Last yr the Willunga stage of the Women’s Tour Down Under was the decider however this yr, with the climb approaching stage 2, the bottom gained on the well-known ascent may very well be rapidly forgotten after Sunday’s scorching and demanding stage in Stirling.
EF Education-Oatly’s Noemi Rüegg was spectacular on Willunga, matching the surges of favourites Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) and Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto) earlier than launching a searing assault within the last kilometre to steal the stage win and common classification lead.
However, the Swiss champion faces 5 laps of an Ardennes Classics-style circuit with hardly a flat metre throughout 106 kilometres and temperatures hovering to just about 40°C.
Last yr, the Stirling stage was solely three laps and was received by climber Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig in a decreased 29-rider uphill dash end. This yr, with two journeys up Willunga Hill of their legs and 5 laps in Stirling, the lead group is destined to be a lot smaller.
“Tomorrow goes to be a extremely onerous stage,” Rüegg mentioned after her victory. “It’s additionally going to be tremendous scorching once more, so I feel we simply have to remain calm and in management, comply with the large breakaways. I feel the stage ought to swimsuit me very well. It’s all the time up and down. No relaxation. So I’ll simply attempt to maintain staying with my group.
“I feel we now have it beneath management. We proved that we’re actually a robust group and if we stick collectively, then we will do nice issues.”
EF Education-Oatly do have a robust group, however they’re additionally up towards a number of equally highly effective squads who’ve come away empty-handed within the first two phases of the opening WorldTour race.
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Lidl-Trek went all in for Niamh Fisher-Black and Amanda Spratt however a crash for the Kiwi dulled her edge in what was a particularly aggressive last climb up Willunga.
Spratt expects the peloton to pour the stress on EF Education-Oatly on Sunday.
“I feel it is a it is a onerous course to defend a jersey on,” Spratt mentioned. “I feel that can be fairly troublesome. I count on to see very aggressive driving. I’m certain we will be aggressive, and I feel it should be actually thrilling. I definitely assume the gaps usually are not big on GC so I do not assume it is actually set in stone but.”
As it stands, the highest three within the GC are reasonably surprising names. Second is Silke Smulders (Liv-AlUla-Jayco), who’s 15 seconds down on Rüegg within the standings, whereas Norwegian champion Mie Bjørndal Ottestad (Uno-X Mobility) sits in third at 33 seconds after taking the dash for third on Willunga from Bradbury.
The motivation is excessive for Smulders, who needs to take the general victory for her Australian group on residence soil.
“It’s fairly shut nonetheless, and I feel I had additionally fairly a pleasant hole to the third place. The group is driving very well, and within the last, we did it so good. It was superb to really feel how they rode and believed in me. So I feel something is feasible for tomorrow.”
Ottestad, who began the 2024 season with an total victory within the Tour de Normandie Féminin, can also be anticipating to battle for the GC within the Tour Down Under.
“I feel tomorrow’s stage is fairly onerous, so I feel the GC continues to be fairly open,” Ottestad informed Cyclingnews. “I feel all of the groups are desirous to race onerous tomorrow additionally. So will probably be attention-grabbing to see. I’ll at the very least struggle for my place.”
GC nonetheless extensive open forward of ultimate stage
Not far down the general standings behind Rüegg are aggressive riders like Polish champion Dominika Wlodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) at 36 seconds. Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal), Elise Chabbey (FDJ-SUEZ) and Bradbury are a single second additional in arrears, whereas Spratt is at 40 seconds and Fisher-Black 46 seconds down.
Ella Simpson (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93), who made the lead group heading into the climb however completed 1:40 down on Rüegg, famous that main groups have but to attain a stage win and can be extremely motivated to alter that.
“I feel tomorrow goes to be tremendous aggressive,” Simpson mentioned. “I feel folks can be disenchanted with how at the moment panned out, and we will see groups going left, proper and centre to try to make a change to that GC. So yeah, tomorrow goes to be onerous.”
FDJ-SUEZ is a main instance, having raced aggressively within the first two phases however they’re but to search out the highest step. Their high GC rider, Chabbey, might not be the group’s solely possibility on Sunday, based on new recruit Ally Wollaston.
“I feel we will race with quite a bit much less stress tomorrow,” Wollaston informed Cyclingnews. “That’s one of many the explanation why I selected this group – we race very aggressively and with a variety of ardour. I feel we now have an actual collective buy-in to race actually aggressively tomorrow and tackle the race and never be spectators of the race. I feel we now have not simply Elise however a variety of playing cards to play tomorrow.”
In the primary two phases, the breakaways have been restricted to 1 or two riders, with Wollaston happening the assault earlier than the primary Willunga ascent to affix solo chief Alli Anderson (ARA Australian Cycling Team). Wollaston’s dash for second was upstaged by solo winner Daniek Hengeveld (Ceratizit-WNT).
With every thing nonetheless to play for on the ultimate stage in Stirling, that almost all definitely is not going to be the case. WorldTour groups like Canyon-SRAM, FDJ-SUEZ, Lidl-Trek, and UAE Team ADQ aren’t within the place to guard a podium place and will effectively come collectively in a breakaway to attempt to depose Rüegg from the highest step.
“I feel we now have a variety of riders that may do actually sturdy rides tomorrow,” Bradbury mentioned. “I feel it is good for us to go on the entrance foot and put stress on the opposite groups, and make it an thrilling race.”
Her teammate Chloé Dygert, who has been on the assault in each phases thus far, is undoubtedly going to do the identical on Sunday.
“I’m actually trying ahead to tomorrow. I actually just like the terrain. But once more, it is day three of a stage race and it is the primary race of the yr, so all of us are going to have drained legs. I feel tomorrow goes to be who has probably the most left within the tank. We’re simply going to race it onerous after which attempt to pull it off.
Whatever occurs, the ultimate stage in Stirling is sure to be a cracker.