After a quick look over her shoulder, Rüegg takes the win! Smulders is second.
Drag race to the top of Willunga Hill to the finish line
Smulders counters and only Ruegg can stay with her. Bradbury and Fisher-Black are dropped.
Riders from the back joining with 1km to go!
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Chabbey attacks, Wlodarczyk covers immediately. And Fisher-Black counters with Bradbury marking her.
Fisher-Black accelerates again, but the other three riders stay with her. Chabbey and Wlodarczyk join the four with 1.7km to go.
Fisher-Black eases off slightly after decimating the peloton. On her wheel are Bradbury, Smulders and Noemi Rüegg.
Silke Smulders comes across and joins the duo at the front with 2.6km to go.
Fisher-Black attacks with Bradbury on her wheel., blasts by Dygert.
Spratt responds at the front of the field to try and bring Dygert back. She reels in Kraak and Van de Velde.
Dygert is opening a gap. Kraak and Van de Velde are chasing.
Attack by Dygert with 1km to go to the 2nd intermediate sprint. FDJ chasing her down.
5km to go
Dygert attacks, marked by Spratt who is not prepared to work with Dygert.
Van Dam takes a flyer and Ella Simpson (St-Michel) works her way across.
And FDJ-Suez’s Amber Kraak counters with Pate jumping on her wheel. Field closes down the move immediately.
The pace at the front has slowed down and the two front groups are back togehter with 8.2 km to go.
Race officials clearing the cars as Dygert is closing fast, and she connects with 9.2km to go.
Dygert goes solo to try and bridge up from the chase group to the front group, inside of 10km to go.
Chase group of around 15 riders is being led by Picnic-PostNL. Neutral car was allowed in the gap between the groups.
Spratt goes to the front of the lead group, encouraging riders to pull through but some like Pate will sit as her team leader is in a group behind her.
The front group of 10 riders, is single-filed, as they try to recover before the final ascent of Willunga Hill.
Riders are flying, hitting speeds of 85 kmph as they descend Willunga Hill.
15km to go
Group that was dropped on the climb have rejoined the pack. Julie van de Velde of AG Insurance attacks but it is quickly nullified.
Lots of attacks but nothing is able to get away and stick inside of 19km to go.
Another attack by FDJ-Suez’s Chabbey. Quick reaction from the field led by Dygert and her pink shoes.
QOM #2 – Willunga Hill
While Hengeveld has lost tough her teammate Sarah van Dam is still hanging on. Justine Ghekiere is tucked into the group. Bradbury has her teammate Chloe Dygert to help her.
Now it’s Spratt setting the pace at the front of the reduced peloton which includes Neve Bradbury, and Elise Chabbey.
Bradbury has her teammate Chloe Dygert to help her.
Fisher-Black is taking charge with Spratt on her wheel, doing damage to the peloton, as many riders including Pate are losing touch.
Wollaston is reeled in by the Lidl-Trek’s Fisher-Black with her teammate Amanda Spratt on her wheel.
Race leader Hengeveld is losing contact in the field.
25.5km to go
No one jumps for the field for the third spot. Lauretta Hanson (Lidl-Trek) took the remaining points as she led them through the line.
Wollaston takes the front with 200 metres to go, and Anderson does not contest the intermediate sprint and happily takes second. The pair has 1:12 gap on the peloton.
Wollaston and Anderson still working well together as they see 1km to go for the intermediate sprint. Wollaston is sitting on Anderson’s wheel.
The pink colours of EF Education come to the front of the field.
Anderson and Wollaston see 5km to the second intermediate sprint, at the bottom of Willunga Hill. The duo have a 1:37 gap.
Anderson and Wollaston are working well together. Anderson’s team car shared bidons with Wollaston. They’re both all in.
Fisher-Black and Lauren Bates (ARA Australia) who both went down in the crash have rejoined the peloton as the 2-rider break has 1:10 lead with 35km to go.
Lidl-Trek sends another rider, in addition to Wilson-Haffenden, to help Fisher-Black rejoin the field.
Wollaston goes to the front, after quick encouragement to Anderson. The team of the race leader Hengeveld goes to the front of the pack to set the pace.
Wollaston catches Anderson with 40km to go.
Another crash, including Niamh Fisher-Black, Lidl-Trek’s leader, who went down and quickly got a new bike from her mechanic.
Crash
Maike van der Duin of Canyon-Sram tries to escape again.
Canyon-Sram takes over the pacemaking, stringing the peloton, as the cars were cleared between Wollaston and Anderson. Pace has definited amped up.
Giorgia Bronzini, Human Powered Health directeur sportif, said, “I think the first effort on Willunga might not come from the main GC riders, but maybe from the second-line of the team that has a GC leader. It’s going to be full gas for a breakaway. I think already in the first time up Willunga it’s going to be hard to be in the lead.”
Beth Duryea, Canyon-SRAM directeur sportif about the dual Willunga ascents.
Let’s hear from some of the teams’ directeur sportifs who shared their thoughts with Cycling News at the start in Unley.
No reaction so far from the peloton as Wollaston tries to bridge across the 1:06 gap to Anderson.
Attack by Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez)!
