Racing
Noemi Rüegg seals overall at Tour Down Under
Swiss champ takes home ochre jersey and first WorldTour stage race win
Fighting until the very end, Noemi Rüegg secured the race leader’s ochre jersey with a third-place finish on stage 3 of the Tour Down Under.
The Swiss champion once again demonstrated her strength, shutting down key moves when it mattered most and still finding the energy to sprint for the stage—securing the title in the points classification as the final cherry on top. This victory marks the first overall WorldTour title for the young EF Education–Oatly squad.
“It feels amazing,” said Noemi. “I’m still in disbelief. It will take a few days to really sink in what I achieved here. I’ve been working so hard for this over the last few years so it’s just so nice that it actually pays off now.”
Throughout the week, the team rode with purpose, showcasing impressive cohesion so early in the season. On stage 1, when Noemi suffered a mechanical with just three kilometers remaining, the team immediately rallied around her. Henrietta Christie executed a lightning-fast bike change, and the team worked together to guide Noemi back to the pack, allowing her to sprint to a strong sixth-place finish.
Stage 2 was another standout display of teamwork. The squad delivered Noemi to the base of Willunga Hill with a perfectly executed lead-out. Kim Cadzow then took over, helping Noemi cover attacks and maintain a strong tempo before the Swiss champ capped it off with a magnificent ride up South Australia’s most iconic climb.
Stage 3 was always going to be a hard one to control, with its lumpy profile, scorching temperatures, and narrow time gaps on GC inviting aggressive racing from multiple teams. Despite the chaos, EF Education–Oatly controlled the race brilliantly from the start. Sarah Roy stepped up in the closing stages, providing critical support to Noemi.
From start to finish, the team was there when it mattered most and Noemi knows that it wouldn’t have been possible without them.
“If you know you are not alone and have a strong team behind you, you know that we can always find a solution,” said Noemi. “It calms you down and gives you a lot of motivation. I was honestly really nervous at the start. [...] I knew it was going to be a tough day and the course made it hard to control with all the attacks. We didn’t want it to get out of hand so we were nervous but I also had a lot of trust and belief in the team. They did an amazing job. I can only say thank you to everyone.”
“They didn’t make it easy for us for sure,” said Noemi about stage 3. “They tried a lot of moves especially in the last two laps. The first three laps were actually quite ok. I was expecting it to be harder. I was honestly just super nervous all day. I really wanted to bring it home. The team did amazing again so I could save all my energy in the beginning. I was just focusing in the last two laps on following all the moves and I could keep it until the end. I’m super happy.”
Winning a stage race is always a big deal, but for this young squad like this one it’s extra special.
Congrats, squad.