THE smile on her face after crossing the finish line was huge and given Emily Watts' sprint triumph on stage one of the Santos Festival of Cycling was the biggest moment in her road cycling career, it was easy to see why.
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The Lithgow native beat out professional Ruby Roseman-Gannon and Australian Road Race champion Nicole Frain in a dash to the finish line at Williamstown on Sunday with a brilliant and prolonged showed of speed.
While Watts and her Knights of Suburbia team-mates executed perfectly in the 85.4km race from Tanunda to Williamstown - Georgie Howe picked up the queen of the mountains jersey - it was a win the few, if any, would have predicted.
"I guess it's my win, but it's the team's win as well. I wouldn't have been able to do it without these girls," Watts, who is still an under 23s rider, beamed.
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"We were communicating during the race, we had a plan to let Georgie go up the climb and we communicated well, stayed together and yeah, we did it.
"Being a hill climber, being a time trialist, I've been working on my sprint during the track and I had it for today, which is nice."
While Watts was well back heading into the final corner prior to the sprint and didn't seem to be a contender, having snagged time trial and road race under 23s bronze at the Road National Championships a week earlier she did have some form.
Taking an outside line she swept to the front and held off her more experienced rivals to win in two hours, 13 minutes, 25 seconds.
"Watts by name, Watts by nature," declared race commentator Matt Keenan.
"And the surprise has come. We talked about the favoured sprinters, Watts a little bit more of a climber, but ... Watts to burn," added former star Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen.
While time bonuses gained at intermediate sprints saw Roseman-Gannon take the overall leader's jersey, Watts' wore the white best young rider jersey in stage two.
"I'm not a sprinter so I didn't get any [bonus] points, but I'm also happy with the young rider's jersey and it's been a goal to get a national road series win here," she said.
Monday's second stage is an 85.7km leg from McLaren Vale to Echunga.
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