Niewiadoma 'freaking happy' with third place in Tour de France behind Ferrand-Prévot and Vollering

“I'm so freaking happy,” said Niewiadoma. “I can't describe it. It's not a victory, but hey, mentally it feels like a victory. It wasn't easy, and I feel like the podium is for all of us, I think, a kind of victory. So yes, I'm so thrilled to have another podium place in this race.”

Niewiadoma had to work hard for it because she also crashed. “To be honest, I still had adrenaline running through my body. And I think the adrenaline made me feel less pain. I definitely had a difficult moment when Gigante attacked, but I knew I just couldn't let go.”

“There was no other option. That's the beauty of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift: in a way, you want it so badly that you just don't allow yourself to say no,” she explains. For Niewiadoma, her podium streak in the Tour de France Femmes comes to an end. “Three times third, maybe third place is my lucky spot.”

The 2024 winner now has the same feeling as last year, she says after her third place in the final stage through the Alps. “It feels like a victory, and that's great, to be honest. It wasn't easy, and it hasn't been easy so far. Today went pretty much exactly as we had planned. I was happy that my legs were up to the task.”