Patience paid for Jessica Allen in Williamstown on Tuesday. With two laps left to race on stage three of the Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic, Allen attacked from a three-rider breakaway and handily hung on to take the win.
"I felt that I was the strongest in the breakaway, so I was very patient, which is not one of my strengths," Allen told reporters, including Cyclingnews, as she awaited the podium presentation. "I thought: 'With two laps to go, I'm just going to give it everything.' And that's what I did."
The 23-year-old reached the finish line six seconds ahead of Lucy Bechtel (Specialized Women's Racing) and 12-seconds ahead of Ellen Skerritt (Alé Cycling). Race leader Valentina Scandolara (Alé Cycling) won the bunch sprint for fourth place to take out the series overall.
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"I needed to make more points than ORICA to win the overall jersey," said Scandolara, who started the final stage with a two-point advantage over Portarlington winner Amanda Spratt (ORICA-Scott). "That was my target for today. If the bunch came together, of course, I also would have gone for the win, but the breakaway was perfect because my teammate was in it, sitting on."
The racing winning escape forced clear at the mid-point of the race. Allen countered the catch of her teammate Annemiek van Vleuten. Skerritt marked Allen, and Bechtel bridged across. The trio quickly gained 30-seconds on a peloton that seemed unable or unwilling to organise a concerted chase.
"We were only two points behind GC, but we thought for us to get the stage win would be more in our favour," said Allen. "If Spratty happened to get up the road without Vale, that would have worked great for us, but we wanted to be aggressive right from the start, and that's what we did."
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