Ally Wollaston and the AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step team went from strength to strength in the final stages of the 2023 edition of the prestigious Giro Donne. After a fifth place the day before, the New Zealand national champion set out what she wanted to do on Sunday: to finish on the podium. After stellar lead-out work by teammates, Gaia and Marthe, Ally finished third behind winner Chiara Consonni and Marianne Vos.
“The girls did a superb job in the final kilometres with Gaia and Marthe leading me out,” Ally said afterwards. “They put me in the perfect wheel of Marianne Vos. It couldn’t be better. Jolien told me to fully commit to the sprint. I have been a bit hesitant in the past few days. I just tried really hard not to think too hard in the final kilometre and go with my gut. It was really stressful, but I just had to go as hard as I could. It resulted in a podium today. I am super happy with her advice.”
Wollaston finished the Giro Donne with an impressive three top ten places and now starts the final preparation for the world championships in Glasgow in August, where she is on the shortlist for Team New Zealand for both the road and track events.
“I learned a lot this Giro, because I haven’t done many bunch sprints at this level yet. Every day has been a new learning experience with great advice by Jolien. Mostly I have shown myself I am strong enough in this field. I just need to convince myself a bit more in the races. That’s a learning point for the future. The Giro has been a great training block for the world championships. I will recover now for a week and then start the final preparation for Glasgow.”
