New Zealander Ally Wollaston secured the Santos Tour Down Under Ochre Leader’s Jersey and a stage victory for the second time in two years on Saturday.
This time FDJ United-SUEZ’s Wollaston claimed victory on High Street, Willunga, after she rocked the race in a bunch sprint finish in Campbelltown during the Ziptrak Stage 1 in 2024.
“I had full trust in my team and where we would get the break back,” Wollaston said.
“We were fully committed to the plan of sprinting, so the girls had full belief in me. The girls (teammates) rode so amazingly, they were all there for me and the final (sprint).
“Amber (Kraak) rode the front basically the whole race (and) I really owe that to them. I'm so thankful that I could finish it off for the girls.”
As the race was nearing its end, defending Santos Tour Down Under winner Noemi Ruegg (EF Education-Oatly) and record-breaking three-time champion, Australia’s Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) moved to the front of the peloton with just 15km before the Willunga finish line.
Wollaston, however, had too much power after Canada’s national time-trial champion, Olivia Baril, earned her team Movistar’s first bonuses at their debut Santos Tour Down Under UCI WorldTour race.
Baril claimed the Ziptrak intermediate sprint at Snapper Point’s 17.3km mark in the longest stage in women’s TDU history.
However, it was Uno-X Mobility Italian sensation Alessia Vigilia who grabbed all the headlines during the long stage race.
Vigilia issued a challenge to the peloton’s early-season legs at the 99km mark when she broke away to open an impressive 2min 33secs lead heading into Willunga to end the first lap of the circuit.
Vigilia was still leading when she approached the final lap with a gap of about 2.4km (more than three minutes) at Willunga.
The Italian was on the brink of being caught by the chasing group then with about 9km to go before the finish, Vigilia rediscovered energetic resilience, as fatigue looked like it was about to kick in, to lead the race solo for more than 90km.
Vigilia was eventually swallowed by the peloton, just 300m before the finish line.
Vigilia believed that if the race were one kilometre shorter, she could have been raising her hands in triumph.
“For my first race with my new team, I really wanted to show that we worked hard in the (European) winter,” Vigilia said.
“I was not alone (riding solo), I really had a lot of support for my team in the radio.”
Vigilia was rewarded for a huge day in the saddle, landing the efex Queen of the Mountain jersey after taking all the maximum points on offer.
For the first time in Santos Women’s Tour Down Under history, the stage race paraded all 14 UCI WorldTeams for the 137.4km race.
Australia’s Amber Pate from Liv AlUla Jayco, however, did not start after a training ride crash.
It loomed to be a major blow for Pate’s teammate, 2026 national road champion Mackenzie Coupland, who was in her new colours for the first time on the WorldTour stage.
But the team suffered another setback 2.1km before the finish when teammate Ruby Roseman-Gannon was involved in a crash alongside members of Liv AlUla Jayco.
The race
efex Queen of the Mountain #2
95.4km, efex Queen of the Mountain #2 - Lower Willunga Hill (category 3)
Distance: 475m, Total Ascent 20m, Maximum Gradient: 5.6%, Average Gradient: 4.2%
High Street at Start / Finish Line, Willunga
Approx. 1:52pm
Ziptrak® Sprint #1
17.3km, Esplanade at Snapper Point near Butterworth Road, Aldinga Beach
Approx. 11:41am
Ziptrak® Sprint #2
114km, Esplanade at Snapper Point near Butterworth Road, Aldinga Beach
Approx. 2:23pm
The results
SANTOS OCHRE LEADER’S JERSEY – ALLY WOLLASTON (FDJ UNITED-SUEZ)
ZIPTRAK SPRINT JERSEY LEADER – ALLY WOLLASTON (FDJ UNITED-SUEZ)
EFEX KING OF THE MOUNTAIN LEADER – ALESSIA VIGILIA (UNO-X MOBILITY)
MYWOOSH YOUNG RIDER’S JERSEY LEADER – JUSTYNA CZAPLA (CANYON//SRAM ZONDACRYPTO)
