Ally Wollaston delivered a glorious day for AG Insurance – Soudal by winning the first stage of the World Tour Race - Santos Tour Down Under. The stage, which took the riders from Hahndorf to Campbelltown, was a true challenge with a length of 93.9 kilometers. After a demanding course in high temperatures, Ally made the difference in the sprint, leaving her competitors behind.
With this impressive victory, Wollaston not only achieved a personal win but also captured the lead in the World Cup standings. This constitutes a double triumph for both her and for AG Insurance – Soudal, as this marks their debut as a World Tour team and they immediately secure their first victory in a World Tour race.
After the victory, Ally shared her emotions: "It's really overwhelming. This is my first year with a World Tour victory, and I'm so proud of how the team raced today. The girls supported me fantastically, and I am enormously grateful for the work they did to get me to the finish."
With this impressive victory, Wollaston not only achieved a personal win but also captured the lead in the World Cup standings. This constitutes a double triumph for both her and for AG Insurance – Soudal, as this marks their debut as a World Tour team and they immediately secure their first victory in a World Tour race.
After the victory, Ally shared her emotions: "It's really overwhelming. This is my first year with a World Tour victory, and I'm so proud of how the team raced today. The girls supported me fantastically, and I am enormously grateful for the work they did to get me to the finish."
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SportTranscription
00:00 Welcome to Adelaide, South Australia, and it is the centre of the cycling universe.
00:05 As we get 2024 underway with the World Tour, it's the Ziprac Stage 1 from Handorf to Campbelltown.
00:12 The temperatures are heating up, it's still quite pleasant for now, and Annamie, as we did hear Ruby mention those time bonuses.
00:18 The 3-2 and we see 94 riders take to the start, it was to be 95, but unfortunately Josie Talbot came down with COVID.
00:25 As we see David Lynch, the Mayor of Mount Barker, waving the flag, getting us underway.
00:30 And the World Tour, the Women's World Tour is underway for 2024.
00:35 Nice little argy-bargy battle up the front.
00:39 And a real rush if you see the Livaloola team inside the final 500 metres now.
00:45 And look over the shoulder, good formation.
00:48 It's Baker in second position, Ruby Brosman-Gannon in third position.
00:53 We see the colours of the Australian champion, the first day racing in the national champion's colours.
00:58 And they've set it up for Ruby Brosman-Gannon.
01:00 They are looking at the overall classification, they want the time bonuses to give her a chance to hold on up for longer.
01:07 And the first sprint goes to Ruby Brosman-Gannon, the Australian champion, three extra seconds into the pocket as well.
01:13 Fantastic ride by her.
01:15 Richardson trying to get on, so they've pulled the cars out of the way.
01:19 And as we're getting to the top now, it is Raguzza Katia that's looking to go for this first of the FX Mountain Sprints.
01:26 Three points on offer, she is looking the strongest.
01:29 She's gone very early though, it's hard to sprint for a long time uphill.
01:32 Matilda Reynolds now trying to come through as well.
01:34 Grangier in second position, but the strength of the rider that was second in Paris-Roubaix last year, Katia Raguzza,
01:42 picks up the first of our FX Hill Climb Sprints.
01:46 Matilda Reynolds is the first to go for Bridge Lane.
01:49 She wasn't able to get the job done on the Queen of the Mountains Sprint at the top of the hill,
01:53 but she's going to try and do it here.
01:55 As we come into Woodside, she's gone a long way from the finish though.
01:59 Grangier coming over the top, and Raguzza again.
02:02 She picked up the hill climb, she wants the intermediate sprint as well.
02:06 So there you go, the strength.
02:08 200 metres to the top, Matilda Reynolds does look interested in this sprint.
02:12 Raguzza, she wants the points, she wants the jersey.
02:15 Grangier also goes through on the inside.
02:17 It's a really good performance from the 24-year-old Frenchman riding for the Coupe team.
02:22 And Raguzza, the strength of Raguzza, up over the top.
02:26 So she gets all three of the sprints that she's contested so far from the breakaway group.
02:32 I'm not sure whether they even tried.
02:34 She's proven herself to be so much stronger than the other riders in the break.
02:38 It's not a good feeling though, is it, Scott, to have something happen when you're in the breakaway
02:43 coming down to these crucial kilometres?
02:45 Yeah, absolutely. So really happy for her that it's not going to cause an issue.
02:50 But we have another problem, I think, here with Raguzza.
02:54 So she's having an issue now as well.
02:56 Looks like she's pointing to her rear derailleur potentially.
02:59 Going to change her rear wheel.
03:02 It's a flat tyre, I think.
03:04 There you can see the peloton already passing her.
03:07 But good timing in a way that she can just slip in and not have to chase back.
03:12 And there's been a crash.
03:14 And this is not looking good. Several riders have gone down.
03:18 Henrietta Christie for the Human Powered Health.
03:22 Paulson, it is, from Bridgelane as well.
03:25 So we have three, perhaps four riders.
03:27 Everyone's standing up, which is a really good sign.
