Valentina Scandolara has asked for more television coverage of women’s racing after sealing the overall victory at the Santos Women’s Tour. Scandolara, who beat teammate Melissa Hoskins by six seconds, has called for broadcasters to insert some footage of women’s races into the men’s coverage.
“I saw some great talent out there. Australian women's cycling is just amazing and packed with really classy riders,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “Today around 3000 people were out there cheering at us. They loved it, to say the least. I wonder why we rarely have the chance to reach through tv and live coverage even more people, and make them fall in love with Women's Cycling… Just leave us 10' on the tv, during the men's race. I can guarantee you won't regret it.”
Scandolara also praised her Orica-AIS teammates heavily after taking her first professional stage race victory at the inaugural event. The Australian team dominated the four-day event, winning all but one of the stages along with the overall classification.
“I lived some great days at the Santos Women's Tour Down Under. As I said before, my team ORICA-AIS has been amazing and I am really grateful to all of them, riders and staff,” she said. “Melissa Hoskins and I won three races out of four, but we were 5 girls out there and each one of us deserved a win, and the jersey that I got the luck to wear.”
RoXSolt wins polka-dot jersey with guest rider Rowney
Australia’s Loren Rowney had a strong start to her season while guest riding for the RoXSolt Ladies team at the Santos Women’s Tour where she won the mountains competition and place third overall.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
“And that's a wrap for the #TDUWomen tour! Really happy to take 3rd on GC, & the polka Jersey! HUGE thanks to my #RoxsoltLadies teams!," Rowney posted on Twitter upon the conclusion of the four-day race in Adelaide.
The Roxsolt team dominated the mountains classification with both Lauren Kitchen and Rowney, who took over the lead after winning both climbs during stage 2. Rowney picked up additional points during stage 4 to secure the polka-dot jersey victory.
She also placed third in the overall classification behind title winner Valentina Scandolara and Melissa Hoskins, both from Orica-AIS.
Rowney and teammate Tiffany Cromwell, who both race for the UCI women’s team Velocio-SRAM, opened the season with guest appearances for RoXSolt Ladies at the Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic and the Santos Women’s Tour.
Edmondson secures green jersey at Santos Women’s Tour
Australia’s Annette Edmondson capped off a successful week of racing in her Wiggle Down Under debut at the Santos Women’s Tour. She secured the event’s green sprint jersey on after the stage 4 finale on Tuesday in front of her hometown crowd in Adelaide.
“The first target of the race was to secure the jersey and we were really happy to get that,” Edmondson said. “This is a special race for me so it’s nice to have had the confidence of my teammates. Especially in front of a home crowd; that meant a whole lot to me.”
Edmondson started her quest for the sprint jersey by winning the first intermediate sprint during stage 1, although she didn’t gain any additional points at the finish line in Murray Bridge, she settled into third place in the sprint competition.
Her third-place finish in stage 2 in Adelaide bumped her up into the lead of the sprint competition. She increased that lead after picking up additional points in the intermediate sprints during stage 3, while her teammate Giorgia Bronzini won the bunch sprint for the stage win.
During stage 4, Wiggle Down Under’s Chloe Hosking and Bronzini took the first two places at the first sprint, beating Orica-AIS rider Melissa Hoskins, to protect Edmondson’s sprint lead. Edmondson then won the second intermediate sprint, which solidified her top place in the sprint competition.
Although the team was pleased with winning the green jersey, they were also hoping for another stage win, however, they had to settle for a second place with Bronzini, as Hoskins went on to win the last stage.
