Santos Festival of Cycling 2022 – Stage 2 [FULL STAGE] (ladies)

January 24, 2022

Santos Festival of Cycling 2022 – Stage 2 WE – McLaren Vale – Echunga : 85,7 km

The Santos Festival of Cycling, which includes four days of racing across South Australia for the women and men, is the National Road Series replacement for the cancelled Tour Down Under, which was last held as a WorldTour event for men. The multi-day event provides an opportunity for the top domestic racers to line up alongside some of the nation’s WorldTour professionals who returned home for the Australian summer. The domestic event will feature three-day stage races for elite women and elite men, as well as men’s and women’s criteriums in Victoria Park.

Maeve Plouffe (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast) was triumphant in the second day of women’s racing at the Santos Festival of Cycling. With the late attacks pulled back the South Australian used her track speed and powerful sprint to capture victory.

The next two steps of the podium were a repeat of stage 1 with overall leader Ruby Roseman-Gannon (BikeExchange-Jayco) coming second – after also battling with Plouffe through the intermediate sprints of the day – while Australian champion Nicole Frain (Roxsolt Liv SRAM) came third.

The victory for Plouffe, who represented Australia on the track at the Tokyo Olympic Games, came after a childhood spent watching her local race from the side of the road before first joining the peloton of it in 2017.

“To then come out and win a stage today, I’ve been dreaming of this for years,” Plouffe said after the stage. “I rode my first Tour when I was 18, I think I was the youngest person in it, and so to finally win this many years later is so exciting.”

The rider, who carefully picked her moves and stayed out of the wind through a spate of attacks in the final ten kilometres, said the victory also helped sate the disappointment of a Road Nationals that didn’t live up to expectations after she faced a difficult run-in, suffering with COVID-19.

“But then to come out here and execute a good solid team race … is so satisfying and so exciting,” said Plouffe.

How it unfolded

The stage, the second of four days of racing in South Australia, started at the Penny Hill winery in McLaren Vale before winding its way through 87.5 kilometres, nearly three of those on gravel, to Echunga.

The early spots of rain that fell through sign-on quickly cleared and heat started to build, both in and out of the racing. The stage route unfolded with plenty of obstacles to help form the splits and plenty of teams wanting to capitalise on them in a bid to snatch the overall lead from Roseman-Gannon or make a mark with a stage victory.

Ultimately, however, the breaks were absorbed back into the bunch and the BikeExchange-Jayco rider not only held her lead but extended it. Roseman-Gannon, who started the stage two seconds up on Emily Watts (Knights of Suburbia), finished the day eight seconds ahead of nearest overall rival Plouffe, and 13 seconds up on Watts.

“We had to watch out for those dangerous moves, especially through the climb and the gravel and also avoiding crashes, so I just went with anything that I thought was dangerous and my teammates covered the last 10km,” Roseman-Gannon said.

“Other teams really put it up to us and really sent riders up the road so we really had to use up a lot of energy before we even got to the sprint which made for some really good racing. Ultimately Maeve got me at the end but I’m pretty excited to hold onto the jersey and I’m going to give it everything I’ve got tomorrow to hopefully come up for the win.”

The dangerous moves Roseman-Gannon talked of included one with Matilda Raynolds (InForm TMX Make) and Samara Shepherd (Team Westpac) right before the sometimes loose and potholed gravel section 40km into the racing. As the field split to pieces over the uneven surface the duo then evolved into a group of six, including Roseman-Gannon, Grace Brown (Team Garmin Australia), Ruth Corset (VA Pro Racing) and Frain.

Then later after the Queen of the Mountain points – and the jersey – were swept up by Corset and the field had come back together, Megan Armitage attacked. The Team Westpac rider stretched out the gap far enough to bring Amanda Spratt (BikeExchange-Jayco) to the front to chase and also captured the most competitive rider jersey.

Into the final ten kilometres Corset went again, pulling a group with her, and Brown went solo with five kilometres to go. When the Australian time trial champion was caught – largely due to the efforts of the second-placed time trial rider Amber Pate (BikeExchange-Jayco) – there was a counter attack. This time it came from Brown’s teammate Alyssa Polites, who holds the U23 road race Australian title.

The list of attacks throughout the racing seemed to keep growing ever longer, but ultimately none stuck through to the end and it became a second day where the race was decided by a sprint.

