Women's Tour Down Under: Ally Wollaston edges Noemi Rüegg to take second win on stage 2

An extremely explosive day in a baking hot Women’s Tour Down Under stage two was taken by Ally Wollaston (FDJ United-Suez), who had to dig extremely deep to make it two from two and to power to another amazing victory ahead of defending champion Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) and Josie Nelson (Picnic-PostNL).

It was an afternoon of attacking from a huge array of wonderful riders, with a full plethora of attackers trying to cause chaos with FDJ United-Suez trying desperately to control things for their leader and stage one winner, Wollaston. The French team managed to come out on top yet again despite all the dangerous attacks.

“It feels amazing. I was feeling really not good. I said I wasn’t feeling good. I found it so hard to move up. In the last 10km, something just happens in the brain, and then I'm here on the front, so I am just so happy,” said a jubilant Wollaston.

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“I just had to have full belief in my team with such a strong breakaway. The girls just did everything they could and I just had to sit there hoping it came back. I’m looking forward to it tomorrow and I’ll give everything I can and we'll see how it goes.”

Wollaston keeps hold of the ochre leader’s jersey for the final stage tomorrow, as well as the lead in the points classification, with British rider Nelson wearing that on her behalf again tomorrow.

The mountains jersey is handed from Alessia Vigilia (Uno-X Mobility) to Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ), who has a big lead going into the final day. The white young rider’s jersey stays with Justyne Czapla (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrupto).

This year’s third and final stage is a demanding 126.5km of racing from Norwood to Campbelltown via two ascents of the Corkscrew climb with an average gradient of 9.7%.

How it unfolded

The day started in Magill in the high 20s Celsius, with the forecast set to reach around 37 degrees Celsius over the day, where the riders tackled the 130.7km route with over 2400 metres of elevation to Paracombe. As the flag dropped to start the race, the riders were immediately climbing on the 10km Ashton climb that had an average gradient of 4% but with kicks over 12%. There were three non-starters: Katia Ragusa (Human Powered Health), Rebecca Koerner (Uno-X Mobility) and Georgia Baker (Liv-AlUla-Jayco).

This early test did see some activity in the bunch with Rosita Reijnhout (Visma-Lease a Bike) launching first. She was swiftly dragged back by the Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek) led peloton. However, the Dutch registered squad were still keen to keep pushing. Reijnhout went again on the climb, but UAE Team ADQ was very keen to keep it together. More attacks came with Lotte Claes (Fenix-Premier Tech) and Mackenzie Coupland (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) trying to get away, but no gaps were formed.

The leader of the Queen of the Mountains, Alessia Vigilia (Uno-X Mobility), kicked the battle off for the points with Realini and Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ). The Spaniard took the maximum seven points ahead of Realini with five, Lauren Dickson (FDJ United-Suez) with three and Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto) with one.

It was an intense pace over the top of the climb with several splits in the peloton, with riders struggling to get back on. At the front, though, Australian national champion Coupland launched a brutal attack with Carina Schrempf (Fenix-Premier Tech), Dickson and Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek) following. However, this was eventually brought back. Immediately followed by Femke Gerritse (SD Worx-Protime) launching clear. Again, it came together, but still with various groups off the back after the Ashton climb.

It took a little while for the pace to settle down as several riders kept trying to force a break. Eventually, with just over 100km to go, the bunch calmed down and allowed some of the riders who were dropped on the early climb to get back in again with EF Education-Oatly, Lidl-Trek, UAE Team ADQ, Fenix-Premier Tech and FDJ United-Suez on the front. The next attack with real feeling was from the Fenix-Premier Tech riders, Schrempf and Flora Perkins, with Adegeest bridging with four other riders. However, Visma-Lease a Bike missed the move and dragged it back again.

The breakaway finally went with just a solo move by Finnish rider, Wilma Aintila (Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto), with 97km to go. She was looking around a lot as she may have expected the same as what had happened with every other move. However, she went solo and started concentrating on her effort in the Australian summer sun. The peloton almost came to a stop to let Aintila get a solid gap.

The first intermediate sprint came after over 40km of racing with Aintila taking the three points and bonus seconds, with race leader Ally Wollaston (FDJ United-Suez) taking two points and bonus seconds ahead of Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease a Bike), who took one point and one bonus second.

