Born in Limanowa,[6] Niewiadoma started racing bikes with local club WLKS Krakus BBC Czaja and soon emerged as one of the most promising women riders in Poland with TKK Pacific Toruń.[7] In 2013, she won two national Under-23 champion titles, finishing 4th overall in both the time trial and road race events. She also finished 5th in the under-23 road race at the European Road Championships.[7]
Niewiadoma signed a one-year contract with Rabo–Liv in October 2013 and debuted in the professional ranks in February 2014. She took her first victory four months later, winning the Swiss race GP du Canton d'Argovie.[7] Preparing for the Giro d'Italia Femminile, Niewiadoma participated in the Polish National Championships, taking bronze in the time trial and finishing 8th in the road race. Her climbing abilities proved to be an asset for the Rabo–Liv team at the Giro d'Italia Femminile, as she worked for the final victory of Marianne Vos on the mountain stages in the Alps. She finished 11th overall,[7] and 3rd in the young rider classification, marking a successful debut in the biggest race of the elite women's calendar in her first year as a professional.
Niewiadoma then went on to take her first podium spot in a stage race. Together with Anna van der Breggen and Vos she dominated racing during the inaugural edition of the Ladies Tour of Norway and placed 3rd,[8] winning the young rider and mountains classifications. In September, she signed a two-year contract extension with the Rabo–Liv team and concluded preparations for the World Championships with a start in the Premondiale Giro della Toscana, placing 8th overall. On a hilly World Championships route in Ponferrada, Spain, she led the Polish team in the road race, coming to the finish in 11th place after a sprint from the selected group.[10]
Despite being only 20,[1] Niewiadoma started the season's biggest race – the Giro Rosa – as one of Rabo–Liv's leaders, alongside world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Anna van der Breggen.[1] She assumed the lead of the young rider classification following the second stage,[14] and held on to the top places on the mountain stages. She then clocked the fifth-fastest time on the demanding route of the penultimate stage, a 21.7-kilometre (13.5-mile) time trial,[15] and rose to fourth overall with the final stage – culminating in a summit finish – remaining.[15] The long climb to San Domenico di Varzo proved decisive and Niewiadoma crossed the line in 7th, dropping to 5th overall – although she won the white jersey for best young rider and contributed towards Van der Breggen's overall success.[16] With those results under her belt Niewiadoma led the Polish national team at the UEC European Road Championships in Tartu, Estonia and took gold in the women's under-23 road race, bridging to the leading group on the last lap and claiming the sprint ahead of Italy's Ilaria Sanguineti and fellow Rabo–Liv riders Thalita de Jong and Anouska Koster.[17] She concluded the season at the World Championships in Richmond, Virginia, being a part of a Rabo–Liv squad that secured bronze in the team time trial.[18] She also led the Polish team in the road race, and sprinted to 7th place.[19]
At the 2016 Holland Ladies Tour, Niewiadoma won the jerseys for the points (green) and young rider (light blue) classifications.
Moving onto the Giro d'Italia Femminile, Niewiadoma spent a portion of the race in second place overall, before losing more than four minutes on the fifth stage, which dropped her to ninth place; she eventually recovered to seventh overall, winning the young rider classification. She was part of the leading group during the road race at the Rio Olympics, but was unable to follow moves by five other riders, and missed out on a medal; she ultimately finished in sixth place.[8] A fourth-place finish at the GP de Plouay – Bretagne followed later in August,[30] before a fifth-place overall finish at the Holland Ladies Tour. Niewiadoma also won two stages during the race,[31][32] as well as the points and young rider classifications.[32] She then won two medals at the UEC European Road Championships in France – she won a silver medal in the women's road race,[33] being beaten in the sprint to the line by her Rabo–Liv teammate Anna van der Breggen; however, she won a gold medal in the concurrent race for under-23 riders,[33] as the only such rider in the lead group overall.
