XXX RATED VICTORY
Ashleigh Moolman- Pasio held off an Orica-Scott onslaught to win Emakumeen XXX. Bira
Orica-Scott won the tactical battle in the 30th edition of the Emakumeen Bira, but it was not enough to win the war. The Australian team had the strength in numbers and tactical nous to finish three riders in the top five of the general classification, but up against the superior climbing strength of Cervélo’s Ashleigh MoolmanPasio, first place eluded them.
The best climber in a climbers’ race, Moolman-Pasio laid the foundations for victory on the last mountain of the Basque tour: the Jaizkibel, which is a fixture in the Clásica San Sebastián. The South African’s biggest win yet was a matter of perseverance after several fruitless attempts on just about every hill in the previous stages. Twisting roads, tricky finales and occasional rain - an occupational hazard of racing in the verdant Basque Country - favoured Orica’s strength in numbers and aggressive tactics throughout the week. Solo wins by Amanda Spratt and Katrin Garfoot in stages two and three followed a sprint win by Alé Cipollini’s Marta Bastianelli on the opening day. Orica-Scott’s two stage wins put the team in a commanding position before the final two days of the race, which were the hardest of the week. But, when Annemiek van Vleuten got the hat-trick for the Aussie squad on the summit finish at San Miguel de Aralar after countering every acceleration from Moolman-Pasio and outsprinting her at the line, a dilemma arose. The team’s strongest rider uphill, Van Vleuten, wasn’t the best placed in the GC since Garfoot’s time gap after the tactical manoeuvres of the previous days still prevailed. The Australian team’s position still looked formidable - they held first, second and third overall going into the last day, but Moolman-Pasio lurked in fourth place, 34 seconds behind Garfoot, and only six behind Van Vleuten. In the end, the time gaps were too brittle for Orica to defend and though Garfoot was the race leader, it was really a battle between Moolman-Pasio and Van Vleuten. As soon as the already-reduced peloton hit the first slopes of Jaizkibel in the last stage, Moolman-Pasio launched a vicious attack that nobody could follow and she never looked back. Not surprisingly after her previous day’s performance, Van Vleuten’s relentless chase dropped her own teammate and race leader Garfoot and saw her close the gap on the descent to the point of getting the Cervélo-Bigla rider her sights, but ultimately she fell 10 seconds short of catching the eventual stage and GC winner.