Spratt takes win in first stage of Santos Women’s Tour

Amanda Spratt (Australia/Orica-Scott) attacked near the foot of a climb close to the finish of the UCI 2.2-rated Santos Women’s Tour’s first stage to seize the win, the race lead and the mountains jersey on Saturday.

…and the @tourdownunder women's race begins!! @southaustralia @abcnews @abcnewsAdelaide pic.twitter.com/KaoSIisj1h

— Nicola Gage (@Nicola_Gage) January 14, 2017

Stage 1 took in 106.5-km between Hahndorf and Meadows, South Australia, the riders racing through Meadows’ intermediate sprint early in the day and then making a counter-clockwise circuit to finish there. The first mountain points were offered near the end of the stage with a 4-km descent into town.

Specialized-SPW’s Kate Perry (Australia) shook off the peloton at the 20-km mark but was yanked back before Meadows. On Mawson Road Chloe Hosking (Australia/Ale-Cipollini) won the sprint. Perry tried again with 65-km to go, this time with two compatriots from Holden-HWC and Rush. Again, the peloton was having none of it.

More attacks couldn’t stick as the race approached the steep Queen of the Mountain point near Meadows. With the action heating up, Amanda Spratt (Australia/Orica-Scott), New Zealand road champion Rushlee Buchanan (UnitedHealthcare) and a third rider bolted and stayed away, with Spratt first over the peak.

Spratt scurried down towards Meadows, with Janneke Ensing (The Netherlands/Ale-Cipollini) her closest pursuer. Silver medalist last week at the Australian national championships road race, Spratt had plenty of time to celebrate.

Lone Canadian entrant Annie Foreman-Mackey was 49th, 2:33 in arrears.

Santos Women’s Tour Stage 1
1) Amanda Spratt (Australia/Orica-Scott)
2) Janneke Ensing (The Netherlands/Ale-Cipollini) +0:20
3) Katie Hall (USA/UnitedHealthcare) +0:40
49) Annie Foreman-Mackey (Canada/Sho-Air TWENTY20) +2:33