Daniek Hengeveld's first WorldTour cycling win was incredibly brave, twice over.
The 22-year-old, another in the long and imposing production line of Dutch women road cyclists, held off the peloton to snare stage one in the Tour Down Under.
Friday's win in the 101.9km leg from the coastal suburb of Brighton to Aldinga, south of Adelaide, capped her bold solo break just after halfway.
It also capped Hengeveld's comeback after a crash last year left her questioning her passion for the bike.
The new rider for the Ceratizit team caught the peloton napping, building a lead of about two minutes 30 seconds.
The sprinters' teams were left kicking themselves as Hengeveld won by 36 seconds, with New Zealander Ally Wollaston (FDJ Suez) taking the bunch sprint for second.
Hengeveld did not think she could win until the last kilometre.
"In the end I just heard my sport director in my (earpiece), 'c'mon, c'mon, c'mon' - I thought 'aw f**k, maybe they're really close' ... so it was really nice," she said.
The win also is a timely morale boost for a young rider who wondered if the hard grind of pro cycling was worth it.
Her only other win had been the prologue time trial stage - distinct from a road race - in the 2021 Belgrade GP Tour.
"I lost a little bit of confidence after the last two years - wow, I was finally racing like I was 18 again," she said.
"This is why I race. It's really nice.
"It was just hard to see if I actually still liked to ride my bike and how it is to ride with a team who also believes in me. It's a good feeling.
"I just want to race as a family - it's a small team and I've already noticed on our training camp, it's a family environment."
Alyssa Polites, a rider on the ARA Australian team, made a solo break early and it held until the main climb at halfway.
Soon after she was caught, Hengeveld went on the attack and said there was not much thought behind her move.
"I was struggling on the climb. I thought I'd better just go now, because everybody is struggling," she said.
Hengeveld is under no illusions about Saturday's Queen stage, featuring two ascents of the Tour's iconic Willunga climb.
Asked about Willunga, she laughed nervously.
"I did Willunga Hill a few times in training ... ahhh ... that's my answer, I don't know I will see," she said.
"They (her teammates) will help me, I will help them. I'm not a typical climber, so we will see.
"Otherwise, I want to give it to one of my teammates, that's also fine. We're just going to be aggressive again."
Australian rising star Felicity Wilson-Haffenden (Lidl Trek) needed medical attention when she was involved in a crash just before halfway, but she finished the stage.
Conditions were ideal on Friday, with the temperature in the high 20s, but the heat that is a defining feature of the Adelaide race will kick in over the weekend for the last two stages in the women's race.
