Manly Wins Stage 2 of Women's Tour Down Under - Live Coverage

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of stage 2 of the 2023 Santos Women's Tour Down Under!

Stage 2 of the women's Tour Down Under is set to start in just under five minutes. Today's race is a total of 90 km, from Birdwood to Uraidla. 

Riders are making their last minute preparations before heading to the start line in Birdwood. 

The riders are rolling through neutral on their way to the official start. It's quite a bit hotter out on course today, with temperatures in the mid-30s. 

Many riders have opted to keep ice vests on until the first last minute before starting. 

Today is predicted to be a stage where the GC riders need to stay wary, but the GC will likely come down to the final stage. In other words, it's not a day where the race is likely to be won, it's a day where it could be lost. 

We're out of the neutral zone and racing has started! 

Riders have started attacking immediately with a few different teams keen to get into the early break.

After some initial chaos - the speeds have calmed, for now. 

85km to go

More attacks are coming out of the peloton after a short reprieve. This time it's Georgia Danford (Coop - Hitec Products) who has a go. Clara Copponi (FDJ - Suez) quickly leads the peloton back up to her. 

70km to go

Lisa Klein (Trek - Segafredo) has been pretty aggressive and attacked a couple of times and taken three along with her. 

It's all back together with 60km to go.

We're less than 10km to go before the first intermediate sprint, which like yesterday, offers points and time bonuses. 

Tayler Wiles (Trek-Segafredo) has taken up her familiar position at the front of the peloton. 

It's still all together, but the speeds are consistently high in the peloton due to Trek-Segafredo's tempo. 

Less than 1km from the intermediate sprint. It's FDJ v.Trek-Segafredo v. Jayco.

And it's Ilaria Sanguineti (Trek-Segafredo) who sprints across first ahead of Grace Brown.

It's a hot one out there today at the Women's Tour Down Under. Temps are currently 29 degrees Celsius and predicted to reach the mid-30s. 

Full results of the first intermediate sprint:

1. Ilaria Sanguineti (Trek - Segafredo) 3 points

2. Grace Brown (FDJ - Suez) - 2

3. Lauretta Hanson (Trek - Segafredo) - 1

50km to go

And we're over the top of the queen of the mountain climb already, and it's Gladys Verhulst (FDJ-Suez) who gets the max points to extend her lead in the QOM jersey. 

Full results of the first QOM:

1. Gladys Verhulst (FDJ - Suez) 7 points 

2. Claire Steels (Israel Premier Tech - Roland) 5

3. Lauretta Hanson (Trek - Segafredo) 3

4. Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Jayco - AlUla) 1

Human Powered Health has come to the front with 44km to go. It's all together after the first climb.

So at the moment, Verhulst has 10 points total, while Steels has 7 with a Cat. 1 climb remaining at Km 75. 

38 km to go

There's an attack from Debora Silvestri (ZAAF), but it doesn't look like anyone is interested in joining her. 

A crash involving Nicole Frain and Emily Watts just happened near the front of the peloton. A touch of wheels? It's difficult to make out what happened.

30km to go

A large group of about 10 has just bridged across to the solo leader. 

This is a dangerous group that's represented by most of the top teams. We're getting names together. 

The peloton isn't far behind this group of 11, and the counter attacks are starting.

Howe (Jayco - AlUla), Wiles (Trek - Segafredo), Guilman (FDJ - Suez), Buijsman (Human Powered Health), Stephens (EF Education - Tibco - SVB), Steels (Israel Premier Tech - Roland), Silvestri (Zaaf Cycling), Edwards, Wales (ARA Skip Capital Sunshine Coast), Ricardo (Team Bridgelane) and McMullen (New Zealand Nationalteam) are the riders up the road. We don't have a time check on them yet. 

25km to go

The gap to the 11 riders up the road is currently 35 seconds with 25 km to go. 

Claire Steels (Israel Premier Tech - Roland) has attacked the lead group.

We're approaching the 20km to go point in the race. Steels has a few seconds on the chase group of 10. 

Daria Pikulik, yesterday's stage winner and current race leader, has dropped off the back due to the pace. It looks like we'll have a new leader at the end of this stage. 

In fact, many riders are dropping off the back as race hots up. 

Steels is still off the front, but the rest of the chasers have been reabsorbed by what's left of the peloton. 

The pace is incredibly high as the pink colours of EF come to the front. 

We're just two kilometres away from the second intermediate sprint. Steels is still out in front with a 20 second advantage. 

Overall leader, Daria Pikulik (Human Powered Health), has made it back up to the peloton after losing contact earlier. 

Claire Steels has the peloton looming as she passes the 5 km to go point. 

And Steels also picks up 3 points after crossing the second intermediate sprint first. She also gets three bonus seconds. 

Crowds lining the start/finish line in Uraidla are desperately trying to hunt for shade as the riders come through to enter the finishing circuit including Mt. Lofty. The field is strung out and broken into pieces as riders scramble to get back in the front.  

Steels has been reabsorbed by the peloton, and it's back together in the reduced field. 

Brodie Chapman (Trek - Segafredo) is sitting at the front of the peloton and setting the high pace. 

The riders are about 1km away from the top of Mt. Lofty, which is 6.1 km at 4 percent. 

Now Amanda Spratt has attacked on the steepest part of the climb! 

Spratt has Alex Manly chasing her up the top of the climb. She'll be picking up QOM points in the mountains jersey, but that's not the one she's hunting. She's after the Ochre leader jersey. 

10km to go

We're inside the final 10km and moves are happening all over the place. 

Manly has dropped back, and now Spratt is being chased by Grace Brown, who has been joined by her teammate, Eugenie Duval.

With 8km to go, a group of about 16 have joined Brown in pursuit of Spratt. 

Just 5km to go in stage 2!

Spratt has 13 seconds on the peloton with 3km remaining. 

Spratt is holding off the challenge from this group of 16. The gap is small, but it's anyone's guess if she can pull this off or not. 

But the gap is getting smaller and smaller, despite some disorganisation from the chasers. 

Just 1km to go!

Now Grace Brown does some work to bring back Spratt. 

They are within touching distance of Spratt, but still can't quite make the connection. 

It's all together right before the sprint!

And it's Alex Manly (Team Jayco-AlUla) who takes the stage and the Ochre jersey!

Manly took the sprint ahead of Georgia Williams (EF Education - Tibco - SVB) and Nina Buijsman (Human Powered Health).

Alex Manly (Jayco - AlUla) is the new Tour Down Under leader, 8 seconds ahead of Grace Brown (FDJ - Suez).

Alex Manly crosses the line in Uraidla as the stage winner and new leader of the Tour Down Under.