The stage ahead, too, could be another day of splits, with the final day out on the road, before the criterium, taking in two unpaved sections and a climb just two kilometres from the finish line.

Results :
1 Maeve Plouffe (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 2:23:42
2 Ruby Roseman-gannon (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco
3 Nicole Frain (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM
4 Hayley Jones (Aus) Giant Racing Team
5 Sophie Edwards (Aus) Team Garmin Australia
6 Josie Talbot (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women’s
7 Matilda Raynolds (Aus) Inform TMX Make
8 Danielle de Francesco (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
9 Georgie Howe (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing
10 Matilda Field (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM
11 Emily Watts (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing
12 Jessica Pratt (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women’s
13 Ruth Corset (Aus) VA Pro Racing
14 Katie Banerjee (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing
15 Georgia Whitehouse (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women’s
16 Mia Hayden (Aus) Women’s Racing Project
17 Peta Mullens (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM
18 Sophie Malowiecki (Aus) Giant Racing Team
19 Sharni Morley (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom
20 Alexandra Manly (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco
21 Jessa Francis (Aus) Women’s Racing Project
22 Isabelle Carres (Aus) Team Garmin Australia
23 Lucie Fityus (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation
24 Georgia Baker (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco
25 Alisha Wells (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
26 Kathryn Mcinerney (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom
27 Lauren Thomas (Aus) Giant Racing Team
28 Darcie Richards (Aus) VA Pro Racing
29 Gina Ricardo (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women’s
30 Nicole Wilson (Aus) VA Pro Racing
31 Alyssa Polites (Aus) Team Garmin Australia
32 Hannah Seeliger (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation
33 Rose Vassel (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom
34 Courtney Sherwell (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM
35 Grace Brown (Aus) Team Garmin Australia
36 Elizabeth Young (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team
37 Amelia Watkinson (Aus) Individual Riders
38 Megan Armitage (Irl) Team Westpac
39 Jennifer Darmody (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women’s
40 Ella Bloor (Aus) Inform TMX Make
41 Nicole Mitsigeorgis (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation
42 Kerry Jonker (RSA) Team Westpac
43 Amber Pate (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco
44 Carlee Taylor (Aus) Inform TMX Make
45 Rachel Wales (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
46 Alli Anderson (Aus) South Australian Sports Institute
47 Loretta Hanson (Aus) Team Westpac
48 Sophie Marr (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing
49 Holly Lubcke (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
50 Emma Pratt (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation
51 Samara Sheppard (NZl) Team Westpac
52 Maddison Taylor (Aus) Giant Racing Team
53 Justine Barrow (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM
54 Ella Simpson (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team 0:00:07
55 Anya Louw (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:01:32
56 Amanda Spratt (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco
57 Bree Playel (Aus) VA Pro Racing 0:03:16
58 Phillipa Ash (Aus) Individual Riders 0:07:52
59 Belinda Bailey (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom
60 Imogen Alton (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women’s
61 Celia Cowan (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team
62 Chelsea Holmes (Aus) Inform TMX Make
63 Alana Forster (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team
64 Nicole Oh (Aus) Individual Riders
65 Brittany Petersen (Aus) Team Westpac
66 Julia Atkins (Aus) Women’s Racing Project
67 Haylee Fuller (Aus) Team Garmin Australia
68 Lucinda Stewart (Aus) Team Garmin Australia
69 Claire Battle (Aus) Giant Racing Team
70 Nicola Macdonald (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM 0:07:55
71 Alexandra Martin-wallace (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
72 Emma Viotto (Aus) Giant Racing Team
73 Shannon Mccurley (Irl) Knights of Suburbia Racing 0:13:24
74 Rachel Hore (Aus) Individual Riders 0:14:30
75 Eloise Sandow (Aus) Inform TMX Make 0:16:32
76 Laura Chancellor (Aus) Women’s Racing Project 0:19:01
77 Mackenzie Coupland (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation 0:19:07
DNF Holly Chance (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team
DNF Elizabeth Nuspan (Aus) Inform TMX Make
DNF Dharlia Haines (Aus) South Australian Sports Institute
DNS Lisa Jacob (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing

General Classification after Stage 2 :
1 Ruby Roseman-gannon (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco 4:36:44
2 Maeve Plouffe (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:00:08
3 Emily Watts (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing 0:00:13
4 Nicole Frain (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM 0:00:15
5 Georgia Baker (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco 0:00:17
6 Matilda Raynolds (Aus) Inform TMX Make 0:00:23
7 Matilda Field (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM
8 Ruth Corset (Aus) VA Pro Racing
9 Danielle de Francesco (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
10 Georgia Whitehouse (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women’s
11 Katie Banerjee (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing
12 Georgie Howe (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing
13 Sophie Malowiecki (Aus) Giant Racing Team
14 Gina Ricardo (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women’s
15 Peta Mullens (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM
16 Mia Hayden (Aus) Women’s Racing Project
17 Alexandra Manly (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco
18 Grace Brown (Aus) Team Garmin Australia
19 Amelia Watkinson (Aus) Individual Riders
20 Courtney Sherwell (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM
21 Carlee Taylor (Aus) Inform TMX Make
22 Samara Sheppard (NZl) Team Westpac
23 Justine Barrow (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM
24 Amber Pate (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco 0:00:40
25 Josie Talbot (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women’s 0:00:51
26 Jessica Pratt (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women’s 0:00:52
27 Isabelle Carres (Aus) Team Garmin Australia
28 Sharni Morley (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom
29 Alisha Wells (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
30 Jessa Francis (Aus) Women’s Racing Project
31 Nicole Wilson (Aus) VA Pro Racing
32 Alyssa Polites (Aus) Team Garmin Australia
33 Megan Armitage (Irl) Team Westpac
34 Lauren Thomas (Aus) Giant Racing Team
35 Rose Vassel (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom
36 Lucie Fityus (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation
37 Elizabeth Young (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team
38 Darcie Richards (Aus) VA Pro Racing
39 Hannah Seeliger (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation
40 Sophie Marr (Aus) Knights of Suburbia Racing
41 Jennifer Darmody (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women’s
42 Emma Pratt (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation
43 Maddison Taylor (Aus) Giant Racing Team
44 Ella Simpson (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team 0:00:59
45 Kathryn Mcinerney (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom 0:01:20
46 Rachel Wales (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
47 Loretta Hanson (Aus) Team Westpac
48 Hayley Jones (Aus) Giant Racing Team 0:01:22
49 Kerry Jonker (RSA) Team Westpac 0:01:51
50 Ella Bloor (Aus) Inform TMX Make
51 Holly Lubcke (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
52 Anya Louw (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:01:55
53 Bree Playel (Aus) VA Pro Racing 0:04:36
54 Sophie Edwards (Aus) Team Garmin Australia 0:04:56
55 Amanda Spratt (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco 0:06:28
56 Belinda Bailey (Aus) Stepfwd Soomom 0:08:44
57 Chelsea Holmes (Aus) Inform TMX Make
58 Emma Viotto (Aus) Giant Racing Team 0:08:47
59 Phillipa Ash (Aus) Individual Riders 0:09:12
60 Claire Battle (Aus) Giant Racing Team 0:09:15
61 Imogen Alton (Aus) Sydney Uni Staminade Women’s 0:09:43
62 Nicole Oh (Aus) Individual Riders
63 Brittany Petersen (Aus) Team Westpac
64 Nicola Macdonald (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM 0:09:57
65 Alli Anderson (Aus) South Australian Sports Institute 0:11:16
66 Haylee Fuller (Aus) Team Garmin Australia 0:12:48
67 Shannon Mccurley (Irl) Knights of Suburbia Racing 0:15:15
68 Nicole Mitsigeorgis (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation 0:15:16
69 Rachel Hore (Aus) Individual Riders 0:16:21
70 Alana Forster (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team 0:19:08
71 Julia Atkins (Aus) Women’s Racing Project
72 Lucinda Stewart (Aus) Team Garmin Australia
73 Laura Chancellor (Aus) Women’s Racing Project 0:20:52
74 Celia Cowan (Aus) Butterfields Racing Team 0:23:08
75 Alexandra Martin-Wallace (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:23:11
76 Mackenzie Coupland (Aus) Cycling Development Foundation 0:30:23
77 Eloise Sandow (Aus) Inform TMX Make 0:31:48