Edmondson wins Pajot Hills Classic

Annette Edmondson (Wiggle High5) won the second edition of the Pajot Hills Classic in Gooik, Belgium, on Wednesday with a dominant sprint on the uphill finishing straight. Edmondson crossed the line several bike lengths ahead of Barbara Guarischi (Canyon-SRAM) in second and Ilaria Sanguineti (BePink-Cogeas) in third.

"I knew with this type of uphill finish that it was all about power, so you just had to be in a good position when it was long and strung out," Edmondson said. "It wasn’t a big bunch kick really, it was more of a big grovel really, I had a lot of anger and energy, and it just all exploded up that hill. It was awesome."

The day's racing in Belgium included cobbled classics, punchy climbs and plenty of road furniture for the former double track world champion to navigate as she transitions to road, but the 25-year-old Australian handled it with aplomb.

"It was a bit of a course with everything really; a small lap, a big lap and then two small laps to finish," she said. "There were probably about 7-8km of cobbles in it, and a couple of big hills. In the middle of the race was the Muur, and then a few kilomteres later was the Bosberg, so we were just hoping that it was going to come back into a reduced bunch kick like it did last year.

"Looking at the teams there we felt that we could challenge the teams there, in the sprint, but because it was small race we gave everybody the opportunity to make a move, or to be in a group, or to try to win the race for themselves somehow," Edmondson said.

Despite the bunch finish, there was no shortage of attacking throughout the day as opportunists hoped to beat the sprinters' teams. Edmondson praised her teammates for keeping the race in check until she could launch her winning effort in the finale.

"We just covered all the moves and tried to be in a good position going over the hills and, if it was going to come down to a bunch kick, they were going to give me a lead out," Edmondson said. "It pretty much went to plan, which was cool."

The biggest challenge for Edmondson was getting over the Muur close enough to the front to be in position at the end of the race. 

"The Muur is more of a power climb. It’s sort of short and sharp," Edmondson said. "I raced up it four years ago, and I felt pretty good up it, so it’s never been one that I’ve hated. So I thought that if I was in a good position at the bottom I should be able to get over it. It was just a matter of whether I’d be able to recover in time for the Bosberg. The girls were great. They put me in a great position, and I managed to get up in the top five, which was a surprise."

Once over the Muur, Edmondson said, she knew she was in with a chance for victory.

“There were a lot of attacks in the last couple of laps, and Julie [Leth] and Amy [Roberts] covered everything really well, then put me in a really good position in the last few kilometres," Edmondson said. "I know that going over the Muur that the legs were good, so there was no excuse there. I’m just lucky to have a really strong team that believed in me and gave it everything."

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