Polish rider wins Tour de France by narrowest margin in history

Kasia Niewiadoma on Sunday clinched the 2024 Tour de France title by just four seconds, the narrowest margin in the history of either the men's or women's race, holding off a late attack from Demi Vollering.

The thrilling finish at the iconic Alpe d'Huez saw Niewiadoma survive a late charge from the defending champion Vollering, who trailed the Pole by 1:15 entering the final day of the Tour.

Vollering began her charge roughly 25 miles from the finish line, on the steepest slopes of the Col du Glandon, and at one point claimed the virtual yellow jersey lead of 1:27 over Niewiadoma. However, the Pole fought back on the upper slopes before sprinting home with four seconds to spare. Amazingly, all that happened after Vollering claimed a 10-second time bonus by winning the final stage.

Reflecting on the moment she lost the lead to Vollering, Niewiadoma revealed she went into "a moment of relaxation" and did everything to get her "power back" on the slopes of Col du Glandon.

"I just ate everything I had in my pockets, drank a lot of fluids, and then I thought, 'Okay, I'm ready to go again,'" Niewiadoma said, via CyclingNews. Once she composed herself, the Pole climbed the Alpe d'Huez for the most critical three-mile stretch of her career. And even then, she admittedly "lost faith" in her ability to win and couldn't believe she pulled it off.

"I hated everything, to then finish and learn that I won the Tour de France is insane," she said.

The four-second victory margin marks the closest race in Tour history since the 1989 men's race that saw USA's Greg LeMond defeat France's Laurent Fignon by eight seconds. For perspective, the previous second-closest victory margin saw Alberto Contador beat Cadel Evans by 23 seconds in 2007.

Niewiadoma's win means the Tour de France Femmes has seen different winners in its three editions since the inaugural race. Sunday's finish also reignited the rivalry between Niewiadoma and Vollering, who have drawn comparisons to their male counterparts of Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. The two ladies have finished on the podium in all three races, winning one yellow jersey each, dominating the femme Tour much like Pogacar and Vingegaard have done with the men's race in recent years.