Young German Cyclist Antonia Niedermaier Takes Third Place on Challenging Hautacam Climb

Antonia Niedermaier, a 20-year-old rider from CANYON//SRAM Racing, impressed spectators with her performance on stage two of the CIC Tour des Pyrénées. Niedermaier finished in third place, propelling her into third place in the general classification, as well as securing her the lead in the youth and mountain classifications. Two other riders from CANYON//SRAM Racing, Neve Bradbury and Pauliena Rooijakkers, also made it into the top ten on the challenging 13km-long climb of Hautacam.
The stage, considered to be the toughest of the race through the Pyrénées, featured steep inclines and hairpin turns that tested the limits of the riders. The stage was neutralized twice due to safety concerns regarding open traffic scenes. The peloton raced the final 20km to the summit finish.
Antonia Niedermaier commented on the challenging conditions, stating, “It was a difficult situation. As riders, we decided to neutralize it until the climb, but as the road before the climb was so narrow, it became quite fast to the bottom of it. Overall, we managed well.” She went on to credit her teammates Alice Towers and Sarah Roy for keeping the team in a good position, allowing her to focus on the climb.
Niedermaier made a strong move towards the front of the pack when there were only a few riders left leading the race. Despite being dropped a few kilometers from the finish, she pushed through and managed to catch up to the two leaders with approximately 700m to go. Niedermaier maintained a high pace and ultimately secured her third-place finish.
Reflecting on her performance, Niedermaier expressed her happiness, especially after facing challenges earlier in the year with knee surgery and crashes. She stated, “After some bad luck this year, I’m very happy with third place! It feels really good.”
With one stage remaining, Niedermaier currently sits in third place in the general classification, trailing the leader Marta Cavalli by just 5 seconds. Her teammates Neve Bradbury and Pauliena Rooijakkers are in fifth and eighth place, respectively. Niedermaier also leads the youth classification by 1:09 and the mountain classification by five points.
Cycling enthusiasts can watch the final stage from Nay to Bosdarros live on GCN and Eurosport, with the broadcast starting at 12:30CEST. The stage is 126km long and is set to begin at 11:50CEST.