This article was originally published in Rouleur magazine, Issue 137

Taylor Phinney - Kasia Niewiadoma’s husband

We got there the night before and found a camping spot above the town. In the morning we drove up the climb and had a bunch of paint and rollers. We went on a mission to paint as much as we could on the road for ‘Queen Kasia.’ We used the last of our paint on Dutch Corner and then we pedalled up the climb and waited for the race to come through. I had it streaming on my phone and was getting progressively more stressed.

After the Glandon, Kasia was behind quite a way and I was convinced that it was all over, but then she started to look good again. I was pacing up and down looking at my phone on the mountain and then we eventually started to see the helicopter so we knew they would come through soon. They started climbing and things started looking better. When she passed me I tried to run next to her for a bit and give her some vibes, but she was blacked out. As soon as she’d passed, it was like, “How do we get to the finish line?” We were at two kilometres to go, so we bolted straight up the side of the hill, bushwhacking through people’s properties and at the same time trying to watch the live feed. We had a bit of a celebration with around 500 metres to go to the finish, then I knew where the compound was, where the riders would be, so we were able to run around all the chaos and find them from above the finish area at the fence that separates the public from the performers. Once I showed up, she was just right there, which seems to happen in these situations. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been around the racing scene for a while, but I somehow have a knack of ending up in the right place.

I was so relieved for her, and really proud. We were doing some screaming while we were running to find her so I was properly out of breath. I was trying to hug her but there was this fence there; fortunately they opened it up so I could give her a big hug, but also give her space because everybody wants a piece of her at that moment. I was trying to be there for her as I am if she needed me, but otherwise I was just happy to be around. I was covered in paint and my legs were all cut up from running through different bushes and stuff on the way there. It’s funny because all the ASO guys are in suits while I was in my red Adidas shorts with my legs bleeding and paint all over my hands, but that’s just who I am.

The team said they didn’t want to plan anything for after the stage because they didn’t want to get ahead of themselves, but that ended up being a mistake. There were a tonne of people on the mountain and everything was booked up, but we managed to have a tapas dinner together with the whole team and the Canyon//SRAM girls got some drinks in. I knew I was driving because their hotel was down by Grenoble – I’ve been a shepherd for the afterparties multiple times, and I know that Kasia’s stamina isn’t too good on a night out. She can party for about 20 or 30 minutes, then she’s over it. They all wanted to go out, and there was a nightclub that was opening. I think they expected a slow night but all of a sudden 100 cyclists plus staff were waiting outside the door, which meant it was full immediately. It was funny to see the DJ’s face looking out, like, ‘What the hell is happening?’ On top of that, Kasia opened a bottle of champagne and sprayed it all over the dancefloor, which is typically what you are not supposed to do in nightclubs, but she was wearing the yellow jersey so got away with it. She went wild for about 30 minutes then said, “Let’s ghost,” so we left, and that was the end of an amazing day.

(Image: Thomas Maheux/ASO)

Kate Veronneau - Head of Women’s Strategy at Zwift

With Zwift being title sponsor of the race, I am the unofficial hype woman. I want to engage with as many people as possible and drive visibility, sharing smiles across the whole week of the Tour. I remember the night before that final stage I put a post out on social media saying that everyone should be watching – the general classification was uncomfortably tight and we knew there would be fireworks. I was on the finish line so I had an amazing vantage point and the tension was so high when Demi took the lead on the Glandon. I thought it was over then.

It was some of the most impressive performances I’ve ever seen from both riders. What Demi threw down, knowing what we know now about how she was in so much pain from the crash earlier in the race, was incredible. Then Kasia, having to hold on like that, I can’t imagine what kind of headspace you have to go into to pull that off, I’ve never seen such intensity – the atmosphere was electric. When Demi went through the finish line and collapsed and then Kasia went through, I was standing just after the finish line and remembered the exact moment we saw those results. It was agony and ecstasy, completely overwhelming. I had tears in my eyes and I knew we’d just seen something that summed up why we love sport – for these moments. It’s something I’ll talk about for the rest of my life.

At the time, you can only take in so much but looking back now I understand the impact that race had on the sport and the opportunities for future riders because of the coverage and visibility it drove. I’m so excited for the Tour this year based on that moment. I spend a lot of my time talking about how great women’s cycling is and for me the Tour last year just reinforced everything that I try and convince people to do, which is to watch the race. In those four seconds, Kasia and Demi did my job for me. The drama that unfolded on that day was truly spectacular.

Thomas Maheux - Race photographer for ASO

I’m on a motorbike for the whole race, covering it for all the partners and telling the story of the race, as well as capturing the landscape. For the final stage on Alpe d’Huez, I did so many stops, especially because there weren’t so many spectators on every corner so we could stop every two or three turns, which actually made the day quite hectic getting on and off. I follow the entire women’s cycling season so I was quite happy with the number of fans on the climb – it wasn’t the same as the men’s race but it was still a lot, even at the finish.

