Source: Radio New Zealand
Ally Wollaston. FDJ-Suez
In-form New Zealand cyclist Ally Wollaston has powered to victory at the Great Ocean Race in Victoria, defending her title in emphatic style.
Wollaston became the first person – man or woman – to go back-to-back at the World Tour near Melbourne, timing her sprint to perfection for her FDJ-United Suez team.
It follows on from her brilliant display at last month’s Tour Down Under in Adelaide, where she won the first two sprint stages to lead overall going into the final stage, before finishing down the field.
The 25-year-old struggled on some of the race’s climbs on Saturday but managed to chase back to the pack.
She said her teammates played a key part in setting her up for the sprint.
“Amazing. So I owe it to my teammates today, if they weren’t there, there’s no way I would have gone back,” Wollaston said.
“After Tour Down Under, I struggled a little bit with sickness… so, yeah, I wasn’t hugely confident going into today. I had no idea whether that day would be today or not.
“And the first lap, I said to the girls, ‘I’m really struggling.’ So they just kept me grounded, and I had a few tough words in my race radio saying that I could do it. The belief was pretty strong from the team today.”
Wollaston’s winning time was just under four hours, seeing off British runner-up Josie Nelson and Spaniard Mireia Benito in the dash to the line.
“It’s amazing. It’s a real dream start to the season,” said Wollaston.
“And I think every year, you want to do better than the last, and I’ve already started this year better than last year. So, yeah, it’s a really dream start, and I’m so looking forward to carrying this momentum into the rest of the season.”
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
