Tour Down Under 2016: Kimberley Wells wins final stage criterium

AUSTRALIANS made it a clean sweep of the Santos Women’s Tour with sprinter Kimberley Wells winning the final stage criterium at Victoria Park and Katrin Garfoot finishing third to secure the overall title.

Kimberley Wells celebrate's her win. Picture: Colleen Petch.

• Latest Tour Down Under news and colour

AUSTRALIANS made it a clean sweep of the Santos Women’s Tour on Tuesday night with sprinter Kimberley Wells winning the final stage criterium at Victoria Park and Katrin Garfoot finishing third to secure the overall title.

Wells, Garfoot, Annette Edmondson and Lizzie Williams won all the four stages on home soil as the tour celebrated earning UCI status for the first time.

Wells, who rides for the High5 Dream Team, beat Wiggle’s Edmondson and Orica-AIS star Garfoot in the hour-long criterium staged in front of a strong crowd and in near perfect conditions.

Garfoot’s overall victory on countback from Cylance’s Shelley Olds and Hitec Products’ Lauren Kitchen continued her dream start to the season after she won the national time trial championship in Ballarat this month.

She had one hand on the Santos Women’s Tour trophy after winning the opening stage road race at Mount Torrens on Saturday and was able to defend it for the next three stages.

Last night she paid tribute to her teammates for helping her triumph in Adelaide.

“We all worked so hard together and without them I couldn’t have done anything like that because I’m not a sprinter so I just follow the good wheels and they took me everywhere I needed to be,” Garfoot said.

“It’s all up to them that I’m wearing the jersey today.

TDU Stage 1 in pictures

VIEW GALLERY

Originally published as Tour Down Under 2016: Kimberley Wells wins final stage criterium