a crash during the Olympics,” Niewiadoma said. “I feel like during this week, all the stars aligned for my team and for myself.”
Niewiadoma completed the eight-stage tour in 24 hours, 36 minutes, 7 seconds, a mere 4 seconds in front of second-placed Vollering, with Rooijakkers completing the podium just a further 6 seconds behind.
HISTORIC GAME: Taiwan, which have claimed the title 17 times, more than any other international team, have a chance to win it for the first time since 1996 Taiwan could not get much going at the plate on Saturday. However, the way starter Lai Cheng-ci was pitching, it did not matter. Lai struck out 12 batters and allowed just three hits in 5-1/3 innings as Taiwan beat Venezuela 4-1 to advance to the Little League World Series (LLWS) championship. “He’s the ace pitcher for the team and he shows leadership,” manager Lee Cheng-ta said through an interpreter. “He’s calm and he works hard, so every time we’ve had an important game he’s always the one to be carrying the responsibility.” Taiwan also managed only three hits, but collected eight walks and
NOT THIS YEAR: Teams from Taiwan have won 17 titles at the tournament, second only to the US with 30. This year was the nation’s first championship game since 2009 Taiwan fell just short in Sunday’s championship game of the Little League World Series (LLWS) in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, losing 2-1 to Florida. Despite the defeat, it was still the best finish for Taiwan at the LLWS since Taoyuan’s Guishan Little League, the country’s representative again this year, lost the 2009 championship game 6-3 to California. Entering Howard J. Lamade Stadium on Sunday on a five-game winning streak in Williamsport, Guishan took an early lead in the opening frame on an RBI single by Hu Yen-chun. However, Guishan failed to extend the margin as its players struggled at the plate, tallying only five
Taiwan badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying advanced to the 2024 Japan Open semi-finals after defeating the host country’s Natsuki Nidaira in straight games 21-13, 21-14 yesterday. Although Tai came out victorious, the 43-minute match was not without difficulties for her due to a left knee injury that has troubled Tai for about seven months. After taking an 11-point lead in the first game to reach 15-4, Nidaira found her momentum to poise for a comeback and took three consecutive points. When the Japanese shuttler was about to score her sixth point, Tai overextended her injured left knee in an attempt to return the shuttlecock
Denis Shapovalov was among a string of tennis players who called out what they said are double standards in the game after world No. 1 Jannik Sinner was cleared of wrongdoing, despite failing two drug tests this year. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on Tuesday said that an independent tribunal had cleared Sinner to continue competing, and former top 10 player Shapovalov was among those to suggest that the Italian received preferential treatment. “Can’t imagine what every other player that got banned for contaminated substances is feeling right now,” the Canadian wrote on social media. “Different rules for different players.” Reporters had