Image: ©Kirsty Baxter
Tiffany Cromwell has yesterday taken out the Subaru Australian Open Women's Noosa Criterium as part of Super Saturday at the Multi Tri Sport festival in Noosa. The Australian rider won the 30 minute and three lap criterium, from a four rider breakaway that formed midway into the race. Cromwell outsprinted Katrin Garfoot (OGE) and Emily Roper to finish her 2016 season on a high note.
The CANYON//SRAM Racing rider decided to extend her season after competing at the UCI road world championships in Doha two weeks ago. "I had the opportunity to race on home soil as part of the Noosa multisport triathlon festival, the largest in the world for participation numbers, and I felt I couldn't pass it up."
"Since worlds I've been slowly winding down and have just done a few rides here and there including some rides with the Rapha communities in Seoul and Singapore. I knew the intensity of the criterium was going to hurt even if it was a short race, a 1.2km hotdog circuit is always painful.”
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Cromwell went into the race relaxed and looking to enjoy the atmosphere and to be part of the action. "I had no team mates so I knew that I had to be smart, pick the right moves to go with and I also wanted to have a crack myself. When I saw Garfoot had initiated a move mid-race I knew it was where I wanted to be, and I went across to the two rider break with Emily Roper. The four of us quickly established a gap on the field, we were all on the same page and happy to make the move stick."
"To be honest I wasn't feeling awesome in the break and I knew a couple of them could sprint okay. I wasn't 100% confident that I could win but I knew I had experience on my side for sprint tactics. I played it smart, doing enough whilst trying to keep the legs to come around for the sprint. The sprint at Noosa is very much about the timing and getting the right line as there's a small chicane into the finish and it was a head wind too so you couldn't go too early."
"Lucy Bechtel tried for a late attack on the final lap and Garfoot closed it so I thought okay both of their cards have been used. I stayed on her Garfoot's and it was Roper who hit out first but a little bit early. I made my jump and got the inside line on the final corner, while Garfoot had to come the longer way around and I was able to take the win."
"It was the perfect way to finish the season in front of really great crowds and I had both SRAM and Canyon Australia there cheering me on so to give them a win on home soil was pretty nice."
Cromwell now has her off season break and will rejoin her CANYON//SRAM Racing team mates at the team's first training camp in Mallorca, Spain in December.
Contact: Beth Duryea / duryea@wmncycling.com
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