50km to go
Respite in the peloton as some riders take a nature break. Anderson keeps her head down and has 42 seconds with 54km to go.
Amber Pate going back to her Liv AlUla Jayco team car.
All the action has closed down the gap to Anderson but she’s not giving up. She keeps looking behind her and the peloton sits up.
More attacks off the front. A group of 10 riders joining together with another group chasing. Peloton is strung out with 56.5km to go.
Anderson takes top points and bonus seconds in the intermediate sprint line. She has 32 seconds on the field.
Anderson – crowned Australia U23 time trial national champion a week ago in Perth – is showing her TT form and has a 36-second lead with 61km to go.
Another attack by ARA Australia Team again, and it’s Alli Anderson again just after the feedzone at 62.5km to go.
A few riders did not take the start in Unley today. Picnic-PostNl’s Mara Roldan collapsed after the finish yesterday from the heat and stayed in the hotel today. Eglantine Rayer (FDJ-SUEZ) and Teuntje Beekhuis (Uno-X) also did not start.
Peloton is surrounded by vineyards as they race through McLaren Vale on their way to the intermediate sprint and iconic Willunga Hill.
And another brief attack by FDJ-Suez. They obviously are trying to force a breakaway before the first ascent of Willunga Hill.
70km to go
FDJ-Suez launches another attack. And Tiffany Cromwell covers and drives it at the front.
Wilson-Haffenden dropped back to lead the chase. And peloton is back together and a counter-attack tries to go.
Break includes Amber Pate (Liv AlUla Jayco), Kristyna Burlova (Ceratizit-WNT), Maeve Plouffe (Australia), Marie Le Net (FDJ-Suez), Rachele Barbieri (Picnic-PostNL), Greta Marturano (UAE Team ADQ), Maike van der Duin (Canyon-Sram), Babette van der Wolf (EF Education-Oatly) and Emily Watts (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93).
80km to go
Big chase group is catching Plouffee with 81k to go, they have 16 seconds. Reaction in the peloton driven by Lidl-Trek.
Another big group of around 11 riders trying to escape at the front.
FDJ-Suez’ Marie Le Net jumps to try and brdige up the 52 second gap to Plouffe.
Peloton going through their musettes while holding Plouffe at 57 seconds.
Let’s hear what Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) had to say at the start of stage 2.
Plouffe has managed to push her lead to 41 seconds.
Another attack from ARA Australia team. This time it’s sprinter Maeve Plouffe is off solo inside of 91km to go.
Looming further on in stage 2 is the double-ascent of Willunga Hill.
And Anderson is reeled in. Peloton is back together with 91.5km to go.
QOM #1 Windy Point results:
Peloton is single file as they make their way through the Coromandel Valley.
One rider to watch today is Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal), winner of the mountain stage 7 into Le Grand Bornand and the queen of the mountains polka dot jersey at the 2024 Tour de France Femmes.
Teams Liv AlUla Jayco and Lidl-Trek are at the front of the field, controlling the pace and the gap to the lone breakaway.
100km to go
Newly crowned Australian U23 time trial champion Anderson has a 20-second lead on the peloton. After miscalculating yesterday, the pack will probably keep a tight leash on any breakaway today.
Rebecca Korner (UNO-X) is having trouble keeping up with the pack. The heat already hitting some of the riders.
First attack of the day comes from ARA Australian National Team – Alli Anderson is off solo with 102km to go.
Ceratizit-WNT directeur sportif Fortunato Lacquaniti shared his thoughts with Cycling News at the start today on Daniek Hengeveld’s win on stage 1:
Polites and Wlodarczyk rejoined the peloton on the descent. Peloton reshuffling. Ella Wyllie makes a short acceleration to get to the front, and slots behind her teammates.
QOM #1 – Windy Point
QOM leader Polites is slightly boxed in with 500 metres to the top of Windy Point. Lots of teams spread across the front of the pack.
Peloton still together on the slopes of Windy Point.
As riders were taking off from the start line in Unley the fans were starting to assemble on Willunga Hill, which was hosting the opening time trial of the new ProVelo Super League in the morning before the Women’s WorldTour race came through. The breeze was light but the intensity of the heat and sun already kicking in to add an extra difficulty factor to the 3km climb with an average gradient of 7.4%.
Flag drop. We’re out of the neutral zone and racing has started!
Peloton is compact behind race director Stuart O’Grady’s car. Attacks should fly early.
The first challenge comes early with the cat 1 climb of Windy Point, 3.8km long with an average gradient of 6% and a max pitches of 20%.
The riders are rolling through the 5km neutral section on their way to the official start for Stage 2 of the Women’s Tour Down Under. The second day of the race will be the most decisive of the three days as the peloton tackles 115km from Unley to the top of Willunga Hill.
Another beautiful summer but a lot warmer today the forecast calls for highs of 34C atop Willunga Hill.
Stage 1 winner Daniek Hengeveld (Ceratizit-WNT) tops the general classification with a 43-second lead on Ally Wollaston (FDJ-SUEZ) and 45 seconds on Kathrin Schweinberger (Human Powered Health).
Welcome to Cycling News’ live coverage of stage 2 of the Women’s Tour Down Under.
Tao Geoghegan Hart wants to win again but is taking 2025 one race at a time