As happened in the inaugural stage of the Santos Tour Down Under, Alessia Vigilia was the protagonist of a solo breakaway that animated most of today's stage.

"We simply wanted to race aggressively to try to avoid a bunch sprint and maybe play our cards in a reduced sprint," the Bolzano native from Uno-X Mobility explains at the end of the race. "It wasn't in the plans to go on a solo breakaway, I was hoping to have some company, but the important thing is that we tried again today."

What was your plan?

"Since Ally Wollanston unfortunately wasn't starting, she who had won both sprints so far, we bet that certain teams would lose a point of reference and we tried to take advantage. We didn't manage to avoid the sprint, but we are satisfied with our performance."

You'll have more opportunities here in Australia...

"Today I also showed that I'm in good form. Now we still have two more chances here in Australia, and I want to try again with the team. These first races show that we've worked well and therefore we're ready to go after the big target."