ALPE D'HUEZ, France (AP) — Polish rider Kasia Niewiadoma did just enough in a thrilling battle Sunday with rival Demi Vollering on the iconic Alpe d’Huez to win the women’s Tour de France by four seconds overall.
It was the smallest margin of victory in any Tour de France edition, including the men's race.
“It’s so crazy, this Tour has been a crazy roller-coaster,” Niewiadoma said after the eighth and final stage. “I’ve had bad moments. I hated every moment of this last climb, but when I heard that I had won the Tour de France, I could not believe it.”
Niewiadoma sat on the road after finishing, exhausted and waiting to get the confirmation that she had won. When the news finally came, she lifted her bike in triumph and appeared overwhelmed by the magnitude of her achievement.
Knowing she still trailed Niewiadoma overall, Vollering had been part of a breakaway Sunday with fellow Dutch rider Pauliena Rooijakkers earlier in the race. Vollering accelerated powerfully in the final stretch to win the stage.
But the gap wasn't quite enough as Niewiadoma finished fourth to narrowly clinch her first Tour title, with an overall time of 24 hours, 36 minutes, 7 seconds. Vollering's final time was 24:36:11.
Vollering, the defending champion, had fought back after suffering a crash in the fifth stage. She was inconsolable when she learned she had finished second overall after starting the stage more than a minute behind Niewiadoma overall.
“Right now I feel really bitter that I only lost by four seconds,” Vollering said. “It's really painful to know that I did not do enough today.”
Rooijakkers, also a title contender, finished third in the overall standings at only 10 seconds behind Niewiadoma.
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