Dani wins Tour of the Reservoir!

After a crash in early November 2014 threatened Dani’s cycling career, there were always doubts over how Dani would bounce back. Dani’s first major competition back since the accident, the Tour of the Reservoir was always going to be a huge test, which was made even tougher due to the bad weather, with temperatures reaching as low as -1.5degrees.

 

The two day event could not have started any better for Dani as she got away in a break of two, with Katie Archibald (Pearl Izumi) who both committed 100% to build up as much of a time gap as possible over the rest of the field. The gap was just over a minute when it come to the sprint, with Dani taking the stage 1 win (pictured on the left) and taking the yellow jersey going in to the final day and stage 2.

 

Stage 2 started bright and saw the field line up mainly in shorts and jersey, however the weather took a turn for the worse and sleet started falling from the sky. Coupled with the bad weather, smart tactics from the Pearl Izumi team resulted in a position where two riders had escaped the peloton, leaving Dani and team mate Anna Christian left with a dilemma – to chase or play poker! Their gutsy attitudes, coupled with strength in their legs due to a strong winters training resulted in Dani and Anna taking the bull by the horns and attacking the race, forcing major splits and limiting the breakaways advantage.

 

Anna Christian sacrificed herself, chasing the break with all she had, leaving her legs on the road for her team mate. Dani was then left with the final lap of the reservoir to battle on her own to limit the breakaway from edging out to the 4 minute mark which would threaten the overall lead.

 

The win on stage 2 was taken by Joanna Rowsell of Pearl Izumi, followed by her breakaway companion Nichola Juniper who claimed 2nd. Dani just about took the final spot on the podium for Stage 2, narrowly edging out Ciara Horne, while enough was done for Dani to retain the overall lead and win the Tour of the Reservoir – round 1 of the Womens National Team Series.