Kasia Niewiadoma, who was standing on the podium for some of the toughest events on the women's Road Calendar, may have shot straight to the top step in the gravel world,

"I feel like I heard about gravel in advance I was like oh, sweet We just got on for a long time and got to the rim." I enjoy it luxe, but it's insanely hard," Niewiadoma said after claiming victory at Big Sugar Gravel in Bentonville. "I know that in some ways we were like, 'Oh, gravel is for those who really don't want to race,'" said Niebiadoma, who is standing on the overall podium of both the Giro d'Italia Donne and the Tour de France Femme, who won the course of the Gravel World Championship. She only stepped into the gravel race earlier this month after pointing out how much she played to her strengths. It was her first race, but it was a savvy choice as she claimed the Rainbow Jersey and her first UCI victory since 2019.

The 104-mile (168km) Big Sugar introduced her to yet another distinctive style of gravel racing, as her second race on a growing disciplined dirt road.

Canyon–SRAM Women's WorldTour Rider, from the recently introduced uci incarnation, the World Championships also pulled riders and heavy fields off the road. Attach- a strong field to grassroots evolution and discipline experts, took to the established US race scene.

"I think they [other competitors] are strong," Niewiadoma said in a media statement from Big Sugar. "They race differently than we do. Before the important section no one was really fighting for the position and I feel that in Europe it is one big fight before that.

"I can enter something first without fighting for it oh it seemed sweet." It feels like there are a lot of girls in Europe, so we get better. The girls were very strong there for sure.

Niewiadoma had taken off solo before the mark on the way to make it for two in the discipline, but said the course was relentless with the technical nature of the up and down route making it 'brutal' and 'hard to relax'.

"To be honest, the last 5km was like I was 'never again'. It's super hard, but I feel like yeah, always after winning, and after great suffering, it feels like you're as happy as you want more

but not immediately, as the offseason calls right now. That means Niewiadoma will have to wait next year to see if she can make it three for three in discipline.