14 Jan 2023

Ally Wollaston shocked the superstars of the UCI World Tour with a fleeting win on the opening night of the Santos Tour Down Under on Saturday night in the Schwalbe Women's Classic.

On the eve of the UCI World Tour race which starts tomorrow with the Ziptrak Stage 1 Glenelg to Aldinga from 11.30 am, Wollaston raced to the front to finish cleanly and brilliantly on the city streets of Adelaide on Saturday night.

"Early in the race it went away (from me) and so I definitely had my doubts about whether I would stay away or not,'' Wollaston said.

"But judging by the calibre of riders that were in the breakaway, I think we did have a good chance.

"Once we got to around 45 minutes, I was thinking about how I'm gonna win this bike race now.

"It was a really, really fun day for sure."

Wollaston, 22, arrived in Adelaide in form for the New Zealand National Team before taking out the honour after she was recently crowned as her nation’s criterium champion.

After Dutch rider, Nina Buijsman took the first of four Ziptrak prime sprint prizes worth 500 Euros (about $777) as the scorching 38C day temperatures took a turn just before the race pedalled off at 5:30pm.

The breakaway had a 25-second gap with about 12 minutes left on the clock for the 60-minute race around a 1.35km circuit.

A strong southerly cooler wind aided the peloton in the early evening as Wollaston finished ahead of second-placed Michaela Drummond from Zaaf and Human Powered Health’s Buijsman.

 

The Santos Tour Down Under is part of the UCI World Tour

UCI WorldTourUCI Women's WorldTour