Cyclingflash
Canadian surprise beats established names in Vanguard Womens Race

Canadian surprise beats established names in Vanguard Womens Race

On the day Tobias Lund Andresen managed to win the first road stage of the Tour Down Under, there was also success on Australian soil for Maggie Coles-Lyster. The 26-year-old Canadian unexpectedly won the Santos Tour Down Under Women's One Day Race (1.Pro).

This one-day race—also known as the Vanguard Women's Race or the former Schwalbe Classic—can be viewed as an extension of the Santos Tour Down Under for women (January 17-19). The riders who had controlled the action in the recent stage race were also expected to be prominent here.

In the vicinity of the start and finish town of Tanunda, a not too challenging 92-kilometer course was mapped out. The riders had to complete twelve laps of an eight-kilometer local circuit, mostly over flat roads. In other words: a (mass) sprint was definitely on the cards.

Many riders made a desperate attempt to avoid a sprint, but this proved to be a futile effort. Despite all attacking attempts, the race came down to a sprint finish from an elite group of fifteen riders.

Among the leading contenders were notable names like Tour Down Under winner Noemi Rüegg, Marta Lach, Emma Norsgaard, Sofia Bertizzolo, and Ruby Roseman-Gannon, but these heavy hitters were clearly beaten in the sprint by the relatively unknown Maggie Coles-Lyster.

This 26-year-old Canadian is in her second season riding for Human Powered Health. She became Canadian road champion once before in 2022 and sprinted to a podium in last year's Trofeo Marratxi-Felanitx, but on Australian soil, she achieved the (so far) biggest victory of her career.