Spratt takes step towards third Women's Tour Down Under title
11 January 2019 11:25
Amanda Spratt took one large step towards a third straight Women’s Tour Down Under title as her Mitchelton-Scott team dominated on the stage 2 finish on Mengler Hill. The two-time champion took a convincing win on the first uphill finish of the race to put her well clear in the overall classification, with her teammate Lucy Kennedy sitting just behind in second place at 43 seconds. Krista Doebel-Hickok (Rally UHC Cycling) is third overall at 51 seconds. Having missed out on the win to Trek-Segafredo on the opening day, Mitchelton-Scott were determined not to miss out on stage 2. On home ground, they put in a pitch-perfect ride on the short and punchy ride between Nuriootpa and Mengler Hill.ADVERTISEMENT The Australian team used their might to take chunks out of the peloton, reducing it to little more than 30 riders by the time they reached the foot of the final ascent. It was only a matter of time before Spratt and Kennedy struck out, with Spratt soon leaving her teammate behind to win by 39 seconds. "What can I say? My teammates were so amazing and whenever they ride so hard for you like that, you want to finish it off. We had a plan and when you can ride it to perfection as a team, it just feels amazing," Spratt said. "We had Grace [Brown] do a fantastic job in the three or four kilometres before the climb and then Lucy hit it. I had instructions to attack and bring no one with me so that’s what I did." Already on good form
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