From ‘struggling’ to another notch in the dream run as Ally Wollaston becomes first rider to defend title at Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

“After Tour Down Under, I struggled a little bit with sickness… so, yeah, I wasn’t hugely confident going into today. I knew I could get over Challambra on a really good day, and I had no idea whether that day would be today or not,” she told reporters after the podium ceremony.

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“And the first lap, I said to the girls, ‘I’m really struggling’. Actually, up Challambra, I didn’t feel as comfortable following as I did last year, so that always is a little bit of a knock on the confidence, and I knew the second lap was going to be harder. So they just kept me grounded, and I had a few tough words in my race radio saying that I could do it. The belief was pretty strong from the team today.”

It also wasn’t just the belief that was strong, as while things certainly didn’t get any easier on the second lap with Wollaston unhitched on Challambra – around 10km from the line – and the attacks also on the Melville Avenue climb – at 5km to the finish.

However, she had teammates Amber Kraak and Lauren Dickson to thread her back into the leading group of a dozen, and they were the only squad so heavily represented in the front group.

“My teammates did an incredible job to get me back to the front end of the race. There was a pretty impressive split after that second kicker,” said Wollaston. “If I didn’t have my teammates, the race would have been gone for sure. It was a really, really strong breakaway. So I think once that came back, then I knew I was in with a really good chance.”

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That good chance quickly turned into a huge victory celebration, the “F… yeah” winning exclamation of last year seemingly revived in the heat of the moment.

“I’m trying to stop that one, actually, yeah, my teammates definitely use it more than I do now. But yeah, it’s a good motto, and I think it just is a real spirit of the moment thing when it comes across the line,” Wollaston said with a laugh.

Given she’d just swept up her third victory of the opening block of racing, a slip of the tongue will surely be forgiven, especially as it means she’d crossed the finish line first in three of the four opening Women’s WorldTour opportunities of the year.

“It’s amazing. It’s a real dream start to the season,” said Wollaston. “And I think every year, you want to do better than the last, and I’ve already started this year better than last year. So, yeah, it’s a really dream start, and I’m so looking forward to carrying this momentum into the rest of the season.”