Women's Tour Down Under 2024: Gigante crowns herself queen of Willunga Hill

The 23-year-old Australian Sarah Gigante outsprinted the competition on the final climb of Willunga Hill and won the third stage of the Tour Down Under by 16 seconds ahead of Nienke Vinke. This meant that both three-time overall winner Amanda Spratt and the previous overall leader Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig had no chance.

Gigante shows demonstration of power

On the final climb, Sarah Gigante confidently took the lead 3 kilometres before the finish and stepped up the pace. Only a small group around Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Amanda Spratt, Neve Bradbury and Nienke Vinke were able to follow. The 23-year-old gradually shook them off before she rode alone towards the finish 2.2 kilometres from the end. In the end, the AG Insurance - Soudal Team rider outclassed her rivals with a 16-second lead and celebrated her biggest career victory.

Women's Tour Down Under 2024 - Results: The top 10 of stage 3

1. Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance - Soudal Team) 2:30:38
2. Nienke Vinke (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) +0:16
3. Neve Bradbury (Canyon//SRAM Racing) +0:27
4. Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) +0:27
5. Dominika Wlodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) +0:46
6. Victorie Guilman (St Michel - Mavic - Auber93 WE) +0:47
7. Ella Wyllie (Liv AlUla Jayco) +0:47
8. Maud Oudeman (Visma | Lease a Bike) +0:47
9. Rosita Reijnhout (Visma | Lease a Bike) +0:47
10. Julie van de Velde (AG Insurance - Soudal Team) +0:47

The overall standings after the 3rd stage

1. Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance - Soudal Team) 7:57:33
2. Nienke Vinke (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) +0:20
3. Neve Bradbury (Canyon//SRAM Racing) +0:33
4. Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) +0:37
5. Dominika Wlodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) +0:44
6. Victorie Guilman (St Michel - Mavic - Auber93 WE) +0:57
7. Ella Wyllie (Liv AlUla Jayco) +0:57
8. Julie van de Velde (AG Insurance - Soudal Team) +0:57
9. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-SUEZ) +1:02
10. Nicole Frain (Team Australia) +1:02

>> The results of the Tour Down Under 2024

>> Favourites and route of the women's Tour Down Under 2024

How the women's stage 3 of the Tour Down Under 2024 went

The final stage of the tour got off to a bumpy start as there was a first mountain classification after just a few kilometres. Once again, Katia Ragusa had the fastest legs out of a five-strong breakaway group, securing the overall mountain classification. Norway's Stine Dale then showed herself to be particularly keen to attack, repeatedly trying to escape from the peloton in smaller breakaway groups. However, the rider from Team Coop-Repsol never really got away from the peloton.

One reason why there was no clear leading group on the day was the UAE Team ADQ. The World Tour team controlled the field in the two intermediate sprints - with success: although Ruby Roseman-Gannon won the first intermediate sprint ahead of Dominika Wlodarczyk, the Polish rider then won the second sprint for UAE Team ADQ. This meant that Polish team-mate Sofia Bertizzolo took victory in the points classification.

The peloton arrived at the final climb on Willunga Hill without a breakaway, where Team Lidl-Trek increased the pace for their team captain Amanda Spratt for the first time, causing the peloton to break up into many smaller groups. With 2.7 kilometres to go, it was Sarah Gigante who took over the lead in the front group around Amanda Spratt, Neve Bradbury, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and Nienke Vinke and stepped up the pace again. First Spratt and Bradbury had to let go, then the previous overall leader Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig could no longer keep up, who broke away at the end and crossed the finish line over a minute behind. Gigante, on the other hand, was on his own with 2.2 kilometres to go, finishing 16 seconds ahead of Vinke and celebrating the day's and overall victory. Third place went to Neve Bradbury, 27 seconds behind the winner.