When we were at the top of the Col du Glandon, it was quite foggy so I couldn’t see anything – I only saw the riders a few metres before they passed me. Demi came and I remember waiting and waiting for the next rider, thinking it was quite early in the stage for a gap that big. When you’re on the motorbike, you can’t quite see their expressions properly as everything happens so fast, but you’re very aware of the gap stabilising and going up and down. I saw Kasia going full gas in between the Glandon and Alpe d’Huez, but I also remember going back to the front and seeing how much Demi was pushing. It was really a battle.

We have to take the difficult decision to leave the race convoy at one point and go to the finish – the last moment I saw was Demi in front and Kasia one corner behind her. ASO has two photographers on the race, so one of us stays at the finish to see them cross the line and the other goes a bit beyond the line to capture the reaction afterwards. I remember seeing Kasia waiting to find out if she’d won the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. I didn’t know which winner to try and capture. There were so many people, so much security, but it was still a really nice moment to be there for. It’s always a bit of a fight between photographers and it would be nice if everyone worked together a bit more – you just have to find a little space and focus on getting your photo. You keep shooting and shooting as much as you can as she’s so emotional at that moment. I stayed with her until she went to the podium, when Taylor came to her, getting as much as I could. You don’t want to annoy her, so I try to keep my distance and I don’t want her to feel that I’m there, but I need to take a picture. I really like this part of the job, that emotion after the finish, trying to immortalise that moment. I was happy with my shots afterwards, especially the one I got of her with Taylor. I noticed a lot of engagement with my photos on social media afterwards, more than other years. I think it’s because that last stage was amazing, it was proper cycling.

(Image: Thomas Maheux/ASO)

Amy Jones - Freelance cycling journalist and host of the Women’s Cycling Weekly podcast

My day on Alpe d’Huez started by driving up the climb and seeing so many people riding their bikes up there. There were all the signifiers of the classic mountain stage: people’s names on roads, everyone getting ready to support the race. I’d never been to Alpe d’Huez so seeing all the different hairpins with all of the different names dedicated to riders and the history was really cool. Once we got to the top, we set up in the press room to watch the race.

The interesting thing was how the race had played out leading up to that stage. I think if you had looked at the profile of the Tour before going into it, you’d have thought Demi would have a decent lead already and everyone else would probably have been trying to play catch up with her and just stick on her wheel on the climb to try and get time back. Previous editions of the race had been defined by one dominant rider – the first year Annemiek, then the second year Demi, so you just kind of expect it going into the final stage. The fact that it was so crazily close between Demi and Kasia was so exciting – you knew Demi had something up her sleeve and was going to do something. But could Kasia defend her lead? What would other riders do?

When we were watching the race, everyone was trying to do mental maths calculating the time gap, and we stood there with all the soigneurs and media milling around at the finish area. The team staff are nervous for their riders, and I was chatting to some of them. I remember it started to get a bit foggy and cloudy, which added to this moody, dramatic atmosphere. I actually switched off from journalist mode to fan mode at that moment. I wasn’t trying to think of angles but I was just appreciating how crazy it was the way this race was playing out. It’s a contagious thing – everyone is so excited, not just us but also fans on the road, I was amazed to see the number of people who had come from where I live in Girona to watch the race. You realise how big it is.

One of the overarching things I came away thinking about this race was when the women’s peloton goes up these climbs, we always talk about what a historic moment it is for women’s cycling. As if giving the women’s race a climb from the men’s race has legitimised it in some way. Actually, as much as it was true that having a finish on Alpe d’Huez grabs people’s attention and is a big spectacle, the biggest takeaway from the day and the most important thing about the stage was how good the racing is. It’s not just about them going up Alpe d’Huez and the women’s peloton getting to ride on these hallowed roads – they showed that these climbs can lead to super exciting racing for the women’s peloton. The race itself became the story, not just how important the opportunity for them to ride up Alpe d’Huez is.

At the finish it was so interesting to see the different emotions. It was really tense. At the time, people thought Demi was being a bit of a sore loser – she was upset to the point where she was barely even able to congratulate Kasia. But we have to imagine what is playing out in her head with the crash and her lack of team supporting that moment. She’d gone in as the favourite and lost by four seconds after training so hard for this; it’s normal to be so upset. Seeing those emotions up close makes you realise how important the Tour is.

The Tour de France itself is in a completely different league to any other race on the calendar, the same way that the men’s race is. As journalists afterwards we get to see the riders in the press conferences and see the immediate reaction. Kasia was ecstatic while Demi was so dejected. Honestly, I was sitting there overwhelmed and overstimulated too, but then we had a very long evening ahead of us writing up everything about what stories had unfolded during the day.

