Paternoster wins stage 1 of the Women's Tour Down Under

Italian Letizia Paternoster gave the new Trek-Segafredo women's team their first victory in the first UCI race of 2019 when she won the opening stage of the Santos Women's Tour Down Under in Birdwood, South Australia, on Thursday.

The riders taking part in the 112.9km stage between Hahndorf and Birdwood remained together throughout what was a mostly flat day before it culminated in the expected bunch sprint, in which 19-year-old Paternoster got the better of Mitchelton-Scott's Sarah Roy, with Arlenis Sierra (Astana) finishing third.

"It's great for me and for the whole team to win here and to show the jersey because this is a new team. It was the new team's first race and we won, so this is an amazing feeling," said a delighted Paternoster, who is half Australian through her father, who lives in Sydney.

"The team stayed together pretty much all day and protected me in the bunch, and at the end they did a perfect lead-out to bring me to the finish line.

"When I went, I thought I was closer to the finish line, and when I saw it was still 250m to go, I wanted to die a little," she said. "I'm so happy to have pulled it off.

Trek-Segafredo General Manager Luca Guercilena is in Adelaide to watch the team's opening race, and for many that would have felt like added pressure, although Paternoster feels it only benefited her and the team.

"It didn't give me more pressure," she said. "On the contrary – it made it easy and relaxed, and we all had the confidence to work together, and I was confident at the end, so I think he's really happy."

Following a comfortable pace in the peloton over the first hour, the first action came as Chloe Hosking (Ale Cipollini) took the points and the time bonus at the first intermediate sprint in Gumeracha after 34.7km, ahead of Mitchelton-Scott pair Gracie Elvin and Sarah Roy.

Less than five kilometres later, the hunt for 'Queen of the Mountain' points began, with Alice Cobb (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank) snaring top points ahead of Jennifer Pettenon and Justine Barrow of Australian National Road Series team Gusto StepFWD KOM.

The second 'QOM' at the Ngangkiparinga Climb saw Nadia Quagliotto (Ale Cipollini) announce her intentions for the jersey by taking the points ahead of Pettenon and Elena Pirrone (Astana Women's Team). Quagliotto later added the third QOM of the day to take the first Subaru Queen of the Mountains jersey.

It was the same three riders as earlier in the stage sharing the points at the second intermediate sprint, although this time it was Elvin taking top points ahead of Hosking and Roy.

Coming in to the final kilometres, a number teams jostled for position at the head of the peloton, with Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport, Rally UnitedHealthcare, UniSA Australia and the Astana Women's Team all active, although it was Trek-Segafredo in their first race who delivered Paternoster to the front before she unleashed her potent sprint, beating Roy and Sierra to the first ochre leader's jersey.

Paternoster leads the race overall by two seconds from Roy, with Hosking a further three seconds back after they both picked up bonus seconds at the intermediate sprints.

The race returns to Mengler Hill on Friday for the second year in a row with the near 10-per-cent-gradient climb to the finish the first opportunity for the climbers to shine, with temperatures expected to reach nearly 40 degrees.

"I'll talk with my trainer and directeur sportif to see how we'll manage the stage tomorrow," the race's leader, Paternoster, said of her chances for Mengler Hill.

With the race's overall contenders expected to show themselves on the climb, Paternoster and her Trek-Segafredo teammates are likely to have their work cut out trying to keep hold of the race lead.

Results

General classification after stage 1