Durbridge and Gigante take overall honours at the Santos Festival of Cycling
Sam Welsford and Georgia Baker took final stage honours.
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Luke Durbridge (BikeExchange) and Sarah Gigante (Garmin-Australia) have claimed overall victories at the Santos Festival of Cycling after four days of racing in Adelaide.
The final stage was a one-hour circuit race around Victoria Park which saw Georgia Baker and Sam Welsford (both Garmin-Australia) take stage honours.
The women’s race came down to a bunch sprint where Baker, part of Australia’s track endurance squad, beat Ruby Roseman-Gannon (ARA) and stage 1 winner Peta Mullens (Roxsolt Liv SRAM) in the kick for the line. Dual stage winner Gigante finished safely in the bunch after doing a strong turn on the front for Baker in the closing kilometres.
Women’s results
The men’s race also came down to a bunch sprint where Australian criterium champion (and national track endurance rider) Sam Welsford proved quickest in the technical run-in to the line. Kaden Groves (BikeExchange) and Jensen Plowright (BridgeLane) completed the podium.
Like Gigante, overnight leader (and stage 1 winner) Luke Durbridge has no issue finishing in the bunch to secure the overall title.
Men’s results
The Santos Festival of Cycling was a four-stage National Road Series (NRS) race for men and women, contested by domestic riders and a handful of WorldTour professionals. It is being held in lieu of the Santos Tour Down Under, an event cancelled due to quarantine and border restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The truncated Australian summer of racing continues at the Road National Championships in Buninyong and Ballarat from February 3-7.