Shortly after the intermediate sprint in Lobethal, a familiar scene appeared as Amber Kraak (FDJ United-Suez) came to the front to set the tempo with a solo rider out front. Almost a straight copy of stage one. However, this time, the woman from the Netherlands had help from Adegeest as well.

The gap got up to 1’47” between Aintila and the bunch but Kraak really upped the tempo as well as the Fin up front, having a mechanical where she momentarily dropped her chain. The group did split, but it was more due to a feed zone rather than an increase in impetus. At the halfway point, the race was set in a very solid position with Aintila holding 1’30” over the Kraak-led peloton. At this point, it was announced that former Australian national champion Brodie Chapman (UAE Team ADQ) had abandoned the race.

The second QOM of the day, the 1.2km Forreston climb that had an average gradient of 4.2% with a max of 13.8%, came with Aintila holding a solid gap on the bunch. She took the seven points on the climb, which was new to the race. Back in the peloton, the attacks came led by Realini. It was, however, Blasi taking the five points ahead of the Italian, who took three and Ricarda Bauernfeind (Lidl-Trek) taking the one. The moves behind meant that Aintila’s gap dropped under half a minute, with several teams taking an interest in working on the front.

Shortly after the second QOM was the intermediate sprint in Kersbrook, with Aintila just about holding on for the three points and bonus seconds, with Wollaston taking two points and bonus seconds yet again ahead of defending champion Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly), who took the final point and bonus second. Aintila was swept up straight after the sprint with wave after wave of attacks coming for multiple kilometres afterwards before eventually settling down again.

New attacks went away on an uncategorised climb before the circuit around Paracombe, with Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) followed by several riders. That was brought back with her teammate, Mavi Garcia, immediately going over the top with Kraak. The peloton lost several riders on the climb. SD Worx-Protime and Lidl-Trek dragged the attackers back and tried to go clear of the peloton themselves but it came to nought. Blasi was the next to go clear with FDJ United-Suez, marking every single move and not working with them. Bradbury closed it all back together again. Włodarczyk tried again with Kraak locked to the wheel and it went nowhere.

From here on in, the racing was all out on the circuit around Paracombe, with UAE Team ADQ and Visma-Lease a Bike being by far the most active teams. Soraya Paladin (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto) took the moment on the circuit to abandon as she was suffering after crashing on stage one. Her teammate and white jersey wearer Justyne Czapla tried a move and was the first rider to get a gap since Aintila. However, the peloton just controlled things and dragged her back when it suited them.

The second ascent of the Paracombe, the first with QOM points, saw Blasi beating Koster and Vigilia with five, three and two points available. Multiple moves went after the climb, but none were sticking until Josie Talbot (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) launched. Maud Oudeman (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Kraak led the chase, but the Australian rider was looking good with a gap stretching out to 15”, but she was dragged back by SD Worx-Protime.

The third and penultimate time up the climb saw a vicious acceleration from world champion Magdeleine Vallieres (EF Education-Oatly), with Blasi and Dickson on her wheel, and just three more bridging the gap. Blasi used this to take the points in the QOM again, ahead of Vallieres and Dickson. Julie van de Velde (AG Insurance-Soudal), Van Dam and Marta Lach (SD Worx-Protime) joined but it was brought back together yet again.

Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal), Julia Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime), Chloé Dygert (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto), Van Dam and Adegeest were next to go. The quintet of riders managed to get a gap of 15” over the bunch, led by Kraak yet again. However, riders were leaning on Dygert. The American kicked again to try and go solo, but she couldn’t quite get the gap she needed.

All five riders led onto the Paracombe climb for the final time. Dygert tried an attack as the peloton quickly closed in. Dygert went all in and immediately started distancing Kopecky and Van Dam with Adegeest and Benito also really having to grit their teeth to follow the American star. Benito and Van Dam came back and tried attacks but they were caught inside the final kilometre.

Vallieres led out the sprint for Rüegg, with the Swiss all-rounder launching her sprint first. However, Wollaston was well positioned and came from deep off the wheel of Marta Lach (SD Worx-Protime). She had to open up early and had a lot of work to do to catch Rüegg, but the race leader had the extra umph needed to come out on top again. Rüegg took second with another impressive podium for Nelson.

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