Rüegg stronger than Smulders on Willunga Hill and contends for GC: "This is unexpected"

Swiss champion Noemi Rüegg impressively won the second stage of the Women's Tour Down Under. On the iconic Willunga Hill, the EF Education-Oatly rider left her competitors behind and secured the day's victory and the leader's jersey. Silke Smulders stayed on the 23-year-old Swiss's wheel the longest but eventually had to surrender as well. Daniek Hengeveld, yesterday's winner, had to let go quite early and eventually lost six minutes.

In an exciting final, Rüegg managed to time her attack perfectly. Together with Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco), Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek), and Neve Bradbury (Canyon-Sram Zondacrypto), she battled for victory in the last phase. With a kilometer to go, she set a crucial acceleration. Smulders could follow her for a while but eventually had to let go and crossed the line in second place ten seconds later. Mie Bjørndal Ottestad (Uno-X Mobility) finished third, 26 seconds behind. Bradbury finished fourth.

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Rüegg speechless and on track for overall win

"Honestly, I can't say how this feels," Rüegg said in the flash interview. "It was a team effort; my teammates put me in a perfect position all day, kept me safe, and did a super lead-out for the first climb. We went with this goal into this stage, and I knew I had had such a good winter back in Switzerland. I felt good, but I did not think it would work out. I am speechless and incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported me over the past few years."

Thanks to her victory, Rüegg takes the lead in the overall standings. She now has a 15-second lead over Smulders and 33 seconds over Ottestad. With only tomorrow's stage remaining around Stirling, the Swiss have a good shot at the overall win.

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Battle erupts on Willunga Hill

Today's stage was considered the queen stage of the round. What's more, it was extremely hot. The peloton departed from Unley with 79 riders; there was a strong attack early in the race. Dominika Wlodarczyk took the first mountain points at Windy Point, while Alyssa Polites (ARA Australian National Team) defended her leading position in the mountain classification. Soon after, her teammate Alli Andersen tried to break away, but her advantage remained limited. The attacks followed quickly, with the likes of Marie Le Net (FDJ-SUEZ), Amber Pate (Liv AlUla Jayco), and Rachele Barbieri (Picnic-PostNL) trying to create a gap. Still, the peloton kept control.

The first climb of Willunga Hill provided the first shake-up. Amanda Spratt and Niamh Fisher-Black stepped up the pace, leaving only 18 riders at the front. After the descent, new attacks followed, including those by Elise Chabbey and Chloé Dygert. In the last ten kilometers, the battle remained unusually exciting. Fisher-Black and Bradbury ultimately attempted to get away, but everything came together in the last kilometer.

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Rüegg takes a chance and secures nice victory

Entering the final kilometer, Bradbury accelerated first, but Rüegg, Fisher-Black, and Smulders managed to keep up. In a bold but decisive acceleration, Rüegg left her competitors behind and went solo to victory.

"Actually, stage three was the one I focused on the most. And when I explored this climb, I thought: well, that's pretty good for me too. But initially, we said this one was more for Megan and that tomorrow would be more for me. So I think tomorrow we must stay strong and enjoy it too. This is my first win at the WorldTour level. I just want to enjoy it. And tomorrow we'll see, but today was great," Rüegg concluded.

Results stage 2 Tour Down Under - Elite women 2025

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