Annette Edmondson wins Race Melbourne with a bike throw

ALBERT PARK, Australia (CT) –  As Annette Edmondson (Wiggle High5) and Georgia Bronzini (Cylance Pro Cycling) came barrelling over the line there were no victory salutes, no excited shouts of ‘the winner is …’ from the commentators. Quite simply it was so tight no one could immediately be sure who was the winner of the Cadel Evans Road Race curtain raiser, Race Melbourne.

The race announcers at the 63.6 kilometre kermesse around Albert Park Lake furiously padded and the riders looked at each other until the announcement came. The bike throw from Edmondson as she crossed the line had secured her the victory and a big €8000 (AUD$12,270) cheque. It left two-time world champion Bronzini having to settle for second. Kendall Ryan (Team Tibco-SVB) was just a wheel back in third.

Annette Edmondson column : In the end, I ran out of legs. Now it's time to return to the track

THE plan on Sunday night was to not use too much energy, and focus on the final sprint.

During the race I was going to try to chip away at the lesser points during the intermediates, but after one attempt we decided it best to sit in and wait for the final.

We tried to do what we could and got together on the final lap.

The girls did a great job but I just didn’t have the legs to finish it off like I did on the first day, but was glad to hang onto third.

Former Adelaide United Captain Rajcic is now a Crow

Tash Gunawardana interviewed former Adelaide United captain Marijana Rajcic who was selected at pick no.32 by the Adelaide Crows in the 2017 AFLW National Draft. Congratulations and good luck to Rajcic in her first season at the Crows this year.

Why did you swap codes from women’s soccer to women’s Australian Rules football?

It was something that came out of the blue really. I had not ever really thought about playing AFLW, until my best friend planted the seed in my head. The opportunity presented itself and I thought why not give it a crack. A new environment, new people and a new challenge.

Do you think there will be other players from the W League who might swap codes like you and play in the AFLW?

Yes for sure. We already have the likes of Bri Davey, Ellie Brush & of course Jenna McCormick who have made the switch to AFLW. But I know a number of girls who have made the switch and are currently playing SANFLW.  But as AFLW continues to grow, I know girls will see what AFLW has to offer them and make the switch.

Mixed day for Amy Cure and Macey Stewart at the Women's Tour Down Under

It was a mixed second day at the women’s Tour Down Under in South Australia for the North-West Coast’s Wiggle High5 duo.

The absolute low came when Devonport’s Macey Stewart was forced out of the event due to concussion following her crash on Thursday.

The 21-year-old withdrew from the race on Friday morning.

She crashed just 300m from the finish line in what was her second major incident in a matter of weeks following her crash during the Boxing Day Criterium at Ulverstone.

The Tour Down Under signalled her return to professional racing after signing with the Wiggle High5 team. She said via an Instagram video on Friday that she was “going to try to stay positive and be back out there again soon”.

But the high came from Amy Cure who put in an outstanding performance in wet and windy conditions to finish Friday’s 102km second stage from Lyndoch to Mengler’s Hill in 12th place, which saw her move up to that position in the general classification.

Annette Edmondson win opening stage of Women's Tour Down Under in Gumeracha

ANNETTE Edmondson has continued a dream week for her family by winning Stage 1 of the Santos Women’s Tour Down Under at Gumeracha.

Days after brother Alex became national road race champion in a surprise result in Buninyong, Edmondson won a bunch sprint for Wiggle-High 5 to take the leader’s jersey in the Adelaide Hills.

Amy Cure ready for the Tour Down Under

Having succeeded in her aim of building a solid fitness base during her successful time of it during the Christmas Carnivals Series, Amy Cure is ready to attack the Tour Down Under.

West Pine’s dual Olympian said on Wednesday said she was feeling in a good place heading into the four-day event in South Australia as part of the Wiggle High5 squad.

It will be her second attempt at the race and the 25-year-old said she had learnt a lot from last year’s experience.

AFLW : Resilient Rajcic

When Marijana Rajcic was drafted to the Crows with pick 32 in the 2017 NAB AFLW Draft, she already had an idea of what it would take to make it in the AFLW competition, having previously played elite level soccer for years.

