Chloe Hosking outsprints Kirsten Wild to Santos Women's Tour stage 3 win

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Two intermediate sprint wins proved only a warm-up for Chloe Hosking (Alé Cipollini), who came out on top in a drag race to the line in Lyndoch out Monday. The Australian outsprinted Santos Women's Tour stage two winner Kirsten Wild (Cylance Pro Cycling) to take out the third stage of the four-day Australian tour.

"[Wild] probably started her sprint with 175 [metres] to go," Hosking told a small group of reporters, including Cyclingnews, before podium presentations. "I was able to power over her. I'm really happy with that. This is a lot more reminiscent of real road race, a 93 kilometre stage, rather than a 40-minute criterium.

"It's only January but to start off with a win already this early in the season is really great, especially for the Cipollini team," Hosking added. "I asked Fortunato [Lacquaniti], our manager, when he said we were coming to these races, knowing I wouldn't be in form: 'What do you think?' and he said: "A stage win would do.'"

Hosking survived two ascents of the Whispering Wall, a kilometre-long climb with a maximum grade around eight percent, to remain in contention for the stage win. A 37-strong selection formed over the top of the second time up the climb, 15 kilometres from the finish.

"When we came to the climb the first time, I was fairly sure that it was going to stay together," said Hosking. "I told Janneke [Ensing] and Carlee [Taylor] not to be on the front because even a kilometre faster on a hill is hard for me. I told them to keep it easy on the climb so that they could stay with me and bring it back if needed.

"As it turned out, I got over the climb and I think then it was a waiting game between Wild and I," Hosking explained. "She was following my wheel, and then she found her teammates and I jumped on her wheel.

"I learned my lesson from Worlds," Hosking added. "I followed her wheel and I didn't let anyone on it."

Race leader Amanda Spratt finished safely within the the front group to remain atop the general classification. There was no change to the top three on Monday, and Spratt heads into the final stage, an hour-long criterium, with a comfortable buffer of 19-seconds over Ensing in second place and 50-seconds over Wild in third overall.

"There's still another day, another hour, but this was the big one to get through," Spratt told journalists, including Cyclingnews, following podium. "We're definitely happy to have kept the jersey now and very hopeful we can keep it tomorrow."

How it happened

The women’s peloton set off from Tanunda under a blazing late morning sun. Cooler temperatures during the opening two stages of the race had given way to the heat for which Adelaide in January is known. With temperatures in the mid-thirties (Celsius), the race jury allowed extended feeding.

Ivy Audrain (Hagens Berman Supermint) launched the first attack of the day at six kilometres, but the move was swiftly shut down. Five kilometres later, Erin Kinnealy (Holden) managed to gain a gap with staying power.

With much of the peloton occupied with feeding shortly after Kinnealy’s escape, the lone leader was able to gain a maximum advantage approaching the two-minute mark before an Orica-Scott controlled peloton began to give chase. Three minutes down on the general classification Kinnealy never represented a threat to Spratt’s overall lead.

“Still we didn’t want to let that gap get out too far,” said Spratt. “The team rode so well. They controlled the whole way.”

Kinnealy still had 40-seconds over the peloton when she reached Lyndoch for the first time The first two passage of the line at 41.8 kilometres did double duty as intermediate sprints. Points toward the sprint jersey but no bonus seconds were on offer.

Kinnealy scooped up three points as Hosking outsprinted Lauren Kitchen (NSWIS Sydney Uni) for second.

“The girls did an amazing lead-out for the first intermediate sprint,” said Hosking. “Obviously that’s something we really want to work on through the season. We tried to get it going yesterday but fell a bit short. It was really cool to see it come together in the first intermediate sprint.”

Ten kilometres separated the first time up Whispering Winds from the first intermediate sprint. With Kinnealy’s gap dwindling, Kirsten Howard (NSWIS Sydney Uni) attacked, hoping to bridge and perhaps launch herself further up the road, but a lift in pace spelled escape over for the two out front.

A handful of riders crashed at the base of the Whispering Wall. All were able to remount their bikes. The climb decimated the back of the peloton but didn’t prove particularly selective at the front. Ensing led the front group across the QOM.

“Because the climb was only a kilometre, a kilometre-and-a-half long, the sprinters can sort of suffer over that,” said Hosking. “When it was raced how it was the first time up, you sort of got a good idea that it would come down to a smaller bunch sprint.”

Sixty riders survived the first selection and headed toward Lyndoch for the second passage of the finish line.

Lucy Bechtel (Specialized Women) and Ann-Sophie Duyck (Drops) went on the attack, but with the second intermediate sprint approaching, their advantage was short-lived. Hosking picked up maximum sprint points ahead of Kitchen and teammate Davia Tuslaite.

The second time up Whispering Wall further split the front group. Ensing again set the pace over the top. Having won both QOM primes, Ensing earned herself the Queen of the Mountain jersey she had won during the last two stages on loan from Spratt.

Orica-Scott assumed control of the pace ten kilometres from the finish.

“We got to the top of the climb, and there were a few attacks,” said Spratt. “We really wanted to try to nullify that – to make a presence on the front and ensure we could keep the jersey.

“We had Kat [Garfoot], Annemiek [van Vleuten] and Jenelle [Crooks] left at that stage,” Spratt added. “They got on the front. There was a bit of a crosswind there, which helped, and they basically team time trialled all the way until 1 kilometres to go when we knew it was safe.”

Santos Women’s Tour continues in Adelaide’s Victoria Park on Tuesday night with the final stage criterium.

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