Matilda Raynolds won the final stage of the Citroën Bay Crits in the Australian city of Geelong after taking flight on the final corner from a group of four riders that had lapped the field.
Teammate Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Bayside Citroën), who had an insurmountable lead coming into the final stage, claimed the overall winner's yellow jersey for a second year running.
Italian rider Valentina Scandolara, who has long been a regular at the Australian racing, came second in the final stage, while Tilly Field (Roxsolt Liv SRAM) swept up third and the final member of the group.
Alisha Wells (ARA Skip Capital) took fourth in what turned out to be a tactical finale, with the rest of the field pulled from the race and the four breakaway riders given an open road to fight for the podium places.
It was, without doubt the slowest three laps of the race, with a tactical game more familiar to track racing than a crit playing out until the very last corner, where Raynolds, who is still looking for a team for this year to race in Europe, took "a flyer".
"There were points there I could feel it overcoming me because I've had so many thirds and seconds that I just really needed the win today and obviously that added pressure, with wanting a team for 2023, but I just actually stopped myself and just said 'go with your gut', it rarely lets me down," Raynolds told Cyclingnews beyond the finish line.
"I've never been in a situation like that and to have Scandolara there who is just so experienced and the girls have a really good snap in them, so I knew I had to go long. I whacked them before the corner, stayed last wheel – I've never done anything like that before and I just had to back myself."
The result of Raynolds backing herself was that the composite Bayside Citroën team walked away with stage and overall victory and teammate Georgia Baker also came second on the overall, although it was clear coming into the stage that no one was in a position to challenge Roseman-Gannon's lead.
She had made it perfectly right from the start of the criterium series that she was again the rider to beat this year, taking out both of the Eastern Garden criteriums, which ran on the same 1.9km circuit but with a switch of direction.
She headed to a new location for the final stage with a 11 point lead on her nearest rival, Amanda Spratt, victory for a second year looked assured.
Stage 3 unfolded on Tuesday evening on a 650m hot dog criterium circuit on Ritchie Boulevard in Geelong, with none of the heat of the opening stage to be seen after a cool change had swept through during the racing on Monday.
The elite women again lined up to race 50 minutes and three finishing laps, albeit they were much shorter this time.
The first few minutes drifted by without any big moves but it was just seven minutes in when Roseman-Gannon decided it was time to keep up that aggressive racing style we’d seen since the opening stage. She launched solo but it only lasted a few minutes and then once caught it was time for another group to go.
This time it was Tilly Field (Roxsolt Liv SRAM), Alisha Wells (ARA Skip Capital), Matilda Raynolds (Bayside Citroën) and Valentina Scandolara (Novotel Prestige Jayco), a strong mix of the key teams in the race.
At about 15 minutes into the racing it looked like the catch was about to come but just as the peloton looked ready to pounce the elastic broke. The field sat up and the four picked up the pace and by 20 minutes into the racing they were over 40 seconds up and looking set to lap the field.
The lead car was pulled out, but the bunch accelerated and Scandolara, Raynolds, Wells and Field sat just off the back until nearly the half way point of the race. They ultimately lapped the field, meaning the top four spots were in the bag.
The rest of the field was taken off the course with three laps to go and then the tactical game between the final four began, with Scandolara, Raynolds, Wells and Field all determined not to lead out, slowing almost to a halt at times.
Raynolds, however, wasn’t prepared to wait for the sprint knowing that her chances were better longer range. Before the final corner she kicked hard, struck out and then managed to hold off Scandolara’s late charge, meaning the rider who twice stood on the lower steps of the podium at Bay Crits last year, this time could celebrate an important final day win instead.
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