Rajcic started playing soccer in year 7 at Loreto, when her teacher suggested she try out for the under 12’s South Australian Primary School Sports Association (SAPSASA) team, which she got in to.

She went through the state ranks from there, and ended up playing with Adelaide United in the W-League for six seasons, including captaining the team in 2015.

Riding the Bupa Challenge Tour ? TDU star Alex Manly shares her tips on fueling for success

MORE than 5000 riders will tackle the 2018 Bupa Challenge Tourpresented by The Advertiser. For many participants the winding and hilly 137.4km course from Norwood to Uraidla will be the furthest they’ve ridden - and the first time some experience what seasoned cyclists call “the bonk”.

Bonking is slang for exhausting the glycogen stores in your liver and muscles. Marathon runners call it “hitting the wall”, cyclists also call it the “hunger knock” or “blowing up”. Whatever you call it, it’s guaranteed to make your vision go blurry, your arms go weak, your legs threaten to buckle and your brain foggier than a sauna.

Chances are if you bonk it will occur late in the event, just as you hit the base of the climb up Norton Summit Rd, so avoiding going into glycogen debt might be the difference between riding or walking up this tough climb.

Of course, a good diet is more than just a means to avoiding the bonk, so we asked two-time Under 23 Australian champion and Mitchelton–Scott professional Alex Manly to share her nutrition secrets for big events and year-round health and fitness.

Annette Edmondson : Road Warrior

PROFESSIONAL cycling has taken Adelaide superstar Annette Edmondson a long way from home – 16,200km to be precise, to Girona, 100km north of Barcelona.

The Catalonian town with its medieval stone buildings is well positioned, allowing professional riders to quickly travel to key races all over Europe, while the nearby mountains meet the needs of the most punishing training schedules.

“There are lots of hills there, flat rides, it has a good climate, everything is really cheap and there are over 200 cyclists,” Edmondson says.

“We have a professional women riders group chat there, so if people have got long rides and want company they can write ‘Anyone else got four and a half hours to do tomorrow and want to meet at this time?’ You’re never alone in Girona.”

Despite a 2016 that saw Edmondson go into the Rio Olympics as a dual world champion track cyclist from the year before and leave without medals, her 2017 professional season with pro team Wiggle High5 was a standout.

Last year, Edmondson scored her first European pro race victory since 2013 and took the prologue win and third overall in the BeNe Ladies Tour in Belgium.

Birthday present for Cure

West Pine cyclist Amy Cure celebrated her 26th birthday in style, taking out the Women’s Burnie Criterium for the first time and completing her Criterium Cup and Sprint Cup clean sweep.

Her third victory of the series was claimed with a sprint finish from Macey Stewart in second and Anya Louw in third, after the trio lapped the field during the final lap.

The second place finish of Stewart was enough to secure third place in the Criterium Cup, behind second place overall Maeve Plouffe.

Cure said winning the Burnie Criterium had some added emotion, given it was her birthday.

Amy Cure and Cameron Scott take out Devonport Criterium races

It appears only bad luck will stop Coastal cycling star Amy Cure claiming this year’s Criterium Cup after another dominant performance in Devonport on Friday evening.

With some help this time from Macey Stewart, the pair broke away with 13 of the 18 laps to go and steadily built an unassailable lead around the 1.3 kilometre course.

For the second time in as many races Cure caught the peloton with two laps to go, along with Stewart, but it was clear to see who had the better legs with Stewart still recovering from her fall at Ulverstone and gasping for air.

Cure powered away in the sprint home to win easily from Stewart, with South Australian Maeve Maroney-Plouffe a distant third, over a minute behind.

Aussie Volleyball Dream Team Reveal The Secret To Their Success

Aussie volleyballers, Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar haven’t been together for long but the pair have already proven they are a force to be reckoned with, returning home from their first tour having won everything on offer, with a clean slate. The dynamic duo returned to Australia boasting three Gold Medals from three Tournaments where they went undefeated and didn’t lose a single set in 32 played.

