Maeve Plouffe sprints to the win on stage 2 of Santos Festival of Cycling
Ruby Roseman-Gannon takes second and extends overall lead while Nicole Frain again rounds out the podium
Maeve Plouffe (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast) was triumphant in the second day of women's racing at the Santos Festival of Cycling. With the late attacks pulled back the South Australian used her track speed and powerful sprint to capture victory.
The next two steps of the podium were a repeat of stage 1 with overall leader Ruby Roseman-Gannon (BikeExchange-Jayco) coming second – after also battling with Plouffe through the intermediate sprints of the day – while Australian champion Nicole Frain (Roxsolt Liv SRAM) came third.
The victory for Plouffe, who represented Australia on the track at the Tokyo Olympic Games, came after a childhood spent watching her local race from the side of the road before first joining the peloton of it in 2017.
“To then come out and win a stage today, I’ve been dreaming of this for years," Plouffe said after the stage. "I rode my first Tour when I was 18, I think I was the youngest person in it, and so to finally win this many years later is so exciting.”
The rider, who carefully picked her moves and stayed out of the wind through a spate of attacks in the final ten kilometres, said the victory also helped sate the disappointment of a Road Nationals that didn't live up to expectations after she faced a difficult run-in, suffering with COVID-19.
"But then to come out here and execute a good solid team race ... is so satisfying and so exciting,” said Plouffe.
How it unfolded
The stage, the second of four days of racing in South Australia, started at the Penny Hill winery in McLaren Vale before winding its way through 87.5 kilometres, nearly three of those on gravel, to Echunga.
The early spots of rain that fell through sign-on quickly cleared and heat started to build, both in and out of the racing. The stage route unfolded with plenty of obstacles to help form the splits and plenty of teams wanting to capitalise on them in a bid to snatch the overall lead from Roseman-Gannon or make a mark with a stage victory.
Ultimately, however, the breaks were absorbed back into the bunch and the BikeExchange-Jayco rider not only held her lead but extended it. Roseman-Gannon, who started the stage two seconds up on Emily Watts (Knights of Suburbia), finished the day eight seconds ahead of nearest overall rival Plouffe, and 13 seconds up on Watts.
“We had to watch out for those dangerous moves, especially through the climb and the gravel and also avoiding crashes, so I just went with anything that I thought was dangerous and my teammates covered the last 10km," Roseman-Gannon said.
"Other teams really put it up to us and really sent riders up the road so we really had to use up a lot of energy before we even got to the sprint which made for some really good racing. Ultimately Maeve got me at the end but I’m pretty excited to hold onto the jersey and I’m going to give it everything I’ve got tomorrow to hopefully come up for the win.”
The dangerous moves Roseman-Gannon talked of included one with Matilda Raynolds (InForm TMX Make) and Samara Shepherd (Team Westpac) right before the sometimes loose and potholed gravel section 40km into the racing. As the field split to pieces over the uneven surface the duo then evolved into a group of six, including Roseman-Gannon, Grace Brown (Team Garmin Australia), Ruth Corset (VA Pro Racing) and Frain.
Then later after the Queen of the Mountain points – and the jersey – were swept up by Corset and the field had come back together, Megan Armitage attacked. The Team Westpac rider stretched out the gap far enough to bring Amanda Spratt (BikeExchange-Jayco) to the front to chase and also captured the most competitive rider jersey.
Into the final ten kilometres Corset went again, pulling a group with her, and Brown went solo with five kilometres to go. When the Australian time trial champion was caught – largely due to the efforts of the second-placed time trial rider Amber Pate (BikeExchange-Jayco) – there was a counter attack. This time it came from Brown’s teammate Alyssa Polites, who holds the U23 road race Australian title.
The list of attacks throughout the racing seemed to keep growing ever longer, but ultimately none stuck through to the end and it became a second day where the race was decided by a sprint.
The stage ahead, too, could be another day of splits, with the final day out on the road, before the criterium, taking in two unpaved sections and a climb just two kilometres from the finish line.
