Sprinting into the final metres of the famous Alpe d’Huez climb in the French Alps, Katarzyna Niewiadoma knew she had to give it her all. As she entered the final stage of the 2024 Tour de France With defending champion Demi Vollering leading by 1:15, Femmes was as close to victory as she was to defeat.
In the end, he secured the coveted yellow jersey in thrilling fashion. When Niewiadoma crossed the finish line after eight days and nearly 25 hours of racing, there was only 4 seconds between him and second-place Vollering.
Vollering took the lead early in the race by winning the individual time trial on Stage 3. Her lead over the rest of the participants did not last long: after a crash two days later, she dropped to eighth place, 1:19 behind new leader Niewiadoma.
On Stage 7, Niewiadoma had to settle for four seconds behind her rival, but the gap between the two was still substantial. This made the final stage memorable.
One of the toughest stages in recent times, the 150-kilometer distance from Le Grand-Bornand to Alpe d’Huez included an elevation gain of 3,748 meters and two so-called “hors catégorie” climbs – the most difficult ever used in the race. The final 13.8 kilometers were entirely uphill, leading to a thrilling finale.
However, Vollering did not intend to wait that long. The 27-year-old, who had already won the Vuelta Espana earlier this season, attacked on the second-to-last climb. Only one woman was able to follow her, and it wasn’t Niewiadoma: Pauliena Ruijkkers, who was seventh in the general classification, 1:13 behind the race leader but 2 seconds ahead of Vollering, was able to keep the wheel of her Dutch compatriot.
As Vollering surged ahead on the 1,923-meter Col du Glandon, the gap to Niewiadoma grew to around 1:30. However, there was a lack of cooperation between him and Ruijckers in the subsequent flat segment, allowing the yellow jersey group to mount a frantic comeback.
Despite this, Vollering and Ruijjackers held a 40-second lead heading into the early slopes of the final climb. This lead then began to grow rapidly, and eventually the lead began to slip from Niewiadoma’s grasp once again.
At one stage it looked as if a three-woman battle between her, Vollering and Ruijjakers would come down to 10, 6 and 4 bonus seconds to be distributed on the line.
Ultimately, though, Vollering and Ruijjackers paid the price for attacking more than 50 kilometers from the finish: Niewiadoma started to regain her rhythm and kept the gap steady at around a minute – which would have been enough to keep the win, even if she lost some bonus seconds.
In the end she did just that. Yet she emerged victorious.
Niewiadoma beat Vollering by 1:11, who had overtaken Ruijkers in the final metres to celebrate his second stage win, the overall race victory for the 29-year-old over the defending champion. It is the biggest success of his career, and his first victory in a stage race in five seasons.
“The whole stage was like a very strange rollercoaster,” said Niewiadoma. “On Alpe d’Huez I just knew that I had to keep my pace smartly, and do my best in the last 5km to reduce the gap as much as possible. And to be honest, I didn’t believe I could still do it. And then, on the radio they were shouting a lot in the last 2km.
“I felt terrible during this climb. I hated everything. To get to the finish line and know I won the Tour de France is crazy. It’s very shocking.”
Niewiadoma beat Vollering by 4 seconds and Ruijkers by 10 seconds. For comparison, the men’s edition of the Tour de France in July was decided by a margin of more than six minutes, with a 9:18 gap between the top three.