Unlike many athletes who rely on motivational rituals or carefully crafted routines, Ewa’s approach is remarkably simple. “There’s no trick,” she says. “I do what they tell me to do, and that’s it.” If anything pushes her out the door, it is the reality of what lies ahead. “There’s panic before the start, and that forces me to go to training regardless.” It is not the glamorous side of motivation. But it is honest. And honesty has become a defining theme of her journey.
Over the past months, Zwolska has spent plenty of time confronting what she feels she has lost. “I’m simply not in the shape I used to be,” she admits. Two years ago, she remembers feeling stronger, fitter, and more capable of handling physical challenges. Today, she often finds herself surprised by her own limitations. “I struggle most with my body,” she says. “It still amazes me that it has its limits.”
Yet while training has exposed weaknesses, it has also revealed unexpected abilities. One of the biggest surprises has been her relationship with road cycling itself. Having always gravitated towards mountain adventures, she assumed road riding would feel unnatural. Instead, the opposite happened. “I learned that riding a road bike isn’t as difficult as some people describe,” she says. “I have decent stability and even enjoy it.”
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It is a small discovery on the surface, but it reflects something deeper: the willingness to challenge assumptions about herself and discover new capabilities along the way. That process has been made possible by the people around her. Her partner has become an essential part of the journey, stepping in wherever needed: helping with the bike, driving her to service appointments after punctures, and covering responsibilities when training takes her away. “He sees how important it is to me,” she says.
Even from a distance, her family remains a constant source of encouragement. “They call, cheer me on, and encourage me when I cry because I can’t do this race.” Those moments of doubt have been frequent. In fact, when Ewa looks back at the version of herself who first agreed to become a Challenger, she does not offer a confident lesson or a hype-up speech; instead, she offers vulnerability. “I’m afraid of failing miserably,” she admits. “I’m afraid of the start, the crowds, and I feel like I’m not ready.”
But beneath those fears lies something even more important. “I don’t regret it,” she says. Despite the exhaustion, the stress, and the uncertainty, The Unseen Stage has given her something she was missing long before training began. “If it weren’t for the training, I wouldn’t have any time for myself,” she explains. “Cycling is a way to escape.” For someone who lives where she works, whose days are consumed by responsibility, that may be the greatest discovery of all. Not watts, fitness gains or race preparation – but the realisation that carving out space for yourself is not selfish. It is necessary.
And perhaps the strength Ewa is finding is not the ability to conquer a climb or survive a race. Maybe it is learning that even in the busiest chapter of life, there is value in claiming something as your own.
Will Ewa’s determination be enough to shoulder this challenge? On The Unseen Stage website, you can 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!