Niewiadoma's spring campaign in the 2017 season saw no wins, but she did record four podium finishes – all coming in UCI Women's World Tour events. Just as she did in 2016, Niewiadoma finished second in Strade Bianche, with Elisa Longo Borghini getting the better of her in the closing metres.[34] In the Ardennes classics, Niewiadoma took three third-place finishes,[8] finishing behind Anna van der Breggen and Lizzie Deignan on each occasion. At the Amstel Gold Race – returning the calendar following a 14-year hiatus – Niewiadoma, Longo Borghini and Deignan were clear of the peloton on the final circuit around Valkenburg aan de Geul, before being caught by Van der Breggen, Annemiek van Vleuten and Coryn Rivera with around 8 kilometres (5.0 miles) remaining. Van der Breggen soloed away to the victory not long after; in the sprint for second, Deignan prevailed, while Niewiadoma and Van Vleuten could not be separated in the photo finish, and thus shared third place.[35] At La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, Niewiadoma attacked inside the final 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), on the Cote de Cherave,[36] with only Deignan and Van der Breggen able to follow.[37] Deignan forced Niewiadoma's hand with an attack before the Mur de Huy, with her Boels–Dolmans teammate Van der Breggen ultimately pulling clear prior to the final ascent.[38] Lastly, at Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes, Niewiadoma was combative, attacking on each of the last two climbs. With Van der Breggen eventually soloing clear to another victory, Deignan and Niewiadoma did battle for second place, with honours ultimately going to Deignan.[39]
Niewiadoma's next start was at The Women's Tour, where she won the opening stage after a nearly 50-kilometre (31-mile) solo breakaway, with a winning margin of 1 minute, 42 seconds over teammate Marianne Vos.[40] Niewiadoma maintained her overall lead for the remainder of the race, ultimately winning the race by 1 minute, 18 seconds ahead of Christine Majerus,[41] and moved atop of the UCI Women's World Tour rankings.[42] She led the WM3 Pro Cycling team at the Giro d'Italia Femminile, where she finished in sixth place overall, and ceded the World Tour lead to Van der Breggen.[43] She finished ninth in La Course by Le Tour de France, seventh overall at the Holland Ladies Tour,[44] and concluded her season with fifth place in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships, having been part of the lead group in the closing 10 kilometres (6.2 miles).[45] Niewiadoma ultimately finished the season in third place in the overall UCI Women's World Tour standings.[46]
During the summer months, Niewiadoma recorded finishes of seventh overall at the Giro Rosa,[55] sixth at La Course by Le Tour de France,[56] and fifth overall at the Ladies Tour of Norway, also winning the mountains classification in Norway.[57] Niewiadoma's last warm-up race prior to the UCI Road World Championships was the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche; she won the fifth stage which finished with a summit finish at Mont Lozère,[58] before finishing second to Ruth Winder in Montboucher-sur-Jabron the following day, while gaining 46 seconds on race leader Margarita Victoria García.[59] Taking a 41-second lead into the final stage, Niewiadoma gained further time on García, ultimately finishing 1 minute, 28 seconds clear in the general classification and she also won the mountains classification.[60] In the World Championships, Niewiadoma finished more than seven minutes down on race winner Van der Breggen,[61] in twelfth place.
For the fourth year in a row, Niewiadoma finished in the podium placings at Strade Bianche,[62] adding a third-place finish to her three second-place finishes. Over March and April, Niewiadoma recorded six top-ten finishes (four of which were sixth-place finishes), peaking with victory at the Amstel Gold Race.[63] Niewiadoma attacked on the last ascent of the Cauberg with former teammate Marianne Vos,[64] before pulling clear with a gap of a few seconds over Annemiek van Vleuten; Van Vleuten attempted to close down the margin in the final 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) but Niewiadoma was able to hold on for her second Women's World Tour one-day victory,[65] after her earlier success at the 2018 Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio.
After a fifth-place overall finish at the Tour of California, Niewiadoma jointly led the Canyon–SRAM team at The Women's Tour with home rider Hannah Barnes.[66] On the fourth stage, which included three ascents in the Burton Dassett Hills (including the race's first hilltop finish), Niewiadoma outsprinted Liane Lippert to the finish line for the victory,[67] moving up to second place overall but on the same time as Lippert.[68] The following day, Niewiadoma finished second to Lizzie Deignan in Builth Wells,[69] with Deignan taking the race lead by one second ahead of Niewiadoma; Deignan added a further second to her advantage on the final day, to take the general classification by its closest winning margin to that point.[70] Niewiadoma did come away from the race with the mountains classification, edging out Christine Majerus by one point.[70]
