{"id":230157,"date":"2026-02-24T15:26:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T15:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/being-super-sharp-and-stay-fighting-for-your-place-kasia-niewiadoma-phinneys-road-to-strade-bianche-runs-through-polishing-classics-readiness-at-omloop-het-nieuwsblad\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T15:26:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T15:26:30","slug":"being-super-sharp-and-stay-fighting-for-your-place-kasia-niewiadoma-phinneys-road-to-strade-bianche-runs-through-polishing-classics-readiness-at-omloop-het-nieuwsblad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/being-super-sharp-and-stay-fighting-for-your-place-kasia-niewiadoma-phinneys-road-to-strade-bianche-runs-through-polishing-classics-readiness-at-omloop-het-nieuwsblad\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Being super sharp and stay fighting for your place&#8217; \u2013 Kasia Niewiadoma Phinney&#8217;s road to Strade Bianche runs through polishing Classics readiness at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"b8f222ac-dc11-4f7a-8831-104a6fdd1dbb\">&#8220;It\u2019s about being strong, but also about being super sharp and mentally ready to fight for positioning&#8221; is how <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/katarzyna-niewiadoma-phinney\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/katarzyna-niewiadoma-phinney\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/katarzyna-niewiadoma-phinney\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kasia Niewiadoma Phinney<\/a> (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) summed up her approach to <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/omloop-het-nieuwsblad-women\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/omloop-het-nieuwsblad-women\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/omloop-het-nieuwsblad-women\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Omloop Het Nieuwsblad <\/a>this weekend, where she&#8217;s aiming to be in the thick of the action and polishing her Classics racecraft even if her biggest goals of the spring are yet to come.<\/p>\n<p>With 10 participations to her name in the Opening Weekend event, it&#8217;s fair to say that Omloop Het Nieuwsblad holds few secrets for the Polish star, whose best <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tag\/performance\/\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tag\/performance\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tag\/performance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">performance<\/a> was two years ago, when she placed seventh in the first chase group behind <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/races\/omloop-het-nieuwsblad-women-2024\/elite-women\/results\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/races\/omloop-het-nieuwsblad-women-2024\/elite-women\/results\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/races\/omloop-het-nieuwsblad-women-2024\/elite-women\/results\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">winner Marianne Vos<\/a> and three other breakaway riders.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"b8f222ac-dc11-4f7a-8831-104a6fdd1dbb-2\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Niewiadoma then went on to finish fourth in<a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/strade-bianche-women\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/strade-bianche-women\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/strade-bianche-women\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Strade Bianche <\/a>that year, a race in which she&#8217;s hit the goalposts on many occasions but has yet to win. As she said in a team press release this week, she&#8217;ll be targeting the Tuscan one-day race as her first big priority of 2026.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-3 pb-4 mb-4 border-solid border-y border-neutral-300\">\n<span class=\"font-article-heading block pb-3 !text-base font-bold uppercase sm:text-sm text-[#333]\"><br \/>\nYou may like<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">But before that, there&#8217;s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, of course. So after placing a promising fifth overall in the UAE Tour Women, her first race of the season and debut in the Middle Eastern WorldTour race, Niewiadoma is gunning for a good result in the very different, but much more familiar scenario of central Flanders this Saturday, too.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I like starting my classics season with Omloop Nieuwsblad because it&#8217;s a great race to get a reminder of what the spring Classics feel like. Of course, it\u2019s about being strong, but also about being super sharp and mentally ready to fight for positioning,&#8221; Niewiadoma said in a team press release revealing the full lineup for Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto this Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You have to be turned on from the start and keep fighting for your place in the peloton; it\u2019s something that\u2019s really easy to lose over the winter because you&#8217;re just comfortably training on your own or with a small group. For me personally, Strade is the first big goal, so I just want to make sure that I have an opener before then.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A successful Omloop Het Nieuwsblad for me would definitely be finishing with a podium spot. I would say that a successful race is when I feel like I can take my chance by creating a group or attacking. I\u2019m not only following, but I&#8217;m actually making the race.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-37TG27CE3Wuf56C3esTxcE\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-37TG27CE3Wuf56C3esTxcE slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">In terms of overall strategy, Canyon&#8217;s lead sports director for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Rolf Aldag, pointed out that last year&#8217;s race, in which the top favourites neutralised each other, was unlikely to materialise for a second straight occasion.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think in these races, every bigger group has to be taken seriously, because you do get really far in a break. It has a different rhythm; you don&#8217;t have to sprint to every corner, and you can ride more steady. It\u2019s looking like it could go that way this year \u2013 a lot of cross tailwind, so it will be fast and not that draining if you&#8217;re in the breakaway,&#8221; Aldag said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Aldag added that he thought last year&#8217;s race, with riders cancelling each other out and a four-rider early break staying away, was a very special situation, with bunch and team leaders at odds over who should chase.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">&#8220;I would be surprised if that happens again, but if it does, you&#8217;re better on the front foot than on the back foot, just sitting and waiting. I think it&#8217;s going to be really interesting.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-e43fbfd9-6544-46b8-9dca-57964381735b\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"canyon-sram-zondacrypto-for-omloop-het-nieuwsblad-3\">Canyon-SRAM Zondacrypto for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad<\/h2>\n<ul id=\"df111a75-af78-4969-b34c-6d7b04b0d00b\">\n<li>Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt (GBR)<\/li>\n<li>Chiara Consonni (ITA)<\/li>\n<li>Tiffany Cromwell (AUS)<\/li>\n<li>Nastya Kolesava (BLR)<\/li>\n<li>Kasia Niewiadoma Phinney (POL)<\/li>\n<li>Agnieszka Skalniak-S\u00f3jka (POL)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/womens-cycling\/being-super-sharp-and-stay-fighting-for-your-place-kasia-niewiadoma-phinneys-road-to-strade-bianche-runs-through-polishing-classics-sharpness-at-omloop-het-nieuwsblad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;It\u2019s about being strong, but also about being super sharp and mentally ready to fight for positioning&#8221; is how Kasia Niewiadoma Phinney (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) summed up her approach to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad this weekend, where she&#8217;s aiming to be in the thick of the action and polishing her Classics racecraft even if her biggest goals [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":230158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6804],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-230157","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}