Chloé Dygert (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) may have made her intentions for Sunday’s Santos Women’s Tour Down Under finale clear, having attacked off the front at some point of every other stage but this time even though every rider might have known an attack was coming from the powerful American, there was simply nothing they could do about it.
On stage 1, when a lone leader was charging toward the line, Dygert had ridden away from the rest of the chasing field with around 5km to go but was caught. On stage 2, Dygert then used her attacking prowess to provoke a chase to the base of the final climb, a move which would toughen the race up for teammate Neve Bradbury, and was then pulled back as the climbing began.
On Sunday, however, the kilometres continued to tick down, and still Dygert was tucked in the reduced group that was rocketing toward Stirling and the last finish line of the 2025 opening Women’s WorldTour race.
The rider had already foreshadowed that this was a stage that should suit, on Saturday telling Cyclingnews “I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. I really like the terrain” but even at 1km to go, the ever-attacking Dygert resisted the temptation to go.
“In the final, I tried not to hit the wind at all,” Dygert told reporters after the stage. “I probably took a few risks by letting some things go when I probably should have jumped, but I just did not want to hit the wind at all. It was more of a patient game, more of me just, you know, getting the experience and just being smart.”
Dygert – who has been in the Women's WorldTour with Canyon-SRAM since 2021 but has had little more than 50 race days during those four seasons – bided her time until around 300m to go and then she was off to deliver what was more of a late attack than an early sprint launch.
“I was on Dygert’s wheel,” said three-time race winner Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek), who had been extremely active through much of the race. “But when she got out of the saddle, I didn't quite have that power… Impressive.”
Ultimately Dygert had what it took and more to give Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto the victory they had been so actively chasing through the race, The 28-year-old took her second Women's WorldTour win by gapping her pursuers and taking a victory that, from the outside, never looked in doubt once she launched.
“It’s funny because I was really jittery going into the final kilometre. I’m like, why aren’t we going faster? Why aren’t we going faster? And I was getting a little nervous,” said Dygert.
“I was thinking to myself, everybody’s recovering right now and I’m gonna get passed, so I’m really, really happy that I stayed patient, calm, and attacked when I did because it was just planned perfectly.”
That outcome was just what Dygert needed to build confidence after years filled with setbacks, so she could launch into the 2025 season on the front foot.
"Going into the spring, it’s only going to get better and better,” said Dygert. “I won’t be playing catch-up, so I won’t be risking injury because I don’t need to push the limits. Now, I’m right where everybody else is, at the same percentage level. It’s just safer for me physically, that I’m not going to be hurting myself by trying to make up for lost time.”
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