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Cycling - 02. May 2016.

High5 GoExPro Australian Team supports Gillow to second overall at Gracia Orlová

The High5 GoExPro Australian Women’s Road Development Team successfully defended Shara Gillow’s second place position overall on Sunday during the final stage of Gracia Orlová.


 
While Olena Pavlukhina (BTC City Ljubljana) started stage five with a 1:50 advantage and the victory all but secured, the fight for the second spot on the podium between Gillow and defending champion Alena Amialiusik (CANYON//SRAM) was fierce. Gillow started the stage one second ahead of Amialiusik on the general classification. Amialiusik chipped away at the advantage during the stage's opening kilometres.
 
“Amialiusik got third in the first bonus sprint, so she and Shara were on equal time,” said sport director Donna Rae-Szalinski. “A few laps into the circuit race, a break got away. It didn’t contain any threats to the overall, and we were happy to have it up the road because it meant the break would pick up all the bonus seconds, which neutralised things for us with Shara and Alena.”
 
Pavlukhina’s team kept the breakaway in check, never allowing the advantage out beyond 1:48. With the breakaway controlled, the High5 GoExPro Australian Team was content to save matches for the uphill drag to the line.  
 
“CANYON//SRAM must not have felt the same way,” said Rae-Szalinski. “Because in the last lap, they sat on the front and they absolutely drove the pace. Their work shattered the peloton."

CANYON//SRAM’s efforts brought back the breakaway, but they were unable to get rid of Gillow.

“When CANYON//SRAM were driving it, the girls just sat on and enjoyed the ride,” said Rae-Szalinski. “They launched Shara up the climb, and she was able to put a gap into Alena and take second overall.”
 
Rae-Szalinski was full of praise for the team effort she witnessed over the four day, five stage race.

“The team really progressed this week,” she said. “The mantra this week was patience, and the girls learned that if they were patient, they were better able to do their jobs and would get to the end of the race with much more energy compared to when they did work early just because they were so happy to be at the front of the bunch, and they felt like they should do something because they were there.”
 
“On Saturday’s stage, every single move that got away, one of our girls covered,” Rae-Szalinski noted. “I’m sitting in the team car and every time they called out a number, an Aussie was there. It was such a proud moment for me – to see it click like that for them – and it’s rewarding for them to see how far they've come.”

“It was great to have Shara with us this week,” Rae-Szalinski added. “She tutored the girls so well. Her leadership was greatly appreciated. Her manner with the girls, the feed back she shared – we really enjoyed the experience and were happy that we could support her endeavours in return.”
 
The High5 GoExPro Australian Women’s Road Development Team is back in action next weekend with Omloop Aalburg in The Netherlands on Saturday and GP Maarten Wynants in Belgium on Sunday.
 
“We opted not to drive back to Italy,” said Rae-Szalinski. “We’ve got five hours to drive to Oudenaarde tomorrow. We’ll spend the week recovering, and we need to do some aerobic rides to flush out the legs. The girls have either been racing or riding in the cars or doing easy one-hour spins. They’ve told me they need a few three or four hour rides this week before they’re back at it next weekend, so that’s what we’ll do.”
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