Pos. | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Maeve Plouffe (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | 2:23:42 |
2 | Ruby Roseman-gannon (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco | |
3 | Nicole Frain (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM | |
4 | Hayley Jones (Aus) Giant Racing Team | |
5 | Sophie Edwards (Aus) Team Garmin Australia | |
6 | Josie Talbot (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women's | |
7 | Matilda Raynolds (Aus) Inform TMX Make | |
8 | Danielle de Francesco (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | |
9 | Georgie Howe (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing | |
10 | Matilda Field (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM | |
11 | Emily Watts (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing | |
12 | Jessica Pratt (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women's | |
13 | Ruth Corset (Aus) VA Pro Racing | |
14 | Katie Banerjee (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing | |
15 | Georgia Whitehouse (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women's | |
16 | Mia Hayden (Aus) Women's Racing Project | |
17 | Peta Mullens (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM | |
18 | Sophie Malowiecki (Aus) Giant Racing Team | |
19 | Sharni Morley (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom | |
20 | Alexandra Manly (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco | |
21 | Jessa Francis (Aus) Women's Racing Project | |
22 | Isabelle Carres (Aus) Team Garmin Australia | |
23 | Lucie Fityus (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation | |
24 | Georgia Baker (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco | |
25 | Alisha Wells (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | |
26 | Kathryn Mcinerney (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom | |
27 | Lauren Thomas (Aus) Giant Racing Team | |
28 | Darcie Richards (Aus) VA Pro Racing | |
29 | Gina Ricardo (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women's | |
30 | Nicole Wilson (Aus) VA Pro Racing | |
31 | Alyssa Polites (Aus) Team Garmin Australia | |
32 | Hannah Seeliger (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation | |
33 | Rose Vassel (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom | |
34 | Courtney Sherwell (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM | |
35 | Grace Brown (Aus) Team Garmin Australia | |
36 | Elizabeth Young (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team | |
37 | Amelia Watkinson (Aus) Individual Riders | |
38 | Megan Armitage (Irl) Team Westpac | |
39 | Jennifer Darmody (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women's | |
40 | Ella Bloor (Aus) Inform TMX Make | |
41 | Nicole Mitsigeorgis (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation | |
42 | Kerry Jonker (RSA) Team Westpac | |
43 | Amber Pate (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco | |
44 | Carlee Taylor (Aus) Inform TMX Make | |
45 | Rachel Wales (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | |
46 | Alli Anderson (Aus) South Australian Sports Institute | |
47 | Loretta Hanson (Aus) Team Westpac | |
48 | Sophie Marr (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing | |
49 | Holly Lubcke (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | |
50 | Emma Pratt (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation | |
51 | Samara Sheppard (NZl) Team Westpac | |
52 | Maddison Taylor (Aus) Giant Racing Team | |
53 | Justine Barrow (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM | |
54 | Ella Simpson (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team | 0:00:07 |
55 | Anya Louw (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | 0:01:32 |
56 | Amanda Spratt (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco | |
57 | Bree Playel (Aus) VA Pro Racing | 0:03:16 |
58 | Phillipa Ash (Aus) Individual Riders | 0:07:52 |
59 | Belinda Bailey (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom | |
60 | Imogen Alton (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women's | |
61 | Celia Cowan (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team | |
62 | Chelsea Holmes (Aus) Inform TMX Make | |
63 | Alana Forster (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team | |
64 | Nicole Oh (Aus) Individual Riders | |
65 | Brittany Petersen (Aus) Team Westpac | |
66 | Julia Atkins (Aus) Women's Racing Project | |
67 | Haylee Fuller (Aus) Team Garmin Australia | |
68 | Lucinda Stewart (Aus) Team Garmin Australia | |
69 | Claire Battle (Aus) Giant Racing Team | |
70 | Nicola Macdonald (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM | 0:07:55 |
71 | Alexandra Martin-wallace (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | |
72 | Emma Viotto (Aus) Giant Racing Team | |
73 | Shannon Mccurley (Irl) Knights of Suburbia Racing | 0:13:24 |
74 | Rachel Hore (Aus) Individual Riders | 0:14:30 |
75 | Eloise Sandow (Aus) Inform TMX Make | 0:16:32 |
76 | Laura Chancellor (Aus) Women's Racing Project | 0:19:01 |
77 | Mackenzie Coupland (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation | 0:19:07 |
DNF | Holly Chance (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team | |
DNF | Elizabeth Nuspan (Aus) Inform TMX Make | |
DNF | Dharlia Haines (Aus) South Australian Sports Institute | |
DNS | Lisa Jacob (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing |
