It’s been a warm first day of racing for our Women’s program at the Tour Down Under. The team has been active in the peloton, showing off their fresh new team colours towards the front of the peloton while helping to chase down the breakaway of the day. In the final, the team brought Francesca Barale into the sprint in a nice position, and the young Italian rider showed a good kick, leading us home in a nice sixth place!
After the stage, Barale said: “Our goal today was to keep Nienke and me safe for the GC. We also aimed to sprint for a good result in the end because every moment could be crucial over the three days, given that it’s not a super hard race. Initially, we had our eyes on Maeve for the sprint, but unfortunately, she crashed, forcing us to shift our focus. We rode well together as a team, especially with it being the first race of the season. The atmosphere was quite relaxed with the breakaway gone, and things only got a bit hectic in the final stretch. Franzi led us out perfectly, and I am really happy with today’s result. Achieving a top 10 finish in the first race of the season is really nice.”
