20 January 2020

Australian national champion Amanda Spratt says she is 'proud' of third place at Women's Tour Down Under despite run of three victories coming to an end

Australian national road race champion Amanda Spratt said she is proud of her third place at the Women's Tour Down Under despite failing to win it for the first time in four years.

The 32-year-old relinquished her title to American Ruth Winder, losing the general classification by just six seconds, with Liane Lippert in second.

But although the run of three successive victories has come to an end, Spratt remained upbeat about her performance.

Speaking to Cycling News, she said: "Of course, I came here to win but I’m really proud of the third place. My reign at the Tour Down Under had to end at some point.

"I can't fault the team this week, they all rode really well. There wasn't much more that we could have changed – we were just beaten by a stronger rider, especially on yesterday's stage [stage 3].

"It was a different Tour this year, as it all came down to bonus seconds. That made it quite exciting and it put me out of my comfort zone today, too."

During an interview in pre-season, Spratt highlighted how her season will be gearing up for a busy spring and summer.

"I'll look at the Ardennes again and then work up to the Giro Rosa and Olympics. I want to be good in that period," she said.

"The big challenge is the gap between the Olympics and world championships. For me, that will be the biggest challenge to see how I come out of the Olympics and head into the world championships."

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