Frodeno Going Mental Kasia Niewiadoma: Suffering to Win
Apr 13, 2026
Kasia Niewiadoma, Polish pro road cyclist and Grand Tour winner known for aggressive climbing, talks about pain, risk and mental strategies behind her Alpe d’Huez and Tour victory. She covers crash recovery and injury self-care. She explains using suffering productively, preferring to control races with attacks, and how she balances numbers with feeling to rediscover joy.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Getting Back On The Bike After A Crash
- After a crash Kasia's first action the next day is an easy spin to assess damage and speed recovery.
- She rode an easy outing with her husband after Milan–Sanremo to judge soreness, then progressed with physio and active recovery.
Risk Is Part Of Winning
- Kasia's coach reframed risk as intrinsic to top-level sport, removing guilt after a crash.
- He told her without risk there is no top sport, which lifted the weight of responsibility and normalized taking chances.
Dealing With Toxic Online Reactions
- Kasia received sexist online attacks after crashing, telling her women should stay in the kitchen.
- She largely disassociated from negative comments and focused on the overwhelming support she got from real fans.