Nienke Veenhoven pips Georgia Baker to Down Under Criterium victory

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Peloton catches break on final lap at post-Women's Tour Down Under race in Adelaide

Final podium of the Down Under Criterium
Final podium of the Down Under Criterium (Image credit: Getty Images)

Nienke Veenhoven (Visma-Lease a Bike) took a narrow victory at the Down Under Criterium ahead of Georgia Baker (Liv Jayco AlUla) by half a bike length after 50 minutes of breathless racing in Adelaide.

The post-Women's Tour Down Under event played out on a 1.2km circuit at Victoria Park. A 12-rider bunch sprinted it out for the victory after a leading breakaway was caught at the start of the bell lap.

Veenhoven's Visma-Lease a Bike team worked tirelessly alongside Women's Tour Down Under overall winner Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) to catch the break led by Nienke Vinke (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) and FDJ-Suez and were rewarded with victory.

Lidl-Trek's Lauretta Hanson took third with Sofia Bertizzolo (UAE Team ADQ) and Soraya Paladin (Canyon SRAM) rounding out the top five. 

Veenhoven has a strong track racing pedigree and took second in the scratch race behind Lorena Wiebes (SD-Worx Protime) at last year's Dutch national track championships.

The Women's WorldTour racing at the Tour Down Under finished on Sunday, with Gigante claiming the final stage on top of Willunga and the overall race ahead of Vinke.

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James Moultrie
James Moultrie
News Writer

James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.

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