It didn't take Zoe Backstedt long to renew her love affair with Wollongong.
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Just 10 kilometres into the women's junior road race on Saturday the British rider hit the front and never looked back.
By the end of the 67.2 kilometre race the 18-year-old Welsh wizard had won another UCI 2022 Road World Championships title, to go with her women's junior time trial success last Tuesday.
The win on Saturday came on Backstedt's 18th birthday. It was also her was second straight junior women's road race world championship triumph, having won the same event in Flanders in 2021.
Her latest win in Wollongong was never in doubt, with Backstedt making her move on the climb up Ramah Avenue, Mount Pleasant.
Cycling experts such as Rupert Guinness suggested that Ramah Avenue would become part of cycling folklore in the context of how difficult that climb will be multiple times and the attrition it would have on riders.
This was apparent as soon as Backstedt made her move. The Great Britain team rider led by 26 seconds after the first lap and extended her lead to two minutes after completing two of four laps.
Czech Republic rider Eliska Kvasnickova did well in the opening two laps to try to catch Backstedt but before the end of the second lap, the peleton featuring British pair Awen Roberts and Grace Lister, had reigned her in.
Heading into the final lap Backstedt had opened up an unbeatable 2.23 minute lead over Dutch rider Nienke Vinke, with the peleton a further 15 seconds behind.
Like her ride on Tuesday, Backstedt really was a class above the other riders on Saturday.
The big question for most of the race was which riders would come in second and third place.
French rider Eglantine Rayer beat home Vinke in a sprint to win silver.
Backstedt completed the course in 1.47.05 hours, more than two minutes in front of Rayer and Vinke.
An ecstatic Backstedt said the plan was always for her to go out solo at some stage in the race.
"I never planned to go that early but the moment was there so I took it," she said post-race.
"We came to the first bit of downhill after the [Ramah Avenue] climb and I went on the inside of some girls and basically kept pushing.
"When I was watching other riders they were doing about 65 kilometres and so I just wanted to make sure I was spinning as much as I possible could because i knew you make up some speed there and I was confident in my cornering so I took those corners on the downhill quite sketchily.
"I rode them as fast as I could and braked as little as possible.
"I managed to get a gap on the little downhill and after the last corner kicked up the little climb and that was pretty much it."
The win in Wollongong for Backstedt was extra special as it propelled Great Britain to the top of the table of nations in terms of how many gold medals had been won in the women's junior road race world championships.
Before the Wollongong race, riders from Italy, Netherlands and Great Britain had won five gold medals each since 1987.
Backstedt's masterclass on Saturday saw Great Britain leapfrog to the top with six gold medals.
With the women's elite and men's elite road races to come, Great Britain has secured three golds and a bronze medal in Wollongong.
Backstedt said she was happy to play her part in Great Britain's overall success.
"The plan was to try and get me to go solo at some point but we also had a couple of cards to play with Grace Lister in the group and Awen Roberts as well, who is a very, very good climber," she said.
"I knew she was strong enough to go but the moment was there for me to go and we always planned for me to go solo so I took the moment.
"If it was me winning or it was any one of them, we would all have been happy for whoever it is who won."
The results for the junior women's road race are here.
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