Pos. | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Ruby Roseman-gannon (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco | 4:36:44 |
2 | Maeve Plouffe (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | 0:00:08 |
3 | Emily Watts (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing | 0:00:13 |
4 | Nicole Frain (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM | 0:00:15 |
5 | Georgia Baker (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco | 0:00:17 |
6 | Matilda Raynolds (Aus) Inform TMX Make | 0:00:23 |
7 | Matilda Field (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM | |
8 | Ruth Corset (Aus) VA Pro Racing | |
9 | Danielle de Francesco (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | |
10 | Georgia Whitehouse (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women's | |
11 | Katie Banerjee (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing | |
12 | Georgie Howe (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing | |
13 | Sophie Malowiecki (Aus) Giant Racing Team | |
14 | Gina Ricardo (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women's | |
15 | Peta Mullens (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM | |
16 | Mia Hayden (Aus) Women's Racing Project | |
17 | Alexandra Manly (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco | |
18 | Grace Brown (Aus) Team Garmin Australia | |
19 | Amelia Watkinson (Aus) Individual Riders | |
20 | Courtney Sherwell (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM | |
21 | Carlee Taylor (Aus) Inform TMX Make | |
22 | Samara Sheppard (NZl) Team Westpac | |
23 | Justine Barrow (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM | |
24 | Amber Pate (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco | 0:00:40 |
25 | Josie Talbot (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women's | 0:00:51 |
26 | Jessica Pratt (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women's | 0:00:52 |
27 | Isabelle Carres (Aus) Team Garmin Australia | |
28 | Sharni Morley (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom | |
29 | Alisha Wells (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | |
30 | Jessa Francis (Aus) Women's Racing Project | |
31 | Nicole Wilson (Aus) VA Pro Racing | |
32 | Alyssa Polites (Aus) Team Garmin Australia | |
33 | Megan Armitage (Irl) Team Westpac | |
34 | Lauren Thomas (Aus) Giant Racing Team | |
35 | Rose Vassel (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom | |
36 | Lucie Fityus (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation | |
37 | Elizabeth Young (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team | |
38 | Darcie Richards (Aus) VA Pro Racing | |
39 | Hannah Seeliger (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation | |
40 | Sophie Marr (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing | |
41 | Jennifer Darmody (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women's | |
42 | Emma Pratt (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation | |
43 | Maddison Taylor (Aus) Giant Racing Team | |
44 | Ella Simpson (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team | 0:00:59 |
45 | Kathryn Mcinerney (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom | 0:01:20 |
46 | Rachel Wales (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | |
47 | Loretta Hanson (Aus) Team Westpac | |
48 | Hayley Jones (Aus) Giant Racing Team | 0:01:22 |
49 | Kerry Jonker (RSA) Team Westpac | 0:01:51 |
50 | Ella Bloor (Aus) Inform TMX Make | |
51 | Holly Lubcke (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | |
52 | Anya Louw (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | 0:01:55 |
53 | Bree Playel (Aus) VA Pro Racing | 0:04:36 |
54 | Sophie Edwards (Aus) Team Garmin Australia | 0:04:56 |
55 | Amanda Spratt (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco | 0:06:28 |
56 | Belinda Bailey (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom | 0:08:44 |
57 | Chelsea Holmes (Aus) Inform TMX Make | |
58 | Emma Viotto (Aus) Giant Racing Team | 0:08:47 |
59 | Phillipa Ash (Aus) Individual Riders | 0:09:12 |
60 | Claire Battle (Aus) Giant Racing Team | 0:09:15 |
61 | Imogen Alton (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women's | 0:09:43 |
62 | Nicole Oh (Aus) Individual Riders | |
63 | Brittany Petersen (Aus) Team Westpac | |
64 | Nicola Macdonald (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM | 0:09:57 |
65 | Alli Anderson (Aus) South Australian Sports Institute | 0:11:16 |
66 | Haylee Fuller (Aus) Team Garmin Australia | 0:12:48 |
67 | Shannon Mccurley (Irl) Knights of Suburbia Racing | 0:15:15 |
68 | Nicole Mitsigeorgis (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation | 0:15:16 |
69 | Rachel Hore (Aus) Individual Riders | 0:16:21 |
70 | Alana Forster (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team | 0:19:08 |
71 | Julia Atkins (Aus) Women's Racing Project | |
72 | Lucinda Stewart (Aus) Team Garmin Australia | |
73 | Laura Chancellor (Aus) Women's Racing Project | 0:20:52 |
74 | Celia Cowan (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team | 0:23:08 |
75 | Alexandra Martin-Wallace (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | 0:23:11 |
76 | Mackenzie Coupland (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation | 0:30:23 |
77 | Eloise Sandow (Aus) Inform TMX Make | 0:31:48 |
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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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