THIRD ON GC FOR MONALIZA AT SPORTLAND NÖ WOMEN TOUR

In her first-ever season living and racing in Europe, Eritrea’s Monaliza Araya Chneslasie has achieved her debut podium on the continent, placing third in the general classification at the Sportland NÖ Women Tour.

The national-level race took place over four days in Lower Austria. The opening three ~100km stages were ridden on circuits with a mix of terrain and technicality, while the decisive final stage covered 62km and concluded with a brutal 8.8km climb at 9.5% to the Hochkar ski area.

Monaliza was always in the mix throughout the tour, finishing 8th in a 126-rider field on stage 1 after joining the day’s winning break of 13. On stage 2, Tsige Kahsay Kiros led the way for team Generation, powering to third, while Monaliza placed 12th. Stage 3 saw her finish safely in a large peloton, led home by Erja Bianchi, who claimed second behind a solo winner.

Monaliza, the Eritrean national champion in her eye-catching, vibrant jersey, entered Monday’s final stage in 7th place overall. She finished 12th on the day, but crucially climbed better than all but two of her fellow day-one breakaway companions, securing third place in the final general classification. The result rounded out a solid four days for Monaliza, who will no doubt take enormous confidence and motivation from her consistently strong showing in Austria.

Generation manager and sports director Gosia Jasinska reflected on the team’s four days at Sportland NÖ Women Tour:

“I must be honest, for sure we expected a little bit more from the tour but are really happy for a third place for Monaliza. We had bad luck and made some mistakes which stopped us from achieving more. 

In the first stage, Erja and Sophie [Alisch] crashed, and Erja was the leader for the sprinting stages. We were pleased with stage 2, where Tsige finished third, and then the next day with Erja in second. Unfortunately, the break arrived at the finish, and Erja couldn’t sprint for the win, but congratulations to the rider who deserved it more. Tsige also crashed, and we were thinking that she could really attack the general classification as she had potential to win the final stage, but in the end Monaliza still gave us something to celebrate.

This race also gave us many lessons, and I am proud of the girls because they recognised some very key points from their mistakes, like how to react and work in echelons. Then, in the second stage, they demonstrated again that they know how to work as a team. 

Across the tour, they showed fire in the heart, and how they all have the right mindset to be great cyclists. But, they also understand that a team is most important in cycling, because they can only win as a team, not as individuals.”