Lizzie Williams solos to victory on Santos Women’s Tour stage three

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Lizzie Williams (Orica-AIS) attacked from a seven-rider breakaway to take a solo victory in Lyndoch on Monday on the third stage of the Santos Women's Tour. Race leader Katrin Garfoot (Orica-AIS) led home the chasers 19 seconds later to hang onto the blue jersey she's worn since her stage win one win. Lauren Kitchen (Hitec Products) rounded out the all-Australian podium.

"I saw an opening at four kilometres to go," said Williams. "I was on the back. I was hurting really bad, but I just thought I needed to bury myself to the end. I went, and I went with a lot of speed from the back. I went as hard as I could, and when I looked back, I had a gap."

"I got into that head space that I would just have to push, push as hard as I can," said Williams. "It was only four kilometres – and yeah, it ultimately worked."

The Lyndoch circuit proved the most dynamic day of racing yet. The women's peloton covered four laps of an undulating 25.2-kilometre loop with a significant ascent up Whispering Wall on every lap. With a number of riders capable of contesting the stage, Orica-AIS seized control of the race from the start and used their strength in numbers to dictate the action.

"It was a complete team ride today," said Williams. "I couldn't have won by myself. Everyone put in something. Everyone did something for that victory to happen. We have such a strong and cohesive team at the moment. I'm really looking forward to the season."

How the race unfolded

The women's peloton rolled out for the longest stage of the Santos Women's Tour in sunny, hot and humid conditions. A lift in pace up the Whispering Wall caused a split in the peloton and signified the aggressive nature of racing still to come.

The two main groups on the road came together before the start of lap two, but the calm was short-lived. Nicheliving Vault teammates Erin Kinnealy and Liz Leyden slipped away form the field just beyond the feed zone. Their gap yo-yo'ed between 10-seconds and 30-seconds until Kinnealy lifted the pace, dislodging Leyden in the process. Now a lone leader, Kinnealy had pocketed slightly more than a minute by the time she hit the Whispering Wall.

The peloton attacked its way up the climb with a group of eight riders forcing clear from the bunch. By the time the group reached the top of the climb, they had caught Kinnealy and put in ten seconds on an elite selection of 30 riders. The first two groups on the road rejoined on the descent. A third group of around 20 riders madly pedalled to catch back on to the leaders.

Next it was a group of six slipping up the road. Rosella Ratto (Cyclance), Dani King (Wiggle High5), Tayler Wiles (Orica-AIS), Amanda Spratt (Orica-AIS), Louisa Lobigs (Holden) and Jo Hogan (Rush) distanced themselves from a 30-rider peloton.

Kimberley Wells (High5 Dream Team) put in a huge effort to bridge the gap to the leaders. With Wells present, every major team was represented in the move, but Wells would be a clear favourite for a sprint, making her a less than ideal breakaway companion.

As lap three began, the seven-rider escape held onto a 50-second advantage over a peloton that had swelled to include around 50 riders.

The break was caught before the third ascent of the Whispering Wall, but the steep gradient and injection in pace split the field. Spratt managed to sneak away alone. Garfoot, King, Kitchen, Shelley Olds (Cylance), Lizzie Williams (Orica-AIS) and Tiffany Cromwell (SASI) formed the chase in her wake.

"Our plan was to push it really hard up the climbs every lap," said Williams. "We wanted to try to break the field. It did that every lap but nothing really stuck. On the second last lap, Rachel [Neylan] did a really hard effort up the climb and that ultimately created the break which I was in."

Spratt heard the bell sound as she crossed the finish line for a fourth and final lap 24 seconds ahead of the six chasers. With the bunch more than two minutes down, it was becoming increasingly clear that the stage winner would come from this selection.

"With Spratty dangling off the front, Kat and I could sit on," noted Williams. "Tiffany Cromwell and Lauren Kitchen worked very hard to get Spratty back."

The chasing group overtook Spratt on the final time up the Whispering Wall – and the counter-attacks were swift and immediate. First three were away. Then four. Then it was all back together. Finally Williams broke the elastic.

Having gained a gap, Williams never looked back. Pedalling furiously all the way to the finish, Williams snagged her second victory of the still early season – adding a Santos Women's Tour stage win to the Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic stage victory she earned earlier this month.

The battle for the overall remains fierce with one stage left to race. While Garfoot leads, she's tied on time with three riders – Kitchen in second, Olds in third and King in fourth. The general classification will be decided on Tuesday in Victoria Park with an hour-long criterium.

"It's all about the defence tomorrow," said Williams. "We won't be too confident, but we're out there to see if we can take away the tour."

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