Annemiek van Vleuten had a domestique's early work in her legs as she opened her sprint on Eastern Beach Road along Geelong's waterfront. The Dutchwoman was meant to work her Australian teammates, newly crowned double Australian champion Katrin Garfoot and Santos Women's Tour overall winner Amanda Spratt, at the Deakin Women's Race but was the lone Orica-Scott rider amongst a selection of five riders fighting towards the finish. Second to jump, Van Vleuten was first across the line.
"I surprised myself to be there in the final," Van Vleuten told reporters, including Cyclingnews, following podium presentations. "In Tour Down Under, I was still struggling uphill. Today I was one of the better riders uphill."
Early crosswinds and unrelenting aggression played to Van Vleuten's strengths. With only five kilometres raced, Van Vleuten launched the first attack of the day as the peloton turned toward Barwon Heads. The wind had changed direction, and Van Vleuten hoped to split or at least soften the field in the crosswinds. Although her attack didn't have the desired intent, it signalled Orica-Scott's intention.
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Ten kilometres later, the Australian-registered squad in conjunction with Canyon//SRAM forced the pace in the cross-winds. The damage was swift and dramatic. Only 18 kilometres into the 113-kilometre day, three distinct groups had taken shape. Thirty riders made the front split.
"I'm a bit older, and I have a big engine," said Van Vleuten. "For me, it's really good that there were already some crosswinds, already people started to suffer. The big suffering races that are really hard, that's what I like."
Van Vleuten contested both intermediate sprints, coming second to Alé Cipollini's Romy Kasper on the first and winning the second. Combined with her position at the finish, it was enough to earn the sprint jersey. She chased down the near-constant attacks and launched a few of her own in the closing kilometres.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Race Results http://ift.tt/2jhgZjM
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