03:30 And this is interesting. Maeve Plouffe, the rider we were talking about,
03:34 if she could hang on for the sprint at the end.
03:36 But the hills have been too steep for Maeve.
03:39 Really unfortunate to see such a powerful rider for that final sprint
03:43 not be able to be there to contest it.
03:45 Yeah, it will hurt to be caught this close to the finish line.
03:49 She will have to be awarded the most aggressive rider of this stage
03:53 given the effort that she has put in.
03:56 But it's certainly going to make for a chaotic finish now
03:59 as we see the peloton all come back together.
04:02 Matilda Reynolds, hats off to you.
04:05 Fantastic ride today. Unfortunately, it didn't come off.
04:08 Of course, it will be Katja Ragusa that puts on the FX Queen of the Mountains jersey
04:14 at the end from the breakaway group.
04:16 And they're all back together.
04:18 And we're inside 500 metres to go. Manley leads the way.
04:22 She's taking the Jayco Alula team towards the finish line.
04:26 Can they finish it off, though, as they come to 300 metres to go?
04:29 Now it's Rosemond Gannon that goes over the top.
04:31 Georgia Baker is the rider that they're going to be working for.
04:36 Ali Wollaston, the New Zealand national champion, is still there as well.
04:40 Rosemond Gannon out of the saddle, and it's Baker that comes through.
04:45 It's a slow sprint as Ali Wollaston, the New Zealand champion in the white colours,
04:49 she comes over the top, and it's the Kiwi that takes the crown.
04:53 Stage one to Ali Wollaston from AG Insurance.
04:57 She won the Classic last year, and I said she could be the dark horse here.
05:01 She's got a great turn of speed, and look at that.
05:04 Ali Wollaston from AG Insurance, you are stage one winner of the women's Tour Down Under,
05:10 and you get to wear the ochre jersey. Tell me your emotions.
05:13 Yeah, really overwhelmed, actually. It's my first world tour win.
05:18 So, yeah, I'm just really proud. The girls were amazing today.
05:22 And, yeah, I can't thank them enough for the work they did today.
05:26 It looked like a chaotic finale, especially that last 10k.
05:29 Can you talk me through what was happening in the peloton?
05:32 Yeah, I'm not usually super confident in the bunch,
05:35 so I struggled quite a lot, but these girls looked after me so well.
05:39 We had a plan to just stick on the right-hand side and just commit to the finish,
05:43 and we did exactly that, and, yeah, we couldn't have done it any better.
05:47 You've got some big ambitions now with the team for the rest of the tour as well.
05:51 Can you talk us through what this does for the motivation for the team?
05:54 Oh, yeah. Sorry, I'm just grabbing my breath.
05:58 Yeah, we've got a pretty big powerhouse of a team this week.
06:03 Sarah is our little pocket rocket, so we'll be targeting Sunday with her.
06:09 But, yeah, I suppose for tomorrow we just try and hold on to the jersey
06:12 as long as possible and see what happens.
06:14 Congratulations. Fantastic win today. Enjoy it.
06:17 Oh, thank you. I'm grabbing my breath now.
06:20 And rightfully so. What a great performance from the entire team to set her up,
06:24 but then she has to finish it off, and she had the power in a difficult uphill sprint.
06:27 And she did it well. She used her team well, but when she ran out of teammates,
06:31 she jumped on the wheel of Georgia Baker once we saw that change of direction
06:35 with Ruby Roseman-Gannon. Look at the elation.
06:38 And it's not just her success and joy. You saw her and her teammates afterwards as well.
06:43 It's a shared success and a well-deserved win there.
06:47 So great performance for her to come away with the win.
06:50 Bertazzolo in third place. Berlova, that was a good performance,
06:53 coming back from a crash as well.
06:55 The top three, they're names that we were talking about all through the stage.
06:59 Not that unexpected. But I've got to hand it to Christina to come back from a crash.
07:03 Blood streaming down her knee, down her leg. That's a good performance. Gutsy.
07:07 Really good performance. And that really just shows you what kind of sport cycling is.
07:10 You have to be adaptable and tough. You've got to get back on your back so quickly.
07:14 But such a great top ten. That's painting a bit of a picture for me for the next two days.
07:18 That's for sure.
07:19 Her shoulders tomorrow for that very difficult stage around Sterling.
07:24 Georgia Baker in second, Bertazzolo as it finished across the line.
07:27 And then you have Ruby Rosa-Megana with that time bonus sprint that she picked up in Uchanga.
07:31 That puts her up into fourth place. So that was a good team move.
07:35 Really good team move. Jaco Alula did a great job today.
07:39 Not the result they wanted with getting second so close.
07:42 Georgia Baker was their one for the sprint today.
07:45 But they've got a lot of cards to play. They've got more tomorrow.
07:48 I think tomorrow really suits them.
07:50 I'm really looking forward to seeing them light it up in Sterling.
07:53 She rides for AG Insurance, Soudal. She comes from New Zealand.
07:57 But today she reigns supreme. It is Ali Wollaston, the new race leader.
08:02 later!