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Swiss champion Noemi Rüegg (EF Training-Oatley) dropped Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco) after a one-kilometre drag race on the higher slopes of Willunga Hill to win stage 2, the Queen Stage of the 2025 Ladies’s Tour Down Beneath.
Rüegg survived all assaults on the second ascent of the enduring climb to remain within the lowered peloton bidding her time till the group was right down to 4 riders with Smulders, Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) and Neve Bradbury (Canyon-Sram zondacrypto)
With one kilometre remaining, the Swiss rider launched her decisive transfer. Smulders managed to stick with her briefly however ultimately needed to let go, ending 10 seconds behind to assert second place.
Mie Bjørndal Ottestad (Uno-X Mobility) led a small chase group to the road, taking third, 26 seconds behind the winner. Bradbury was fourth.
“Truthfully, I can’t put in phrases how this feels. It was actually a workforce effort; the workforce put me in excellent place all day, saved me protected, and did this tremendous leadout into the primary climb. We went with this objective into this stage, and I knew I had such a superb winter again in Switzerland. I felt so good, however truthfully, I did not suppose that it might prove so speechless. I simply wish to thank everybody who supported me in the direction of this in the previous few years,” Rüegg stated after claiming the victory.
“It means actually loads, as a result of I do know I’m robust, however I all the time wrestle a bit with my confidence. I all the time really feel like, Oh no, I am not so robust. So I really want a workforce that helps me, and I’ve to imagine in myself and to win provides me a lot confidence and provides me the proof that I did every little thing proper the previous few weeks and years. So yeah, actually makes me proud, and tremendous joyful.”
Rüegg takes over the ochre chief’s jersey with 15 seconds on Smulders, and 33 seconds on Ottestad. Fifth on the stage, Dominika Wlodarczyk (UAE Crew ADQ) sits in fourth place, 36 seconds down and just one second forward of trio Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance coverage-Soudal), Bradbury and Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez).
In a single day chief Daniek Hengeveld (Ceratizit-WNT) misplaced contact with the peloton the primary time up Willunga Hill, and dropped to thirty third total, over 5 minutes down.
The 2025 Ladies Tour Down Beneath concludes the 105.9km stage 3, that includes five-and-a-half loops round in Stirling, delivering fixed undulation with barely a second of flat terrain within the combine.
Rüegg “undoubtedly” intends to defend her chief’s jersey.
“Truly stage three was the one I used to be concentrating on most. After which after I did the recon of this climb, I assumed, effectively, that is truly additionally fairly good for me. However truly, to start with, we stated that is extra for Megan, tomorrow can be extra for me. So I believe we simply have to remain robust tomorrow and in addition simply take pleasure in. That is my first win on the WorldTour stage. I additionally simply wish to take pleasure in it. And, tomorrow we’ll see, however immediately was wonderful.”
The way it unfolded
The warmth was on for the queen stage of the ladies’s Santos Tour Down Beneath, with clear blue skies and hovering temperatures making a tricky day within the saddle even more durable. Three riders dropped out earlier than the beginning – Mara Roldan (Picnic-PostNl), who collapsed after the end and ended her day in an ambulance, understandably didn’t begin stage 2. Two others, Eglantine Rayer (FDJ-SUEZ) and Teuntje Beekhuis (Uno-X Mobility), additionally dropped out.
The remaining 79 riders departed Unley and the race stayed collectively for the primary 10km because the route went straight uphill to Windy Level, the place Polish champion Dominika Wlodarczyk (UAE Crew ADQ) led on the summit forward of mountains classification chief Alyssa Polites (ARA Australian Nationwide Crew).
Not lengthy after the climb, Polites’ teammate Alli Andersen went on the assault, however she may solely open up a lead of about 30 seconds. The tempo heated up and Andersen was caught on an unclassified ascent after 23.5km of racing.
