Lidl-Trek goes all-in on final day at Santos Tour Down Under

Amanda Spratt finishes the 2024 Santos Tour Down Under in a frustrating fourth place after Willunga Hill showdown.

The Australian rider, and three-time winner of the race, was left feeling “disappointed” at the end of the first WorldTour race of the year after the Team left everything out on the roads of South Australia in pursuit of victory.

Lidl-Trek was looking to play to the strengths of the Team and capitalise on the crosswinds and weaken the field in the lead up to the bottom of the iconic Santos Tour Down Under climb.

However, the gusts proved not to be strong enough in the most exposed sections of the road and the intended damage didn’t occur which eventually meant that the stage win and overall title came down to a head-to-head-to-head battle of climbers on Willunga Hill.

The ultimate winner, Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance – Soudal Team) went early and quickly drew out a select group including Spratty, who was able to stick on the wheel of her fellow Aussie until another stinging attack with two kilometers to go.

Spratty dug deep with podium places up for grabs but, in the end, she was forced to settled for fourth both on Stage 3 and on the final General Classification, a result that has made her even more motivated for the Cadel Evans Road Race coming up in a week’s time.

Spratty's Side of the Story...

"I do feel a bit disappointed because I was obviously chasing the win here and at fourth, even a podium finish would have been nice at the end. I didn't quite get there and I mainly feel disappointed for the Team and the fact I couldn't get that result for them and reward all of their hard work, which I really want to thank them for. They supported me so well over all three stages.

Today, we tried to do something in the crosswinds and it was so close to working. It was almost splitting but it just wasn't in our favor at the end. They then set me up brilliantly into Willunga. I finished empty, I really couldn't have done any more and I don't think as a Team we could have either. Maybe I could have changed how I raced the last couple of hundred meters but not many regrets. Sometimes you just have to say someone was stronger and I think Sarah proved that today by riding everyone off her wheel in the headwind on a climb.

Willunga is only a three-kilometer-long climb but you also have a pretty hard three kilomter run into it so you are kind of already on your limit and then it's unrelenting. You don't have any moment where it backs off, there are no hairpins where you can ease off and it's hard to split the climb up into segments."

Santos Tour Down Under Stage 3 Gallery

WILLUNGA HILL, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 14: Amanda Spratt of Australia and Team Lidl-Trek crosses the finish line during the 8th Santos Women's Tour Down Under 2024, Stage 3 a 93.4km stage from Adelaide to Willunga Hill 370m / #UCIWWT / on January 14, 2024 in Willunga Hill, Australia. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

WILLUNGA HILL, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 14: (L-R) Felicity Wilson-Haffenden of Australia and Team Lidl-Trek and Nina Buijsman of The Netherlands and Team Fdj-Suez compete during the 8th Santos Women's Tour Down Under 2024, Stage 3 a 93.4km stage from Adelaide to Willunga Hill 370m / #UCIWWT / on January 14, 2024 in Willunga Hill, Australia. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

WILLUNGA HILL, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 14: (L-R) Sarah Gigante of Australia and AG Insurance - Soudal Team, Grace Brown of Australia, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig of Denmark and Team Fdj-Suez Orange Santos Leader's Jersey, Elynor Backstedt of United Kingdom and Team Lidl-Trek, Mikayla Harvey of New Zealand and UAE Team Adq lead the peloton during the 8th Santos Women's Tour Down Under 2024, Stage 3 a 93.4km stage from Adelaide to Willunga Hill 370m / #UCIWWT / on January 14, 2024 in Willunga Hill, Australia. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

WILLUNGA HILL, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 14: Ilaria Sanguinetti of Italy and Team Lidl-Trek (R) competes during the 8th Santos Women's Tour Down Under 2024, Stage 3 a 93.4km stage from Adelaide to Willunga Hill 370m / #UCIWWT / on January 14, 2024 in Willunga Hill, Australia. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

WILLUNGA HILL, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 14: (L-R) Lily Williams of The United States and Team Human Powered Health and Lauretta Hanson of Australia and Team Lidl-Trek compete during the 8th Santos Women's Tour Down Under 2024, Stage 3 a 93.4km stage from Adelaide to Willunga Hill 370m / #UCIWWT / on January 14, 2024 in Willunga Hill, Australia. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

WILLUNGA HILL, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 14: (L-R) Lauretta Hanson of Australia and Team Lidl-Trek and Franziska Koch of Germany and Team DSM-Firmenich Postnl compete during the 8th Santos Women's Tour Down Under 2024, Stage 3 a 93.4km stage from Adelaide to Willunga Hill 370m / #UCIWWT / on January 14, 2024 in Willunga Hill, Australia. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

WILLUNGA HILL, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 14: (L-R) Lauretta Hanson of Australia and Team Lidl-Trek and Nina Buijsman of The Netherlands and Team Fdj-Suez compete during the 8th Santos Women's Tour Down Under 2024, Stage 3 a 93.4km stage from Adelaide to Willunga Hill 370m / #UCIWWT / on January 14, 2024 in Willunga Hill, Australia. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

WILLUNGA HILL, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 14: (L-R) Brodie Chapman of Australia and Lauretta Hanson of Australia and Team Lidl-Trek compete during the 8th Santos Women's Tour Down Under 2024, Stage 3 a 93.4km stage from Adelaide to Willunga Hill 370m / #UCIWWT / on January 14, 2024 in Willunga Hill, Australia. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

WILLUNGA HILL, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 14: Brodie Chapman of Australia and Team Lidl-Trek competes during the 8th Santos Women's Tour Down Under 2024, Stage 3 a 93.4km stage from Adelaide to Willunga Hill 370m / #UCIWWT / on January 14, 2024 in Willunga Hill, Australia. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

WILLUNGA HILL, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 14: Ilaria Sanguinetti of Italy and Team Lidl-Trek competes during the 8th Santos Women's Tour Down Under 2024, Stage 3 a 93.4km stage from Adelaide to Willunga Hill 370m / #UCIWWT / on January 14, 2024 in Willunga Hill, Australia. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 14: Amanda Spratt of Australia and Team Lidl-Trek prior to the 8th Santos Women's Tour Down Under 2024, Stage 3 a 93.4km stage from Adelaide to Willunga Hill 370m / #UCIWWT / on January 14, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

WILLUNGA HILL, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 14: (L-R) Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig of Denmark and Team Fdj-Suez Orange Santos Leader's Jersey, Amanda Spratt of Australia and Team Lidl-Trek and Neve Bradbury of Australia and Team Canyon//SRAM Racing compete in the chase group climbing to Willunga Hill (370m) during the 8th Santos Women's Tour Down Under 2024, Stage 3 a 93.4km stage from Adelaide to Willunga Hill 370m / #UCIWWT / on January 14, 2024 in Willunga Hill, Australia. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

WILLUNGA HILL, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 14: Amanda Spratt of Australia and Team Lidl-Trek competes in the chase group climbing to Willunga Hill (370m) during the 8th Santos Women's Tour Down Under 2024, Stage 3 a 93.4km stage from Adelaide to Willunga Hill 370m / #UCIWWT / on January 14, 2024 in Willunga Hill, Australia. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)