Amy Cure and Macey Stewart are ready to compete in the Christmas Carnivals Series

The Christmas Carnivals Series is about more than results for Amy Cure.

While adding to her already impressive collection of post-December 25 titles would obviously be a positive outcome, the 24-year-old from West Pine has more long-term goals in mind, with all her energy focused on being at her best come April’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

AUFC Football Foodies presented by IGA - Episode 3 - Grace Abbey

Grace Abbey goes for ride with 4 Ingredients' Kim McCosker to whip up a batch of pulled pork sliders! Special thanks to IGA, Uni SA and Plant 4 Bowden.

Amy Cure, Macey Stewart and Lauren Perry locked in for the Christmas Canivals Series

Amy Cure has kept her promise to return to the Christmas Carnivals series, confirming on Wednesday that she will be taking part in the complete seven-day cycling program starting with the Ulverstone Criterium on Boxing Day.

It is a return to the series for the 24-year-old from West Pine, who spent last Christmas overseas, with her participation always part of her plans in the lead-up to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, as she revealed to Fairfax Media in April.

This year she became the first Australian track cyclist to medal in six different world championship events after tasting success in the team pursuit, madison and omnium in Hong Kong in April and she also spent time with the Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling Team both in Australia and overseas.

Finishing the year with a win on her 25th birthday would be the definition of perfection for the two-time Olympian.

Amy Cure and Nettie Edmondson renew with Wiggle High5 in 2018

Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling is delighted to confirm that Australians Amy Cure and Annette Edmondson will remain with the team in 2018. The two track specialists will once again split their seasons between racing on the road and track, with the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, a target for both. South Australian “Nettie” Edmondson has been a big part of the team since 2015, while Tasmanian Cure joined the team in 2017, when she became the first rider to win a World Championship Medal in all of the different endurance track events.

Kershaw has sights set on Comm Games glory

First the Kiwis and Poms, then the world.

That’s the focus of Townsville hockey star Stephanie Kershaw who believes the youthful Hockeyroos can use next year’s home Commonwealth Games as a springboard toward World Cup and Olympic glory.

Currently back home visiting family, the Perth-based 22-year-old was unavailable for selection for the 2016 Rio Games with a serious knee injury.

But the 22-year-old has since entrenched herself as a Hockeyroos regular under coach Paul Gaudoin in his first year in charge.

Kershaw recently competed in the International Festival of Hockey where a shock loss to Japan relegated them to third in the tournament behind the world no. 1 Dutch and the US.

Kershaw has her sights set on April’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, before the midyear World Cup in England.

Beach volleyball golden girl makes emotional return to Manly

BEACH volleyball golden girl Mariafe Artacho del Solar made an emotional return home to the northern beaches and all but secured her spot in the Australian Commonwealth Games team after another dominant performance the World Tour event at Manly Beach on the weekend.

She and partner Taliqua Clancy, the Aussie “Smooth Operators”, defeated China’s Fan Wang and Xinyi Xia in straight sets in Sunday’s women’s final to take the gold medals.

It was their fourth international tournament win in a row and in that time have dropped just one set.

Mariafe Artacho del Solar , Taliqua Clancy first Aussie woman to win World Tour on home sand

BEACH volleyballers Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar continue to state their case to be at the Commonwealth Games as a team and not with other athletes after becoming the first Australian women to win a World Tour gold on home soil.

The young duo, who went to the Rio Olympics with different partners, won the World Tour event at Manly on Sunday with their 21-17 21-14 victory over the Chinese team of Fan Wang and Xinyi Xia.

Our golden girl beach volleyball star is a Games player

NORTHERN beaches star Mariafe Artacho del Solar has put a big footprint in the sand for selection in Australia’s first ever Commonwealth Games beach volleyball team by claiming gold in the NSW Open at Manly on Sunday.

The 24-year-old teamed up with Phoebe Bell to win the women’s final which significantly was also the first of three selection events for the Games next April on the Gold Coast.

”I hope I gave myself the best chance of being selected,” said Artacho del Solar, who was raised in Elanora Heights.

“I hope I am in the minds of the selectors, we won so in a way we couldn’t do any better than win gold."