Noemi Rüegg and her EF Education-Oatly group efficiently defended the Swiss champion’s total place to win the 2025 Women’s Santos Tour Down Under, the primary WorldTour race of the season, however the group had been definitely put to the check by assaults from different groups who sought to unseat the rider in ochre.
Throughout the 105.6km lengthy Ardennes Classic-style circuit in Stirling, the group had been underneath stress from rivals like Lidl-Trek and Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, a lot in order that Rüegg was remoted for a time and needed to cowl one assault herself with 40km to go.
Rüegg withstood the onslaught. In the ultimate 15km, when it turned clear the race would now be for the stage win, Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto tore up the peloton with repeated assaults for eventual stage winner Chloé Dygert and Rüegg was in a position to preserve her power for the ultimate climb to the end, taking third on the day and profitable the general by 13 seconds forward of Silke Smulders (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) and Mie Bjørndal Ottestad (Uno-X Mobility) in third.
“I knew it was going to be a tricky day, so I used to be actually nervous, however I additionally had lots of belief and perception within the group they usually did a tremendous job,” Rüegg mentioned earlier than naming teammate Sarah Roy because the MVP of the day.
“Sarah was completely wonderful at present – she was there till the very finish and I actually did not anticipate her to be there that lengthy. She actually coated so many strikes and likewise calmed me down, and he or she was there for me, simply to mentally hold me up and encourage me. I’m tremendous grateful for her and he or she made the proper calls, she made the proper choices as group captain, she did every little thing proper.”
Roy was extra modest in her evaluation, telling Cyclingnews, “We dealt with it as finest we might.
“We had been undoubtedly feeling the warmth at present. We’re simply fortunate that Noemi is an absolute freak, and he or she was in a position to maintain her personal within the final lap.”
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When requested about having to cowl so many assaults, Roy mentioned, “It actually damage. I used to be cramping. We had lots of people in all types [of trouble]. My teammate Kim [Cadzow] was throwing up and now she’s bought a bloody nostril. We actually labored for it at present.”
Despite the trials and tribulations, the second-year group pulled off the defence of a slim lead and have loads of achievements to have fun.
“We’re simply so pleased that Noemi might take the win, it could not be any higher,” Roy mentioned. “It simply goes to indicate that when a group picks individuals that may cooperate and work properly collectively, and never all the time simply paying for big-name riders, it makes an enormous distinction. [The team are] taking the time to develop individuals and it is a very nice setting, and supportive, which I feel is taking part in properly into our fingers for positive.”
EF Education-Oatly sports activities director Daniel Foder advised Cyclingnews that maintaining Rüegg calm and out of hassle was the important thing to the victory.
“It was tough for us, however in the long run, Noemi additionally proved that she was actually robust,” Foder mentioned. “We knew coming into the final 10k if she was nonetheless there with the very best, we believed that she can be OK. She had some good teammates round her, particularly Sarah who was actually, actually robust at present.
“We knew from the start if she begins to do an excessive amount of, it can finish in a foul method for us. So after one try from her the place she tried to react, she stayed calm and was in a position to disguise a bit of bit within the group. Plenty of groups wished to win the stage, so we knew that it was not like we needed to shut down every little thing. That additionally saved us generally at present.”
It is simply the second season for the group as part of the identical organisation as the boys’s WorldTour group, and as a ProStaff with much less expertise as a unit than their opponents, Foder would have been happy with the squad even when they weren’t in a position to pull off the victory.
“It’s a brand new state of affairs for us. In most races we go to, we’re form of like an underdog, so it is new to search out ourselves on this state of affairs the place we actually must defend, additionally towards larger groups. This challenge is actually nonetheless in improvement and we’re additionally speaking about lots of improvement riders.
“No matter what, a day like at present would all the time have been a studying expertise. Because generally you make it and you’ve got the win. If we had misplaced every little thing at present, it could nonetheless have been a studying [experience] and it doesn’t matter what, they might have remembered at the present time and improved from it.
“I feel having that behind my thoughts, I used to be not too nervous about it, as a result of I do know that we are going to have defeats additionally this season. We will hopefully even have extra success.”
The group will head into the brand new Schwalbe Women’s Classic Pro Series race subsequent weekend and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race one week later with extra confidence.
“They are completely completely different [races], after all. Now it is about having fun with that Noemi received this race, after which it is about maintaining momentum, hold making an attempt. We have lots of new riders on the group, so we’re nonetheless studying methods to race collectively as properly, so the main target is identical. The win right here doesn’t change something – it is creating momentum, and it is creating extra perception inside the group.”