"I just needed to keep her within reach" - Grace Brown goes through masterplan to match Amanda Spratt and win Tour Down Under

Grace Brown became the first winner of a Women's World Tour stage-race this afternoon at the Tour Down Under, has she overcame Amanda Spratt in a tight battle for the overall classification that came down to the last kilometer.

"I'm thrilled. It feels so good, I knew the climb would be a challenge because Amanda [Spratt] is a bit more of a climber, I just needed to keep her within reach," Brown said in a post-race interview. Her compatriot Spratt had shot a warning shot the previous day with an attack on Mount Lofty, and with no surprise did the same in the Corkscrew climb.

There were little doubts she had the upper hand in the uphill, but Brown managed to keep the gap small and work her way back to the front in the descent. "I had planned before the stage to put bigger gears on my bike, to be able to keep pushing on the descent," she revealed.

"During the last 3 kilometers I could see her and I thought I could catch her and then. I decided to get behind her in the last kilometer and I was quite confident that I could beat her in the sprint." Directly, Brown won the sprint and took necessary bonus seconds to seal the overall classification. These were her second and third victories of the season respectively as she had previously won the Australian time-trial national championships, without even having travelled to Europe.