Canyon–SRAM won the opening stage team time trial at the Giro Rosa,[71] and with Niewiadoma being the first of the team's riders to cross the finish line in Castellania Coppi, she assumed the race leader's pink jersey for the first time in her career. She held the race lead until the fifth stage, when Van Vleuten won by almost three minutes to overturn a previous gap of forty-seven seconds.[72] Niewiadoma's main time loss came on the penultimate stage, finishing at the Altopiano del Montasio [it], losing almost four minutes compared to Van Vleuten and Anna van der Breggen,[73] dropping her from third to sixth overall; she did regain fifth place in the general classification on the final stage, finishing almost eight minutes down on Van Vleuten.[74] She finished fourth overall at August's Ladies Tour of Norway,[75] but finished outside the top-20 in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire, stating that she had "mentally cracked" during the race.[76] She also extended her contract with Canyon–SRAM until the end of the 2021 season.[77]
Niewiadoma's 2020 season started following the COVID-19 pandemic-enforced suspension of racing,[78] failing to finish at Strade Bianche for the first time in her career. She won her second elite European Road Championships medal, winning a bronze medal in the road race in Plouay, having been part of a four-rider breakaway alongside Annemiek van Vleuten, Elisa Longo Borghini and Chantal Blaak.[79] She again made into the race-winning move at La Course by Le Tour de France two days later, but missed the podium with fourth in the small group sprint.[80] At the Giro Rosa, Niewiadoma spent almost the entire race in the top-three placings, recording two top-three stage finishes on her way to second place overall,[81] behind Anna van der Breggen; she wore the race leader's pink jersey on stage eight, as the overnight leader Van Vleuten withdrew due to injuries suffered in a crash during the finish to the previous stage.[82] Prior to the end of the season, Niewiadoma finished seventh in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships,[83] and tenth at La Flèche Wallonne Féminine.[84]
A fourth second-place finish in 2021 occurred for Niewiadoma during the penultimate stage of August's Holland Ladies Tour, missing out to former teammate Marianne Vos.[94] She finished sixth overall at the Challenge by La Vuelta,[95] before contesting the road race at the UEC European Road Championships, where she just missed out on a medal, finishing fourth.[96] Niewiadoma's near-miss was not repeated a fortnight later in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships in the Flanders region of Belgium. Niewiadoma launched several attacks on the circuits in and around Leuven,[97] but was not able to gain clear ground, and the race came back together for a reduced group sprint; despite her attacks, Niewiadoma had enough energy to contend for the medals, and secured a bronze medal behind Elisa Balsamo and Vos, for her first individual World Championships medal.[97] She finished the season with a crash and DNF at Paris–Roubaix Femmes, suffering a sore knee in the process.[98]
Niewiadoma did not podium until April's Brabantse Pijl, where she outsprinted Liane Lippert for second place behind the race winner, Demi Vollering.[99] At The Women's Tour in June, Niewiadoma finished both of the Welsh stages in second place; on stage four, she was beaten by Grace Brown, while Elisa Longo Borghini beat Niewiadoma the following day.[100][101] In the final general classification, Longo Borghini beat Brown by one second, with Niewiadoma in third place, five seconds in arrears.[102] In July, she was named as one of the pre-race favourites for the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes,[103] and eventually finished third overall, having recorded five top-ten stage finishes and been in the top-three overall from the second stage.[104] She concluded her season with tenth overall at the Challenge by La Vuelta, and then eighth place in the road race at the UCI Road World Championships, having attacked late on.[105]
In the spring classics, Niewiadoma came second in the Tour of Flanders, before winning La Flèche Wallonne Féminine – her first UCI Women's World Tour win since 2019.[111] At the 2024 Summer Olympics, she participated in the women's individual road race. During the race Chloé Dygert and Elise Chabbey were involved in a crash on the circuit, and a forced bike change diminished Niewiadoma's opportunities as the lead group and the race for the medals broke clear from the peloton. She put in an attack to try to reach the leaders on the second circuit, but was forced to be in the second chase group and ultimately claimed eighth place.[112]
On 18 August, she won the Tour de France Femmes by 4 seconds ahead of defending champion Demi Vollering, the closest finish in the history of the Tour.[113] The victory marked the biggest achievement of Niewiadoma's career as well as her first major stage race win for seven years.[114] She described her victory in the race as "surreal" and stated that it was like a childhood dream come true.[115]
^Laudy, Jeanine (16 April 2017). "Anna van der Breggen powers to a solo victory at women's Amstel Gold Race return". CyclingTips. CyclingTips Media Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2023. The tightest of sprints for third played out just behind Deignan, resulting in not one but two third place finishers, Kasia Niewiadoma (WM3 Pro Cycling) and Annemiek van Vleuten (Orica-Scott).
^Laudy, Jeanine (19 April 2017). "Anna van der Breggen pulls a hat trick at Flèche Wallonne". CyclingTips. CyclingTips Media Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2023. The tightest of sprints for third played out just behind Deignan, resulting in not one but two third place finishers, Kasia Niewiadoma (WM3 Pro Cycling) and Annemiek van Vleuten (Orica-Scott).
^"A special edition design for OVO Energy Women's Tour". Canyon–SRAM. Lauke Pro Radsport GmbH. 8 June 2019. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023. Our team's roster for the Women's WorldTour race is headlined by former tour winner Kasia Niewiadoma and stage winner Hannah Barnes.