Katrin Garfoot wins the Santos Women's Tour

Kimberley Wells won a fast and furious sprint in Adelaide’s Victoria Park on Tuesday to take out the final stage of the Santos Women’s Tour. Local hero Nettie Edmondson (Wiggle High5), the winner of Sunday’s criterium, settled for second place while race leader Katrin Garfoot (Orica-AIS) sealed the overall victory in third.

“It was so fast and so hectic,” said Wells. “We all saw what happened the other day with Wiggle and their lead-out train at the city crit. I didn’t want to get dominated by them again.”

“I used a lot of energy to put myself in a good position for that really sharp corner,” Wells added. “When I went for it, I never looked back.”

Tied on time with Lauren Kitchen (Hitec Products), Shelley Olds (Cylance Cycling) and Dani King (Wiggle High5) at the start of the stage, Garfoot would need to finish first amongst the top four to win the overall. The Australian time trial champion, Garfoot is far better known for her diesel engine than her quick turn of speed in the fast finishes, but she proved up for the challenge.

“I wasn’t sure how I rated my chances,” admitted Garfoot. “I tried not to think about it. I was confident I could sprint after the last two days, but I wasn’t sure how I could sprint in the bunch with so many strong sprinters pushing each other around like dominos. It strung out toward the back end, which probably suited me.”

Georgia Catterick (Roxsolt Ladies) slipped away from the bunch following the first intermediate sprint. The Kiwi’s solo move proved short-lived. Newly crowned Australian criterium champion Sophie Mackay (Specialized Women) set a quick clip on the front of the bunch to chase back the lone leader.

Tiffany Cromwell (SASI) kick-started the relentless attacks that characterised the second half of Tuesday’s race. Valentina Scandolara (Cylance), who was undoubtedly the most aggressive rider of the night, and Amy Roberts (Wiggle High5) jumped on Cromwell’s wheel. The trio never gained more than five seconds over the peloton, but the move signified the start of non-stop action.

During the next 20 minutes, we would see attack after attack after attack. Scandolara, the 2015 Santos Women’s Tour champion, managed to feature in nearly every move. The New Zealand national team, Wiggle High5, High5 Dream Team and Nicheliving Vault’s Erin Kinnealy were amongst the other primary instigators.

A solo move by world time trial champion Linda Villumsen (New Zealand) looked particularly dangerous until the peloton made quick work of shutting down her 20-second advantage with three laps left to race.

With two laps remaining, Garfoot’s team had four riders setting pace on the front of a stretched-out bunch. As the bell rang to signify one lap to go, Wiggle High5, Cylance and Orica-AIS were fighting for control at the head of affairs. 

“It really heated up toward the end,” said Garfoot. “I just tried to sit on Chloe [McConville’s] wheel, but she got boxed in. And then Lizzie said: ‘Me! Me! Me!’ So I jumped quickly over. She did a perfect lead-out.”

“It was great to hear the crowd cheering,” added Wells. “It really motivated us to put on a show. We were doing 50 kilometres an hour out there. I reckon the women went a little faster than the men at the Tour Down Under today.”

Wells hopes her performance in Adelaide is the start of a winning season. 

“I managed to sign for Team Colavita/Bianchi,” she said. “I’ll do some races over in the United States, but I’ll also be doing some racing in Europe. Hopefully you’ll see the name Kimberley Wells on the podium again. I want to go to the World Championships in Qatar this year and demonstrate the same thing that I just did out there today on the world’s biggest stage.”

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