Women’s Down Under Classic: Nienke Veenhoven wins from bunch sprint

Nienke Veenhoven (Visma-Lease a Bike) rewarded her team’s efforts to reel in the breakaway as she soared to victory in a bunch sprint at the Women’s Down Under Criterium. The Dutchwoman edged out Georgia Baker (Liv AlUla Jayco) in second and Lauretta Hanson (Lidl-Trek) in third.

The outcome had looked unlikely as the riders approached the final few laps as the peloton struggled to chase back a large breakaway, but a concerted effort from Visma-Lease a Bike reeled the escapees in as the riders entered the final lap.

Their efforts were rewarded when Veenhoven, having bided her time sitting in the wheels, timed her sprint to perfection to take the win.

Heartbreak for breakaway

Falling just four days after the women's Tour Down Under ended atop Willunga Hill, the Down Under Criterium brought together eight WorldTour teams alongside a host of domestic teams in a 50-minute race. Many of the sport’s top stars took to the start line, including Tour Down Under winner Sarah Gigante.

The race kicked off with a standing start and it was the WorldTour teams who were the main protagonists at the front of the race, with Lidl-Trek racing particularly aggressively. Amanda Spratt and Lauretta Hanson both applied pressure at the front of the peloton, but no one was able to establish a gap over the chaotic first few laps.

That all changed approaching the first prime with 15 minutes raced when Veenhoven broke away to establish a narrow lead and she was joined by home rider Alexander Manly (Liv AlUla Jayco). While the bunch was hot on their wheels, the duo had enough of a gap to contest the first intermediate sprint, but there was nothing Manly could do to prevent Veenhoven from rolling over the line first.

The leading duo were swallowed back into the bunch soon after, at which point Lidl-Trek seized the moment to launch Spratt up the road. It was the first time any sort of break had threatened to escape but, riding solo against a determined bunch, the Australian’s lead only reached six seconds before quickly petering out.

Multiple counter-attacks followed but, despite a clear lack of control from any team, nothing was able to stick with multiple riders committing to chasing things back. That led to a brief lull at the midway point as teams took stock of the situation, before national criterium champion Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv AlUla Jayco) reignited the fight at the front, but once again Lidl-Trek were alert to the danger as everything came back together for the second prime.

There was good news for Manly at the second intermediate sprint as she made amends and it proved to also be a pivotal moment in the race as teams briefly let up to provide an opportunity to counterattack. It’s an opportunity multiple teams grasped, including Lidl-Trek and it was Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez) who briefly escaped, but her efforts were in vain.

Tiredness was starting to set in and, with the majority of teams represented, a breakaway finally established itself heading into the final 10 minutes. The lead was touch-and-go at first as the bunch eased off, but their prospects appeared to be increasingly promising heading into the final laps until Visma-Lease a Bike sprung into action.

Their late efforts were rewarded when the bunch made contact heading into the final lap and things became even better when Veenhoven delivered an impressive kick to hold off Baker to take the win.