SA Kick It Willunga TT opens up competition in Australia's new ProVelo Super League

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Talia Appleton and Ronan Teese claim first victories in first round of opening event in new domestic race series

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Talia Appleton (Praties Cycling Team) wins the opening TT stage of the opening race of the ProVelo Super League on Willunga Hill
Talia Appleton (Praties Cycling Team) wins the opening TT stage of the opening race of the ProVelo Super League on Willunga Hill(Image credit: Con Chronis/ProVelo Super League)

The very first stage of the new ProVelo Super League couldn’t have picked a venue closer to the heart of cyclists to kick off the racing, with Talia Appleton (Praties Cycling Team) and Ronan Teese (Bendigo & District Cycling Club) claiming the victories in the Willunga Hill time trial which kicked off proceedings.

The new top-tier domestic racing league, which is replacing the National Road Series, is set to play out over six events from January to March, with the new three-day South Australian race, SA Kick It, delivering the opening battle in the series which will offer up a place in the Liv-AlUla-Jayco Continental team to the U23 women’s winner and a stagairie contract at Jayco-AlUla for the top U23 rider in the men’s category. 

The first day of racing played out on the 3km climb with an average gradient of 7.5 percent, on roadsides lined with barriers and the finish line marker of the Santos Tour Down Under given stage 2 of the women’s race was set to crest the ascent twice later in the day. 

The 19-year-old Appleton claimed the women’s victory with a time of 8:35, not a surprise winner rafter having ecently reminded rivals of her prowess on the climbs with her win on stage 1 of the Tour of Bright which finished on top of Tawonga Gap.
two seconds ahead of Katelyn Nicholson (Butterfields Ziptrak), while Sophia Sammons (Praties Cycling) was four seconds back. 

"It was good to be able to win on the first race of the new series, its good motivation for the rest of the rounds," said Appleton in an interview on ProVelo Super League Instagram.

Appleton was two seconds ahead of Katelyn Nicholson (Butterfields Ziptrak), while Sophia Sammons (Praties Cycling) was four seconds back in third. Sammons, another 19-year-old on the women's podium, and Nicholson both continued their strong start to the season after having finished in the top five in the women's elite and U23 road race at the Australian Road National Championships in Perth.

The 21-year-old Teese who was off the start line early took out the men’s time trial with 6:51, The rider from the Bendigo and District Cycling Club was just one second ahead of Jack Ward (Team Brennan p/b TP32), who continued on from his breakthrough climbing stage victories at the Tour of Bright, while Finlay Walsh (CCACHE x Bodywrap) was four seconds back in the stage where the entire top ten was filled by U23 riders.

The racing continues with a criterium at Victoria Park in Adelaide on Sunday which will be broadcast live on SBS On Demand from 16:30 to 19:30 AEDT and a road race at the Bend Motorsport Park on Monday.

Women's Stage 1 TT results

Results powered by FirstCycling

Men's Stage 1 TT results

Results powered by FirstCycling

Simone Giuliani
Simone Giuliani
Australia Editor

Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.

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