Seventh heaven for Burlova at Down Under Criterium

Kristyna Burlova bounced back at the Down Under Criterium to finish in seventh place from a bunch sprint after a turbulent time in Adelaide.

Burlova started her campaign in Australia in style, claiming the Young Riders Jersey on the opening stage of the Santos Women’s Tour Down Under, but a heavy fall saw the Czech rider having to abandon the race the next day.

Luckily, Burolva had another opportunity to show off her sprinting prowess at the fast and furious Down Under Criterium, played out over 50 minutes on the 1.2km circuit at Victoria Park alongside her teammates.

The team worked well together in the opening stages of the race, with attacks firing from the gun. As the bunch split into two, Heidi Franz maintained a good position in the front group, following attacks and closing gaps in a bid to take another podium.

Entering the bell lap, the front group was finally reeled back into the main bunch, with Burlova quick to react to more attacks to escape in a 12-rider bunch.

A tight sprint finish saw the 21-year-old unleash her incredible power and finish in seventh place after a tough battle in the evening heat.

Burlova said: “We all had so much fun! It was a fast race with many attacks and breakaways. I think we did a really good team race. Heidi joined the main breakaway with many good riders, but the final was really exciting because we just caught them with one lap to go. It was a bit chaotic in the last lap but we managed to get in the front.”

Team captain Alicia Gonzalez finished 17th, Kate Richardson was just behind on 19th, with Kaja Rysz crossing the line in 22nd, Franz 38th and Karin Soderqvist finished 52nd.

 The team will next be racing at the Geelong Classic on Wednesday 24 January as they continue their tour of Australia.