Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), walking through the Pau mixed zone in her polka-dot jersey, had a relaxed smile on her face as she answered media questions. But a closer look revealed that Niewiadoma had closed the gap to the once dominant Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team), won the mountains prize, and, most importantly, boldly went for the win on the Col d'Aspin descent.

"It was a great feeling to finish second in Tourmalet behind Demi [Vollering]. After the Classic I was doubting myself. I was working hard, but for some reason I couldn't get to the top. I couldn't be the player that created the final. That is never easy mentally. To be at the front in Tourmalet without being caught up so soon gave me motivation and strength, and in a way I felt like "Suck it up,"" said Niewiadoma, who was pleased with her performance on the Queen of Races stage.

On the final day, she had to defend her second place in GC against Van Vleuten and Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Works). Nieuwiedma, however, had prepared specifically for this time trial.

"My time trial experience at the Tour de Suisse made me realize that it's not enough to just get on the bike and push for power like I normally push on a road bike... I trained at altitude for three or four weeks and was able to overcome my weaknesses.

In the end, Kopecký was 45 seconds behind Nieviadma, with the Belgian taking the runner-up spot by a mere 21/100 of a second. Nieviadma was disappointed to have lost a place on the final day, but was happy to remain on the overall podium.

"It would have ruined my mood," she said.

Instead, the mood was good at the Canyon-SRAM camp in Place Verdun, where riders, staff, and fans in polka-dot T-shirts listened to Nienyadoma's impromptu speech thanking everyone for their dedication before toasting the podium and the mountains jersey with paper cups filled with champagne. The mood was good.

One of the staff members who had a major influence on Nienyadoma's performance was Magnus Beckstedt, who joined Canyon-SRAM as sport director before the 2023 season.

"Maggie has made a difference to the team, coupled with some pretty aggressive changes to the roster. We have a lot of talented young riders who bring a great spirit to the team and show a lot of spirit and ferocity. The whole dynamic has changed with Magnus and the young riders. When you have the same members for years, you follow the same pattern, and when you have even more of an opportunity, you want to go higher," Nienyadoma said.

Before the polka-dot assault in the Pyrenees, Ricarda Bauernfind's stage 5 victory was the highlight of the Tour of Canyon-Slam. And racing with her young teammates brought a different atmosphere to the team.

"I love working with young riders. They have a different energy. They don't calculate as much, they don't worry as much, they don't see as many obstacles. I feel like I'm not as confident with the women's peloton because after a couple of years in the women's peloton, you experience more crashes, more failures, and you feel less confident."

"I feel like I have a lot more experience with the women's peloton," she said.

"Being with young riders takes me back to the old days. I can help them and help myself by sharing my experience and knowledge. Thanks to them, the whole team was in good spirits. Even if we had a bad day, we fixed it for the next day or turned it into a joke. Everyone was relaxed, we had big goals, but we weren't stressed or nervous. And Ricarda's victory boosted the mood and confidence of the team," explained Nienyadoma.

She turned 29 in late September and is slowly but surely becoming one of the older riders in the women's peloton. Nieviadma revealed that she probably won't be racing as long as Van Hulten.

"I feel like this was the hardest race I've ever been in any race. Every year it gets harder, faster, and more professional, and I'm glad I'm in my 30s and won't have to race for the next 10 years," she said. It's nice to be in my 30s and not have to race for the next 10 years," she said.

Bauernfind and Giro d'Italia Donne stage winner Antonia Niedermeier have moved to Canyon-SRAM Racing via their development team, Canyon-SRAM Generation.

"Having the Generation team attached to my team is great for young riders. It allows them to grow slowly and gradually. It is difficult to move from junior racing to the elite category and feel like you belong. Without a generation team, young riders are bound to struggle.

"I wish more teams would invest energy, time, and money in creating generation teams that focus exclusively on riders under 23 and allow them to take the slow step.