SRAM launches ‘Kasia. The Polish Champion. A documentary.’

In the week leading up to the fourth edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, SRAM has shared a documentary following the path of 2024 winner Kasia Niewiadoma Phinney.

The film “takes viewers from Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney’s childhood in Poland to the world’s biggest stages. It’s a story about Kasia’s grit, heart, and strength that powers every ride. Hear from the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift champion and those closest to her as they reflect on the successes, setbacks, and spirit that define her journey.”

Sharing a human story

“Before Kasia raced in the world’s biggest cycling events, before she wore the Polish national champion’s jersey or stood on the top step of the podium at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, she was just a kid trying to win a bet with her dad.”

Women’s pro cycling

As media coverage has increased and sponsorship has expanded, a growing number of events on the women’s calendar have seen women racing on a variety of terrain. Grand Tours. Classics. Gravel races.

Beyond the massive influence of Zwift, as the title sponsor of the Tour de France femmes avec Zwift, race organisers Flanders Classics have been active in prioritising women’s racing, with CEO Tomas Van Den Spiegel and team deciding to run the men’s editions of flagship Classics races before the women’s races. Result: Massive crowds. Impressive media coverage. Strong sponsorship partnerships. Women’s races shown off in the best possible way.

All of this has been critical to expanding the number of events Flanders Classic has been able to put on. A commercially sound business decision which has directly uplifted women’s racing opportunities.

With media coverage and event sponsors come team and rider sponsorship. Naturally enough, this leads us to the subject of riders being paid a wage – I know, it sounds obvious, for a professional sport, but is still not something to take for granted.

Beyond the sports superstars, being paid to ride is (as of 2020) a UCI Women’s WorldTour (WWT) contractual requirement. At Women’s ProTeam and Continental Team level, the requirement to pay a wage (a stipulated minimum amount) is there, but the amount on offer isn’t a ‘living wage’. In 2025. Abby Mickey explored the topic of pay for a recent Escape Collective feature.

Representation and a strong, independent, voice

The Cyclists’ Alliance (TCA) is the independent voice of women’s professional cycling that represents and supports female riders from around the world. Founded and led by former and current professional cyclists, TCA provides resources to help riders succeed both on and off the bike.

Should we be ‘grateful’ for any coverage?

Regrettably, some old challenges remain – live coverage of races starting long after race winning break aways have formed: Yes, that still happens. More often that we’d like to admit.

Remember when the local organising committee for the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships decided – at the last minute – that there would be no live coverage at all for the women’s race!

And then there’s the irony of an RCS Sports owned Women’s Giro d’Italia being almost invisible, whilst the ASO owned Men’s edition of the TdF shows for free, for the last time, in the UK.

Visibility is critical.

And it’s for this reason that BikeBiz, not known as a media outlet that covers athletes and events, is sharing ‘Kasia. The Polish Champion. A documentary.’

Yes, the media landscape is changing (and, if you’re in print or online, extremely challenging). But… and it’s a massive BUT….. women’s sports are thriving. Football (soccer), rugby, cricket, have all set records for attendance, and seen massive increases in participation.

If cycling is to join this group, which our industry desperately needs to – genuinely new riders / customers – then it’s up to us to showcase our stars, their supporters, the events teams, the media partners, and those pioneering early sponsors.