Four years ago, when the peloton launched from Hahndorf on the first stage of the Women's Tour Down Under, Matilda Reynolds earned the final spot on the podium in a group sprint. But this year, when the peloton departed from the South Australian village, the Bridge Lane rider took a completely different approach and "dared to dream" for a while that the top step of the World Tour podium might be her reward.

"I wasn't going to go from the front, but attacking after the first prime is the old way," she said. I quickly widened the gap and they buckled down."

"I was going to let them do their job. It was kind of insulting that they didn't come after me, so I was going to let them work all day," Reynolds added with a laugh.

Reynolds first ran in front of a threesome with India Granger (Coop Repsol) and Katie Ragusa (Human Powered Health), and when chaser Kate Richardson (Life Plus Wahoo) caught them, they became a foursome. However, after scoring a point with 36km to go in the second Queen of the Mountains race on the opening stage of the Women's Tour Down Under, the Australian rider, now living in New Zealand, decided that now was the time to make a move.

"In that QOM, I just sat back from them and watched them," he said. 'At that point I was just keeping my head down, which is the worst thing you can do in that heat.'

Reynolds is a two-time winner of the Melbourne to Warrnambool long-distance race and recently won the gravel Dirty Warnie.11]

"It felt like there was a headwind the whole time, and to be honest, I made the oven fan as big as possible If you've ever been to ...... through that canyon it was like a kamado, and it was hot."

"It was like a hot oven,"

and "it was like a hot oven.

Nevertheless, Reynolds has always embraced tough conditions, although a mechanical problem early in the race left him riding on a spare bike with no data.

Reynolds said, "I was breathing through every hole and just cooking. I like to just go for it, alone or with one other person." In fact, as the days went on, I got better.

His ability to improve with each kilometer left hope for the Continental team riders, who are focused on providing a path to the top level for talented athletes in the region, as the pack began to catch up.

"With 11km to go, we still had 1:20 to go. I just did what I could," Reynolds said, "because I really had to and I wanted to show the world what I could do.

Despite her best efforts, Reynolds finished in the pack in 37th place, while Allie Wollaston (AG Insurance Soudal) took her first Women's World Tour win in the sprint.

The day did not bring the life-changing victory that Reynolds had dreamed of, but when Cycling News spoke to her before the stage, she cited exposure and taking chances as one of her goals for the race.

The 36-year-old, who joined Bridge Lane this year, had been alone in Europe for the past two years and had not had the opportunity to perform, but when she got her chance at the Tour Down Under, she was not going to squander it.

"I wasn't going to roll off in 20th place for the third day in a row," she said. 'Tomorrow is a new day and we want to show what we can do again. It's a great young team and it was really good to execute some of our plan. "

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