You wouldn't know it from the end result but for Ally Wollaston (FDJ United-SUEZ) Sunday's stage 2 of the Santos Women's Tour Down Under was a "bloody tough" day on the bike.
The rider from New Zealand who had laid down a dominant sprint on Saturday's stage 1 wasn't exactly enjoying her day in the ochre leader's jersey on Sunday, as temperatures rose to the mid-30's on a hard-fought 130.7 km stage with 2,411m of elevation gain.
"I suffered a lot today. I think it was the heat," Wollaston told reporters in Paracombe after the podium presentation. "I wasn't quite used to it and just didn't have the greatest feeling out there today so I'm just happy that I could really mentally switch in the final and be there for the sprint."
And she was more than just there, once again powering away from her rivals to deliver another emphatic victory on stage 2 that would keep that ochre jersey safely on her back for a second day.
"I think it's all definitely a mind game for me," Wollaston said in an interview on broadcaster Seven. "I struggled through 99% of that race, and when I got to the last 10km my teammate basically just told me to pull myself together, and then I was there at the final.
"So, yeah, sometimes I just need a hard word in the radio and from my teammates to just have that faith in me. And as soon as I have a sniff in the final then normally I'm good."
However, it wasn't only a tough day for Wollaston but also the team, with FDJ United-SUEZ sports director Lars Boom making it clear when Cyclingnews spoke to him pre-stage that the squad would once again be stepping up to take control of the race to defend the leader's jersey.
That, however, was no small task on a stage where the attacks kept rolling. The last one to go was particularly threatening, with a grouping of Chloé Dygert (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto), Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal), Julia Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime, Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek) and Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease a Bike) forming a dangerous move.
"It put a lot of pressure on our team to chase in the final and it was a very, very strong breakaway. So we're lucky that we had the strength to bring it back but it was pretty touch and go there in the final," Wollaston told reporters.
The move was caught in the final kilometre, allowing Wollaston to capture victory in the sprint, winning by a bike length ahead of defending champion Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) and another to third-placed Josie Nelson (Picnic PostNL). That means Wollaston will head into the tough last stage with a 14-second lead on the overall to second-placed Nelson, while Rüegg sits back at 17 seconds.
"I'm feeling so proud. Proud of myself, actually, and really proud of the team. I think they rode so selflessly today, and we were fully committed to protecting this jersey and keeping it in the team so I cannot thank them enough for the work that they did today.
"I think it's a really good step in my development to still have the jersey going into day three." said Wollaston, who last wore the ochre jersey during the race in 2024 after winning stage 1. "I'm really excited to take it into tomorrow."
While Wollaston has shown she is climbing well during the far from flat opening days, Monday's final stage has two ascents of the tough Corkscrew Road climb in the final thirty kilometres, so it isn't exactly a stage that screams bunch sprint.
So how is Wollaston going to tackle the final day of racing?
"I'll have to go home and think about it but for now, just enjoy the win," said Wollaston who has already equalled her Women's WorldTour win tally of 2025 in just her first two days of racing for 2026.
"The wins don't come often in the sport, and you lose more than you win. So I'll just enjoy tonight with the team and then come in with a fresh mind tomorrow and see how it goes."
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