2025 starts off with a bang for Tour Down Under stage winner Chloe Dygert - "Last year, nothing really went according to plan"
Cycling
Chloe Dygert opted with a different type of start to her 2025 season, travelling to Australia and racing the Tour Down Under. Her performances were a reflection of 2024 where she achieved good results but not quite the ideal goal, but she was happy nevertheless to win the final stage with an impressive sprint.
“We started the race with the ambition to win the final classification, but a stage win was also a goal," the American rider admitted in a post-race interview, with honest words. "Today we went all out for the stage win, since we were no longer really competing for the classification. I am very happy that it worked out".
The 28-year old hoped to be in the fight for the ochre jersey this week, but this was not the case as she struggled in the Old Willunga Hill and lost over three minutes to the eventual winner Noemi Rüegg. However it wasn't lack of form for Dygert certainly, as in today's hilly circuit in Stirling she proved to be the strongest.
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The peloton was severely reduced with the strong pace throughout the day and only around 20 riders made it to the final meters in the front group. Out of these, Dygert launched a terrifying sprint which saw no-one even be able to follow her wheel. It was a comfortable win, her first of the year.
“But this win gives me a huge boost to work even harder and stay injury-free. I’m really happy that I’m healthy again now," she says. It was important to start off her season with a win, her first in over a year on the road. In 2024 she put out great performances including a third place at both Olympic and World time-trial championships, and then surprised to a second behind Lotte Kopecky in the Zurich road race. But it was a year where she could not pin 1 victory to her name with Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto.
“I am very happy. Last year, nothing really went according to plan. Yes, we won Olympic gold with the American team in the team pursuit and I won two more World Championship medals, but those are not the results I had hoped for. There are no excuses though: it just wasn’t my year. The competition was just better.”
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Chloe Dygert shines in Stirling to take the Hyundai Stage 3 win!! 🌟🚀@SantosLtd @HyundaiAus @WMNcycling @UCI_WWT @7Sport #TourDownUnder pic.twitter.com/rnnbcglpUp
— Santos Tour Down Under 🚴🚴♀️ (@tourdownunder) January 19, 2025
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- and keep in mind the start of many crashes in the group are a violation of every group no no. don’t cross wheels that’s why wout went down, taking the group with himmij11-03-2025
- I haven't been watching cycling for very long but I feel like we are in a golden age with Pogacar, Vingegaard, Roglic, Evenepoel, Pidcock, van der Poel, van Aert (I'm definitely forgetting a lot of other riders)... My point is, we should be celebrating their differences because that is what makes it a golden age for me.Pogboom11-03-2025
- I know I just said I wouldn't feed the troll, but Tadej used to race cross, and is a former national champion. He's not a "crosser" but to say he'll never do CX is inaccurate (again)Evan10-03-2025
- you're saying this in a comment thread on an article specifically about Tadej and Jonas? The internet is about connection. People can connect without having to go off topic to argue or arguing for its own sake. The internet can indeed be a positive place where people agree on things. For the sake of dissent, you put forward very odd views that are poorly thought out. That's what trolling is. I'll stop feeding the trollEvan10-03-2025
- Any two matching riders are a spectacle in any race. Do we have to continually state the obvious by always referring to the same two, even if many strongly disagree and argue they are evenly matched in the races where they meet? Isn’t the point of the internet to enhance and further thought and opinion as opposed to agreeing on a very narrow consensus that kilks conversation?Mistermaumau10-03-2025
- As has been said many times, Jonas is a diesel, never going to focus on one day races, Tadej is a roadie, never going to do MTB or CX.Mistermaumau10-03-2025
- Unless you can ignore the winner to enjoy the rest if the race, hence the comment about using imagination. Easier to do during a race than retrospectively when you’ve discovered someone gets their titles, medals, prize money cancelled and disqualified. Of course, it helps if camera crew look for the action, some channels do better at that than others.Mistermaumau10-03-2025
- I think an article dedicated to Emielien Jeannière is also in order today, amazing performance. Let’s not forget that almost a decade ago he was also 2nd in an important race beating a certain TP.Mistermaumau10-03-2025
- More or less how I see it too. Jonas himself warned publicly 6 months in advance. We were warned of the slippery dry gravel BEFORE the race do riders had no excuse not to take it into account. It’s not for nothing Moho warned Tadej not to follow him downhill in MSR, not every rider has the same skills and each has to know his limit. Tadej was too focused on riding with Pidcock to check his limits. After that, yes of course in a peleton if one goes down (for whatever reason) in a critical place, they’re likely to take others within their limits with them, can’t do very much about that without destroying the sport, that will always be a risk to live with. It’s the same as with development in cars, drivers are made to feel safer so take more risk and become more dangerous to others.Mistermaumau10-03-2025
- I agree with everything he says about rider safety related to bikes and the riders themselves. Every bike company talks abou how many watts have saved off a 40k. Clothing is more aero. Materials are refined and made lighter than ever. All of which means more crashes. And then look at Jonas' tragic crash from a year ago. A bummer of a situation, yes - but Jumbo allegedly emailed the organizer about the bad roads. The organizer keeps them in. So Jonas knew there were bad roads, the organizer keeps them in - but who forced Jonas to go so fast or ride that corner in a group situation? back down, take a different line. races are rarely won on the downhills, they're lost. the organizers can only do so much. the tour of poland situation or leaving cars on the road IS bad. but rough roads? the riders need to own this too. As Tadej said, I was going to fast, and I crashed.mij10-03-2025