- An Australian cyclist won the final stage of the Tour of Britain
- Ruby Roseman-Gannon benefited from early celebration
- A big mistake cost Christine Majerus victory in Great Britain
An Australian cyclist says she “can’t believe it” after claiming victory in the Tour of Britain thanks to her rival celebrating a big mistake too soon.
Ruby Roseman-Gannon was awarded victory in the final stage on Sunday after a “stupid mistake” cost rival riders Christine Majerus and Lotte Kopecky victory.
Majerus inexplicably raised his hand in triumph just meters from the finish line, unaware that Melbourne’s Roseman-Gannon was sneaking onto the stage.
The final photo showed Roseman-Gannon ahead of Majerus by a few centimeters, with overall winner Kopecky slowing down to give her teammate Majerus the chance to lead the sprint group.
That mistake was compounded when Majerus failed to get the job done.
An Australian cyclist (center) won the final stage of the Tour of Britain on Sunday
Ruby Roseman-Gannon benefited from an early celebration by Christine Majerus
“I still can’t believe I won that; it’s my first European win and I’m still in shock,” Roseman-Gannon said.
“It’s when you don’t really expect it, in some races you arrive as the leader and you have a lot of pressure, and in other races you arrive and everything goes well.”
“Today I was quite worried about the rain and nervous about crashing and I didn’t really have the right mindset that I was going to win the race, but winning is incredible.” Overall it was a great race.”
Kopecky was also horrified by the 25-year-old’s victory, revealing that the team had reached an agreement for Majerus to win the stage if circumstances permitted, as a gift for helping her win the overall Tour.
“We made the agreement that she would win today, but maybe it was a stupid mistake,” Kopecky said.
The Australian is congratulated by her compatriot Amber Pate (left) after her victory
‘However, I would still have done the same. It could have been a good ending for Christine, but we finished well as a team.
“Maybe it’s a little bit of fun and it is what it is, and I’m not disappointed.”
It is not the first time that a premature celebration costs an athlete a victory. Last week, Spanish runner Laura García-Caro thought she was on the verge of winning bronze at the European Championships in Rome, but Lyudmyla Olyanovska beat her to the finish line.
