Zwolska runs a mountain hut, working shifts that often stretch to 16 hours a day. In theory, training is neatly organised inside an app. In reality, every workout requires negotiation with exhaustion, time, and geography itself. “To do my workout, I have to descend from the mountains to the road,” she explains. “Every descent is time-consuming, and so is the ascent, so I need more time for training than someone in the valley.”
The image perfectly captures her version of The Unseen Stage: while many riders squeeze training around busy schedules, Ewa is balancing it against a physically demanding lifestyle where work never really stops. “I work like a horse here and train,” she says bluntly. “I have no personal time outside of training and physiotherapy.”
That physiotherapy has become necessary because of growing back pain – one more challenge layered onto an already overloaded routine. Recovery, she knows, is the missing piece. “Sometimes I get on the bike already terribly tired from work, and my legs are like jelly,” she admits. “I have no recovery, which I know is very important.” Despite everything, she keeps showing up.
Part of that consistency comes from support. Another rider, also named Ewa, whom she met during cycling technique sessions, has become a steady source of motivation and guidance, helping her understand the training schedule and stay mentally focused through the process.
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Still, this stage of preparation has tested Zwolska emotionally as much as physically. “I’m not satisfied with my achievements at all,” she says with raw honesty. “I had higher expectations.” At first, she noticed progress on climbs, but later felt as if she was slipping backwards. “Now I don’t know,” she says. “I fall flat on my face sometimes. I’m very stressed.” It is perhaps the most relatable side of endurance training – the part rarely visible in polished race photos. The uncertainty. The fatigue. The feeling that no matter how much effort goes in, improvement does not always arrive in a straight line.
And yet, even through frustration, there are moments when Zwolska’s natural stubbornness resurfaces. “Sometimes the workouts are intense, but it excites me,” she says. “I’d like to push harder and do more, although it would probably be beyond my capabilities.” That desire to do more, even while stretched to her limit, says everything about why she accepted The Unseen Stage in the first place. This is someone who once rode across Poland with almost no preparation simply because the idea fascinated her. Now she is confronting a different type of challenge entirely: discipline, repetition, and the psychological grind of structured training.
“I’ve only done romantic cycling so far,” she says with a laugh. “I definitely know now it’s not attractive. You’re hitting familiar routes to stay in the zones.” No more carefree rides driven purely by exploration, at least until the end of summer. In their place is a more demanding relationship with the bike; one built around consistency and sacrifice. And perhaps that is exactly what makes Zwolska’s journey so compelling. She is not training in perfect conditions. She is not balancing sport around comfort or free time. She is trying to build herself into an L’Étape rider while carrying the weight of everyday life on tired legs.
Will Ewa achieve her goals? Vote on her success by answering the question, Will Ewa find out that running a sought-after mountain cabin and rigorous training are incompatible, or will she cross the finish line? By doing so, you will enter a draw for a high-end Superior bike or a one-year TrainingPeaks subscription!
