Maggie Coles-Lyster sprinted to a stunning victory at the Santos Tour Down Under Women’s One Day Race on a 94.2 km circuit in Tanunda, Australia.
The result is the Canadian’s first professional victory and comes 192 days after the 26-year-old had surgery to combat FLIA (Flow Limitation of the Iliac Artery).
“I was both speechless, and it just felt right,” Coles-Lyster said afterwards. “I have a lot of self-belief and knew it was a matter of time and that the win would come. I just felt so much relief to have been able to prove to myself that I’m on the comeback and already better than ever.”
Coles-Lyster called on all of her racing nous in the finale. Having crashed with two laps to go, she fought back to the front in time for the final kilometer. Avoiding two further crashes in the bunch, the head of the race split into a select sixteen with Coles-Lyster timing her final effort perfectly. Coming off the wheel with 150 meters to race, she accelerated to victory ahead of the fast-finishing Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly).
“I knew the final kilometre was just going to be a game of being in a good position,” she says. “We had talked it through as a team that I needed to be top 10 there, and that’s where my teammates got me. After that, it was a game of patience.”
The pre-race briefs were paramount in the plan to win.
“The finish stretch kicked about 1–2%, so I didn’t want to jump too early,” she explains. “I felt in such a flow state the last 500 meters and was just easily moving myself into the position I needed to be in to start the sprint. I didn’t plan to initiate first, but after I did, all my thoughts were, ‘the line’s so close, and I’m still the first rider, go go go!””
A milestone moment in her career, the result is a testament to Coles-Lyster’s formidable resilience in the face of adversity.
“This means everything to me. Last year was a huge test of patience and consisted of a lot of advocating for myself,” she explains. “Iliac artery isn’t always easily diagnosed or quickly operated on, so last year really forced me to trust myself and my sensations, ask for help and keep searching for answers. It was exhausting, but I could already feel a lot of newfound strength in my training in December, and today’s win has already solidified that it was all worth it.”
Coles-Lyster called on a small but mighty team of four.
“My teammates were absolutely amazing today,” said Coles-Lyster “From the beginning of the day, even the ones who couldn’t race were keeping the vibes good this morning. We covered the moves like bosses. It was a very active race, but I don’t think a single move went by without Marit or Nina in it, which allowed me to chill. When I crashed with two laps to go, they were there when I came back to the peloton, keeping me calm, helping me move up and putting me in a great position for the last corner. They really came together and executed a great race, and I’m so grateful.”
Coles-Lyster had a message to people on their own health journeys and on the road to recovery.
“The biggest thing I hope people take from this is to have patience with yourself,” she says. “We might be professional athletes, but we’re also still human, and a comeback doesn’t always happen overnight. Especially with big medical procedures, not rushing the rehab can pay off. It’s also easy to get caught up in little setbacks or sensations, but have patience, trust yourself and surround yourself with people who lift you and believe in you.”
The win has a huge effect on Coles Lyster’s confidence as she heads into two more one-day races in Australia before heading to the sprinter-friendly UAE Tour Women.
“I was feeling really good coming into TDU,” she said. “After the long travel over I had seemed to pinch a nerve in one of my legs, maybe from the inflammation of travel. That stressed me out a lot, and I was in a lot of discomfort in the races on the weekend. The team did a great job keeping me calm and trying to get my body to rest and chill out a bit and keep me from spiralling. But it definitely left me with question marks coming into the race. Now I can say for sure, even with a less-than-ideal weekend and travel, I’m back and better than ever.”
Santos Tour Down Under Women’s One Day Race results
1 COLES-LYSTER Maggie – Human Powered Health 2:07:03
2 RÜEGG Noemi – EF Education-Oatly ”
3 LACH Marta – Team SD Worx – Protime ”
4 MANLY Alexandra – AG Insurance – Soudal Team ”
5 BERTIZZOLO Sofia – FDJ United – SUEZ ”
6 NORSGAARD BJERG Emma – Lidl – Trek ”
7 NELSON Josie – Team Picnic PostNL ”
8 BLASI Paula – UAE Team ADQ ”
9 ROSEMAN-GANNON Ruby – Liv AlUla Jayco ”
10 SANDERS Amelie – Australia ”
Photos: GettySport
