Grace Brown wins Women's Tour Down Under - Live report

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the stage 3 finale of the 2023 Santos Women's Tour Down Under!

We're just moments away from the neutral roll out for the third and final stage. 

It's another hot day in South Australia with temperatures reaching 29 degrees. The wind isn't as strong as yesterday, however it's still reported to be 16 kph. The riders have finished signing on and lining up to start in Adelaide. 

The biggest test today will come towards the end of the stage when the riders take on the dreaded Corkscrew climb at km 85.7. The ascent averages 9.2 percent and caps out at 24.5 percent. 

The neutral portion of today's stage has started, but we have quite a way to go before the flag drops. 13km to be exact. 

The peloton is still traveling through Adelaide toward their official start outside the city. 

We're out of the neutral section and racing has begun for the final stage of the Women's Santos Tour Down Under!

The margins are tight on GC, with Alex Manley leading the TDU by eight seconds ahead of Georgia Williams. Grace Brown is sitting third at the same time. 

It's all together with 85km to go. No attacks just yet.

The riders are going along the River Torrens with ARA Skip Capital leading the peloton.  

Even though rain wasn't in the forecast, there are a few drops of rain hitting the riders as they continue to ride together. 

80km to go

Just like yesterday, the quest to stay cool is clearly a priority amongst all the riders in the peloton. The ice socks and ice vests were abundant at the start today. 

Tayler Wiles (Trek-Segafredo) is back at the front of the peloton setting tempo.

We're just about 12km away from the first intermediate sprint that offers points and time bonuses. It will be interesting to see if Amanda Spratt goes for the bonus seconds or saves her energy for the Corkscrew finale. 

With 77km to go, the peloton continues to ride together. 

Today will be the biggest test of the Women's Tour Down Under, and Simone Giuliani writes about the showdown here. 

We're 5 km away from the first of the intermediate sprints and Gina Ricardo (Team Bridgelane) and Georgia Danford (Coop - Hitec Products) have gone up the road. They have about 30 seconds at this point. 

The peloton seems happy to let this duo have some daylight. They're 1'20" ahead now with 68 km to go. 

We're almost a third of the way through the final stage of the Tour Down Under and the gap is still slowly climbing. 

The heat and humidity are making things tougher than usual, and Silvia Magri (Israel Premier Tech - Roland) can attest to that. She attempted to bridge across to the leaders, but couldn't make the junction.  

Results of the first intermediate sprint:

1. Gina Ricardo (Team Bridgelane) 3 points/seconds

2. Georgia Danford (Coop - Hitec Products) 2

3. Daria Pikulik (Human Powered Health) 1

Lucinda Stewart has taken a flyer off the front of the peloton, but it looks like they're responding to the attack. 

We'll come up on the final intermediate sprint in another 30km. 

Lucy Stewart is still in the gap trying to make her way up to the lead duo who have 1'08 on the peloton. 

55km to go

Gina Ricardo (Team Bridgelane) and Georgia Danford (Coop - Hitec Products) on their initial attack. The duo is still off the front with 50km to go.

Lucy Stewart (ARA Skip Capital Sunshine Coast) has bridged across the the two leaders making it a group of three off the front.

It won't be long until we see fireworks on the Corkscrew. Here's what Amanda Spratt (Trek-Segafredo) had to say about the famous South Australia climb: 

“It’s going to be an absolutely brutal final climb, we are not going to know the winner till the very finish but I am really looking forward to that Corkscrew climb,” Spratt told broadcaster channel 7 before the start. “I hope to make the difference there.”

45 km to go

Lucy Stewart bridges across to the leaders. At just 18 years old, Stewart is the youngest rider in the peloton. 

40 km to go

The gap to the three leaders is holding at 2'20 with 40 km to go. 

We're inside 10 km to the second intermediate sprint, but the peloton doesn't seem too bothered about letting the three up the road gather the points and time bonuses. The gap is still 2'25.

It's the calm before the storm as the riders cruise toward the base of the Corkscrew climb. It's coming up at km 85.7. 

Jayco and Trek are leading the peloton at the moment. Many teams are starting to find each other to protect their climbers. 

And we're through the second intermediate sprint with Lucy Stewart riding across first. Georgia Danford was second and Ricardo third. None of the riders in the breakaway sprinted for the line, rather, they were in agreement Stewart would get the max points. 

25km to go

We're getting down to the business end of the stage and things are starting to get nervous in the bunch. 

There was a furry of attacks in the peloton, but those efforts were quickly squashed. 

Danford has dropped out of the break, leaving Ricardo and Stewart alone with a 2'25 gap. There are just 24km left in the stage. 

Lucy Stewart takes a tumble after hitting some debris around a corner. She's back up and racing already. 

The gap has decreased by about 30 seconds as we see 10km until the Corkscrew. 

Ricardo doesn't have the option to wait for Stewart at this point. She's alone now with inside 20km left in the race.

All eyes are on the leader of the QOM jersey, Amanda Spratt on the Corkscrew. the climber is the one to beat today and is predicted to attack on the decisive climb.

15km to go

It's a drag race between teams now is they fight to get their climbers into position before the climb.

It's all together and the fireworks are about to start!

Lauretta Hanson (Trek-Segafredo) is motoring ahead and setting a extremely hard pace to set up Amanda Spratt. 

Grace Brown has her eye on Spratt, as does Alex Manly.

We're on the climb and Manly is starting to fall back in the peloton. 

They've yet to hit the steep part of the climb and already the peloton has fractured. The climbers are all watching each other. 

And Spratt attacks with 1.3km until the top of the climb. Brown is responding. 

No one is able to stay with Spratt at this point. She's quickly gained seconds on her competitors and the ochre jersey looks to be losing contact. Brown is now the virtual race leader. 

Spratt looks over her shoulder and sees the gap grow between her and Brown. It's turning into a race between the two of them for the overall win. 

Spratt makes it over the top with a 20 second advantage over Brown. She's secured the QOM jersey, but wants that overall win. 

Manly gets over the top with a 30 second deficit on Spratt and 7.5km left to race. 

Spratt has about 10 seconds on Brown, who is closing in on the climber. 

And Brown has made it across to Spratt with 1km remaining. 

They're playing cat and mouse now with Spratt on the front. They can't mess around too much with EF chasing. 

And Grace Brown outsprints Amanda Spratt to win the final stage and the Santos Tour Down Under! 

Grace Brown celebrates with her FDJ teammates after claiming the Women's Santos Tour Down Under overall win.