Saturday January 27, 2024 at 8:08 AM
Only 19-year-old Rosita Reijnhout has won the women’s race of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in Australia. The Dutch one from Visma | After more than 140 kilometers, Lease a Bike was the best in the Deakin University Elite Women’s Road Race, as the race is officially called. After a difficult final, Reijnhout narrowly escaped the hands of Dominika Wlodarczyk and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig.
The program included a hilly race in the Women’s WorldTour with start and finish in Geelong, where the men’s race of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race will also be held on Sunday. In the last 30 kilometers there was Challambra Crescent twice (1.1 km at 8.5%). After the top there was a short descent, a stretch of 500 meters at 8% and another eight kilometers to the finish.
A compact peloton rode towards the final climb of Challambra Crescent in the final phase, where it was top favorite Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Suez) who took the attack. However, her solo did not last, because more than five kilometers before the finish, Reijnhout (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Wlodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) joined in.
What a thriller! Rosita Reijnhout wins the Deakin University Road Race and takes her first ever win! pic.twitter.com/HWySK1uWK1
— Eemeli (@LosBrolin) January 27, 2024
Behind the three leaders, a chasing group had formed, from which Sarah Gigante was still trying to cross. It did not work. More than four kilometers before the finish, 19-year-old Reijnhout made an attempt. She rode away from Wlodarczyk and Ludwig and managed to hold on well until the finish in Geelong. The Polish and the Danish still managed to get to their wheels, but the victory went to the Dutch.
Almost youngest winner ever in WWT
At 19 years and 294 days, Reijnhout is almost the youngest winner ever in the Women’s WorldTour. Only Franziska Koch was younger (19 years and 47 days) when she won at the highest level in the 2019 Holland Ladies Tour.
In the recent Tour Down Under, Reijnhout managed to finish thirteenth in the general classification, after ninth place in the hill stage to Willunga Hill. With Visma | Lease a Bike was also something to cheer about in Australia earlier, because Nienke Veenhoven won the Women’s Down Under Criterium, but that was not an official UCI competition.
photo: Cor Vos
2024-01-27 07:08:00
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