Alona Andruk gets first season win for her Diadora Pasta Zara team in final stage
Judith Arndt of the American HTC-Highroad team won the overall of the Tour of New Zealand, leading the race from start to finish. Ukrainian Alona Andruk sprinted to the victory in a break of seven on the final stage five. Andruk outsprinted U23 talents Kendelle Hodges and Emily Collins. In the overall, Arndt left behind New Zealand's Catherine Cheatley and Ruth Corset.
The final stage was another challenging course marked by active racing that splintered the peloton. HTC Highroad had its work cut out and Arndt applauded her squad members. "Today was quite hard for my teammates," said Arndt. "With so many attacks and breakaways it was difficult to keep control."
Small teams of six made it more difficult to control the constant jumping. "My teammates worked hard to bring back breaks and keep other breaks down to within a minute. It was a tough job today because we weren't getting a lot of time gaps."
The course was the same as two days prior but in the opposite direction, beginning with a big climb followed by rolling hills to the finish. "The race started with several attacks from our main GC competitors as expected," said sports director Ronny Lauke. "But the girls did a good job countering and we sent Amber in a three-rider break, which gained up to a minute." This was a crucial tactical move, putting pressure on the home team. "The Kiwis were forced to chase and finally brought it back."
It wasn't the end of the restless pace in the peloton, though. "Several more attacks followed and we were always present, until we finally let a group of non-GC riders get up to one minute to assure that the bonuses would be taken away at the finish."
The American outfit can be pleased with the week in New Zealand. "The girls kept everything under control and managed to celebrate a well deserved overall win. It was a display of true teamwork as each of the girls contributed to the victory."
While the Tour of New Zealand is over, the racing in the country isn't." The team races another criterium tomorrow which counts as a separate event and Lauke is optimistic. "I'm sure the girls will race well with this win behind them."
Stage four had been won by Amanda Spratt, ahead of Ina Yoko Teutenberg and Shelley Olds. 2010 overall dominator Olds had already finished second on stage three, but was unable to put up a challenge against HTC Columbia. She finished 13th overall this time, over two minutes down on Arndt.
Results Stage 5
1 ANDRUK, Alona DPZ 3:28:02
2 HODGES, Kendelle (U23) VIS 3:28:02
3 COLLINS, Emily (U23) CYC 3:28:02
4 KUHAJEK, Jeanne MIN 3:28:02
5 CHILCOTT, Kate (U23) NZL 3:28:02
6 GILLOW, Shara JAI 00:03
7 CARLE, Alexandra (U23) JAI 00:08
8 ARNDT, Judith TCW 00:35
9 OLDS, Shelley DPZ 00:35
10 ZHAO, Na GPC 00:35
Final general classification
1 ARNDT, Judith TCW 11:50:56
2 CHEATLEY, Catherine NZL 00:04
3 CORSET, Ruth JAI 00:12
4 GILLOW, Shara JAI 01:05
5 COLLINS, Emily (U23) CYC 01:29
6 ANDRUK, Alona DPZ
7 HOGAN, Joanne VIS 01:33
8 WHITELAW, Vicki VIS
9 NEYLAN, Rachel DPZ
10 CHILCOTT, Kate (U23) NZL
11 NEBEN, Amber TCW
12 VILLUMSEN, Linda NZL 01:41
13 OLDS, Shelley DPZ 02:02
14 TEUTENBERG, Ina-yoko TCW 02:06
15 ZHAO, Na GPC 02:08