The First Up Mount Kiera UCI22-20
Many expected the one climb up Mount Kiera to be where the women's race was going to kick off. Yet as Gladys Verhulst (France) looked over her shoulder, there was no one chasing. In fact, it seemed the whole peloton was going to wait until they hit the city circuit in Wollongong before they started (to quote Phil Liggett) to turn a pedal in anger. Verhulst had about forty seconds on those behind, but with 127 kilometers to race, it didn't mean much. While the climb wasn't late enough in the race to be decisive, it was enough to but an end to the day of many riders who weren't in the elite peloton ranks.