'I'm really struggling' was the message Ally Wollaston was putting out to her teammates as the race hit the first run up the crucial climb of Challambra Crescent for the first time at the women's Mapei Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
The rider from New Zealand may have just swept up two out of the three stage wins up for grabs at the Santos Tour Down Under and be entering the race in Geelong as defending champion, but she wasn't exactly brimming with optimism over her chances of becoming the first rider to win two editions of the race.
"After Tour Down Under, I struggled a little bit with sickness… so, yeah, I wasn't hugely confident going into today. I knew I could get over Challambra on a really good day, and I had no idea whether that day would be today or not," she told reporters after the podium ceremony.
"And the first lap, I said to the girls, 'I'm really struggling'. Actually, up Challambra, I didn't feel as comfortable following as I did last year, so that always is a little bit of a knock on the confidence, and I knew the second lap was going to be harder. So they just kept me grounded, and I had a few tough words in my race radio saying that I could do it. The belief was pretty strong from the team today."
It also wasn't just the belief that was strong, as while things certainly didn't get any easier on the second lap with Wollaston unhitched on Challambra – around 10km from the line – and the attacks also on the Melville Avenue climb – at 5km to the finish.
However, she had teammates Amber Kraak and Lauren Dickson to thread her back into the leading group of a dozen, and they were the only squad so heavily represented in the front group.
"My teammates did an incredible job to get me back to the front end of the race. There was a pretty impressive split after that second kicker," said Wollaston. "If I didn't have my teammates, the race would have been gone for sure. It was a really, really strong breakaway. So I think once that came back, then I knew I was in with a really good chance."
That good chance quickly turned into a huge victory celebration, the "F… yeah" winning exclamation of last year seemingly revived in the heat of the moment.
"I'm trying to stop that one, actually, yeah, my teammates definitely use it more than I do now. But yeah, it's a good motto, and I think it just is a real spirit of the moment thing when it comes across the line," Wollaston said with a laugh.
Given she'd just swept up her third victory of the opening block of racing, a slip of the tongue will surely be forgiven, especially as it means she'd crossed the finish line first in three of the four opening Women's WorldTour opportunities of the year.
"It's amazing. It's a real dream start to the season," said Wollaston. "And I think every year, you want to do better than the last, and I've already started this year better than last year. So, yeah, it's a really dream start, and I'm so looking forward to carrying this momentum into the rest of the season."
But first, there will be celebrating to do and no doubt she'll be keeping a keen eye on the men's race tomorrow, with partner, Jayco-AlUla rider Kell O'Brien, on the line to congratulate her on the win.
"We don't actually get to spend a lot of time together throughout the season, so this is a really special time for us and obviously seeing him at the end was really amazing and probably the highlight of my day, actually," said Wollaston, who was then asked if she had any advice for him tomorrow.
"Just do the same as I did today," she said with a joyously cheeky laugh before heading off to celebrate.
