Race write up

It was a hard stage for some of the riders. The climbs were steep and the roads were 'heavy'. Even some of those towards the top of the General Classification were in trouble on the main climb. There were calls from within the peleton "only another 200m" as riders tried to encourage each other. The race didn't really split until the climb. There had been a flurry of attacks in the latter kilometres of the Martinborough - Masterton road, but none succeeded. 

Even the climb did not create the expected fragmentation of the field. Over the top, there were at least two distinct groups. In the second group, was Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, but a few kilometres later, Teutenberg and her group were back in the main bunch.

Susanne Ljungskog, who had tried to get away earlier, got away with Sarah Duester and Svetlana Bubnenkova. The trio managed to gain a 200m advantage, but were swallowed up by the bunch in the final 5km. There was a general splitting of the field as the pace increased and riders vied for position in the sprint.

As the frontmarkers turned into Church Street, Masterton, there was clearly a pink T-Mobile jersey towards the front. Despite her comment after the Geelong World Cup on Sunday, where she said that the team could "relax a bit before we go back to Europe", Ina-Yoko Teutenberg could not help herself. The sprint was fast and the three riders who emerged to fight out first place were in the centre of the road. Teutenberg was too strong, though and took a length over Sarah Ulmer in the final few metres. Giorgia Bronzini was third.

Sarah Ulmer retained her race leader's jersey, despite talking down her chances the previous night. Nicole Cooke took the mountains jersey and Dale Tye kept the sprint jersey.

Results   Top 10 - click here for full result

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General Classification   Top 10 - click here for full GC

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