The newly-formed women’s TIS Racing Team found plenty of positives from its maiden race in the National Road Series.
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The team of five had a big impact on Victoria’s Tour of South West .
In Sunday’s Stage 3 criterium in a sunny but windswept Peterborough, Anya Louw got in an early break and stayed away until the bunch sprint where she bagged third and the team’s second podium place.
Despite a succession of mechanicals, triple junior world champion Macey Stewart added to her second-stage runner-up finish to claim the best young rider classification and fourth place overall.
Madeleine Fasnacht came eighth and Louw ninth as the newly-formed outfit finished second in the teams classification.
Team captain Stewart, 21, of Devonport, took to Twitter to praise her teammates.
“Today didn't go to plan, but that is racing,” she said.
“I am so proud of these girls for their true team effort in our first races together. I am so excited for what we can achieve in the future.
“It is so good to be back and seeing my hard work pay off. Good signs for the future with some room for improvement.”
Like her Tasmanian pursuit teammates Amy Cure and Georgia Baker, Stewart is seeking selection in the Australian track team for next year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
The tour was won by Portland’s Shannon Malseed, four seconds ahead of Holden Cycling team mate Lisen Hockings with Cure’s 2015 world champion pursuit teammate Ashlee Ankudinoff (NSWIS Sydney Uni Cycling Team) six seconds down and Stewart +10.
“It was a classy field here at the Tour and it was just great to race against those girls and this is what we love doing, we love racing our bikes,” Malseed said.
“So when it’s really hard it’s even better. To get the general classification win is fantastic for me.”
Holden won the teams classification from TIS Racing and HighFive Dream Team.
It is so good to be back and seeing my hard work pay off. Good signs for the future with some room for improvement.
- TIS Racing women's team captain Macey Stewart
The women’s NRS heads to Tasmania next weekend with the 11th running of the Mersey Valley Tour.
Regarded as one of the toughest tours on the NRS calendar, it begins with a 16km time trial around Cure’s stomping ground of Penguin before a tough 74.8km stage from Ulverstone through Gunns Plains to Riana.
Day three's 76.2km stage is just as tough, beginning and ending in Railton.