Newcomer secures stage win at Women's Tour Down Under
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A delighted Grace Brown (Mitchelton-Scott) after winning stage 3(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Grace Brown (Mitchelton-Scott) signs on in Nairne ahead of stage 3(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Eventual winner Grace Brown (Mitchelton-Scott) in the peloton during stage 3(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Race leader Amanda Spratt congratulates teammate Grace Brown after winning stage 3 of the 2019 Women's Tour Down Under(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Mitchelton-Scott's Grace Brown puts her head down as she goes for the win on stage 3 of the 2019 Women's Tour Down Under in Stirling(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
The 26-year-old launched her sprint early at the end of stage 3 in Stirling, and held off the rest of the field, crossing the finish line two seconds ahead of Trek-Segafredo's Ruth Winder and Rachel Neylan (UniSA-Australia).
Teammates Gracie Elvin and Amanda Spratt finished fourth and fifth respectively, with Spratt holding her overall race lead of 49 seconds over her teammate Lucy Kennedy as the race heads into the finale stage 4 in Adelaide on Sunday.
Brown said it was the plan to have Elvin and herself go for the final of stage 3 in Stirling because the uphill drag to the line suited their characteristics as riders.
"I am pretty happy," Brown said in a team press release. "It was the team plan for me and Gracie (Elvin) to have a go at the final here and it’s really awesome after all the hard work that I get a victory myself."
The Women's Tour Down Under finishes with a closed-circuit race in Adelaide on Sunday and Spratt said she aims to win her third consecutive title, while working for Sarah Roy to win the stage.
"There's just the criterium to go but as we saw last year it doesn't always go smooth sailing, I had a crash there, so we are still going to have to be looking out for each other and hopefully it's a bunch sprit and we can support (Sarah) Roy."
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Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
