Maple Ridge B.C.’s Maggie Coles-Lyster wasted little time making her presence felt at the UAE Tour Women, sprinting to fourth place on Stage 1. The stage race’s opener was 111 km from Al Mirfa to Madinat Zayed. In a field stacked with the fastest finishers in women’s cycling, the Canadian Olympian once again right there in the finale.
The opening stage had the potential to split under desert crosswinds, but the expected gusts never fully materialized. Instead, the peloton rode much of the day with a tailwind before turning into a stiff headwind for the final run to the line. Teams kept things controlled, setting the stage for a proper bunch sprint.
Positioning proved decisive. Coles-Lyster latched onto the wheel of eventual winner Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx–Protime) as the sprint trains converged. She came just a wee too close to the barriers in the final metres that cost her momentum, but she stayed within striking distance, throwing her bike on the line and narrowly missing the podium.
“It was a bit chaotic in the bunch, but I stayed patient,” Coles-Lyster said. “My goal was just to get to Lorena’s wheel. I got pushed into the barriers a bit and lost some speed, but I was right there and in the bike throw for third. That’s the battle I wanted to be in.”
The result continues a strong run of form following off-season surgery to address flow limitation in her iliac artery. “I’ve always been a tactical rider,” she explained. “So it’s really rewarding to have the blood flow and leg power back where I know it should be.”
With another sprinter-friendly finish on deck, Coles-Lyster remains focused on building momentum. “I just want to keep fighting for podiums,” she added. “I’m right there.”
It was another good day for the 26-year-old Olympian after a long recovery. In late January, she won at the Santos Tour Down Under Women’s One Day Race, taking the first professional win of her career. But it also came just 192 days after undergoing surgery for Flow Limitation of the Iliac Artery (FLIA).
She rode the Tour Down Under stage race just before, giving her the race miles she needed to have the edge in the one-day.
“People thought I might be tired after the Tour Down Under, but I felt strong,” she said. “Being back on the top step after everything I’ve been through. It’s sinking in now.”
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