(Image: Thomas Maheux/ASO)

Annemiek van Vleuten - Former Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift winner and television commentator for NOS

NOS is the number one Dutch television station; we do the Tour de France for the men too – we try to explain the race a bit more and bring it closer to people. For some stages, I was the analyst at the finish line so I discussed what to expect from the stage and how it might go. I’d also done a similar role at Amstel Gold Race that year, so I was quite used to it and at the Tour, I never had the feeling that I should have been racing. It felt good that part of my life stopped in 2023. I remember the first time I did Alpe d’Huez myself, I did it before I started racing in 2006 for fun with two friends. I wanted to do it again to get the feeling and see how many spectators were there, so I did it in the morning of the final stage of the Tour. When I was riding halfway up I saw someone writing ‘Kasia’ with big paint on the road, and when I passed him I saw it was her husband Taylor, so I stopped and had a chat with him. I found it so sweet he was doing that. Afterwards, I went to the top where all the television stations are and watched the race from there at the finish line.

I found it so interesting and exciting because I was a bit worried before this Tour de France it could be a one-woman show with Demi winning easily. I thought this might have been a step backwards for women’s cycling because it would have taken the excitement and tension out of the final stage. It was a nice surprise that we had such an intense fight between Demi, Kasia and also Pauliena.

When Demi attacked and Kasia couldn’t follow, I had expected a bit more from Demi and thought Kasia managed it well. I was following it and seeing how it was unfolding, how they were battling and how neither of them would give up. They are known for their fighting spirit. With all the television people where I was, we were all so enthusiastic for this final show, it made me proud of women’s cycling and I think we need to thank the players for that.

I know Kasia from when she was my team-mate at Rabobank in 2013 and 2014, so it was so nice to see this super cute Polish girl who initially came in as a stagiaire for us winning there. She had actually asked me to coach her last year. I didn't feel ready for that, but I said we could have some calls so I’d share some experiences with her. That’s why I felt a small bit of involvement with her winning – I knew a bit about how she operated for this Tour and as a team-mate.

The moment she won I didn’t hesitate and just went over to give her a hug. I didn’t even say anything to her, but Kasia just hugged me back. She was over the moon, she was so happy and it is super beautiful to see that raw emotion so quickly after the finish line.

It was so good to have an exciting final – that makes the racing more popular. I had a feeling that the Tour de France Femmes’ popularity in France had gone down a bit and had a smaller audience, with fewer people shouting at the side of the road, so I think this finale helped to grow the number of fans and make a bigger and more popular event. That made me really happy.

(Image: Thomas Maheux/ASO)

Harry Dowdney - Director of ‘Queen Kasia’ documentary

I think by the final stage, everyone is knackered – journalists, filmmakers, riders, staff... I remember feeling exhausted but thinking how determined Kasia looked on the startline. When riders get dropped like she did on that first climb, you think the yellow jersey dream is gone, but the gap maintained, which was amazing. On Alpe d’Huez, it was the most epic two-rider time trial up the mountain. Being in the pen where all the journalists and camera people stand to watch the race, there was so much anticipation and a realisation that something so special was happening. I was thinking how brilliant it was to finish the Tour like this. We need as many eyes as possible on the women’s race and I remember thinking this is going to go beyond the usual media coverage.

I was out at the Tour to make a documentary for Canyon but they sponsor three women’s teams, so we had to cover a variety of angles going into the race. It became clear it would become a Kasia-focused film during the race because of how well she was riding. What that did mean, though, was at the top of the mountain, when Pauliena Rooijakkers looked like she might win the entire Tour, I’ve never been more scared in my entire professional career because we hadn’t captured any footage of her for Fenix-Deceuninck. I’m sorry she didn’t win, but for the documentary I couldn’t have been happier that Kasia pulled it out of the bag.

I felt so privileged to witness her afterwards in such a primal state of raw emotion, I could see she had gone into the absolute depths and almost couldn’t process the feeling. We have this screengrab of her face and it’s a combination of shock and screaming. It’s always a bit of a stressful moment at the finish because every filmmaker and photographer knows that those first minutes at the line are where all the gold is in terms of content. I can run quite fast and managed to get in by the barriers and get a good shot. It must be bizarre for the riders to have all those cameras in their face at point blank range, but we have a job to do so don’t feel too bad about it. Once I’d got a good shot of Kasia lifting the bike above her head, I stayed at the finish line to watch the other riders coming in.

I remember being very struck by how powerful it was to see the rest of the peloton come in, in dribs and drabs, because it showed how hard that stage was. At times it was a scene of devastation – riders crying with both tears of joy and pain, as well as a sense of absolute relief it was over. Some of those riders who were coming in over 45 minutes down, I thought about what a great achievement it was to finish a day like that. Every rider has a story to tell, and some of them will never forget making it up the mountain that day.

Each one of them was living that moment so intensely, whether it was victory or defeat. I felt so happy to be there, not just for Kasia’s win but for such a seminal moment in the history of women’s cycling.

Afterwards when the dust was settling, we went back to the team bus and the joy of the wider team and staff was completely unrestrained. It’s the kind of jubilation you can’t really explain until you have seen something like that. Canyon//SRAM don’t win loads of races so it was a big outpouring of emotion and joy. I tried to be detached from it as a neutral observer but it’s a strange thing being around people who look like they have won the lottery and you’re just filming it – you can’t help but smile.