The workforce continued their aggressive techniques, launching Maeve Plouffe off the entrance instantly after. Plouffe managed a lead of practically a minute, however a counter-attack from FDJ-SUEZ’s Marie Le Internet drew out an 11-rider chase with Amber Pate (Liv AlUla Jayco), Kristyna Burlova (Ceratizit-WNT), Rachele Barbieri (Picnic-PostNL), Greta Marturano (UAE Crew ADQ), Maike van der Duin (Canyon-Sram), Babette van der Wolf (EF Training-Oatly) and Emily Watts (St Michel-Choice Residence-Auber 93), amongst others. Nonetheless, the peloton instantly closed the transfer down.
The race settled in for a short time earlier than Anderson attacked once more after the feed zone with 62.5km to go and pulled out a lead of 42 seconds earlier than the intermediate dash, the place Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Crew ADQ) continued her push for the factors jersey, taking the factors behind Anderson.
Ten riders attacked after the dash and commenced chipping away at Anderson’s benefit. They’d her in sight with 56.2km to go however the peloton reeled the chase group in after which sat up.
With the primary ascent of Willunga nonetheless greater than 20km away, Anderson was allowed a niche of 1:10 earlier than an assault from Ally Wollaston (FDJ-SUEZ) began to chip into the hole. She made it throughout to Anderson with 40km to go, with a niche of greater than a minute on the bunch.
Canyon-SRAM took up the chase, stringing out the bunch a lot as they did on the opening stage, after which tried to launch Maike van der Duin. Two successive crashes took down Felicity Wilson-Haffenden (Lidl-Trek) first after which her teammate Niamh Fisher-Black together with Lauren Bates (ARA Australian Nationwide Crew), however all had been shortly again up and within the peloton.
The lead pair’s hole was out to 1:30 with 5km til the second intermediate dash however with the beginning of the primary ascent of Willunga proper after it, the chase picked up and carved 35 seconds out of their benefit on the dash.
Wollaston left Anderson behind because the grade kicked in however the chase was on from the GC riders, and he or she too was again within the fold earlier than the summit.
Amanda Spratt led teammate Fisher-Black previous Wollaston with 25km to go and a pair of.1km till the crest of Willunga Hill and continued to push the tempo till the ultimate kilometre, shedding all however about 18 riders.
Fisher-Black led the small lead group over the summit, after which Elise Chabbey (FDJ-SUEZ) attacked. The Swiss rider was shortly reeled in by Chloé Dygert (Canyon-SRAM) earlier than Chabbey’s teammate Amber Kraak tried to launch a transfer.
The assaults continued with Alice Towers pushing the tempo for Canyon-SRAM however Kim Cadzow (EF Training-Oatly) shut that transfer down.
On the descent, Chabbey drilled it, pulling away six riders with a pair extra scrambling throughout aas the velocity of the riders touched practically 90kph. With 10km to go and solely 11 riders nonetheless within the entrance, Dygert launched a searing assault to rejoin the lead group and teammate Towers.
With 7.4km to go, Ceratizit-WNT’s Dilyxine Miermont attacked and was coated by Ella Simpson (St Michel-Choice Residence-Auber93). Behind, a second group joined the lead dozen.
Spratt, Swinkels and Dygert went on the transfer with 6km to go however the bigger group was in a position to shut them down quickly and the wind briefly went out of the lead group as the ultimate climb approached.
Dygert wasn’t content material to experience straightforward and powered clear, chased instantly by Julie van de Velde (AG Insurance coverage-Soudal) and Kraak however the American reached Willunga solo.
Fisher-Black accelerated previous the 2 chasers with 3km to go after which previous Dygert. Bradbury leapt throughout to the Kiwi, and shortly Silke Smulder (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) and Noemi Rüegg (EF Training-Oatly) joined in, too.
With Chabbey and Wlodarczyk approaching, Fisher-Black accelerated however the two got here throughout with 2km to go and the tempo within the lead group briefly dropped. A surge from Chabbey incited a counter from Fisher-Black, however nonetheless, the six riders got here again collectively for the ultimate kilometre.
Bradbury went as she noticed the one kilometre-to-go signal however nonetheless Rüegg, Fisher-Black and Smulders had been in a position to match it. A surge from the Swiss champion put all however Smulders behind, and secured the stage win and the ochre chief’s jersey.
Outcomes
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