Just one month after winning the national time trial, Kim Cadzow has won her first stage race for her new WorldTour team in Italy.

Teammate Kristen Faulkner won the final stage of Trofeo Ponenete in Rosa today, which capped an outstanding performance for the ED Education team.

It secured Cadzow with overall victory on general classification, her first stage race overall victory in the young career of the 23-year-old from Wanaka. 

She showed her class in winning the time trail and finishing second in the road race at the national championships in Timaru last month.

Faulkner finished second on GC after winning two stages, with teammate Clara Emond taking third place overall, for a podium sweep for EF Education-Cannondale.

They also won the team classification and Lotta Henttala took the sprinter’s jersey, while Faulkner claimed the points jersey and the queen of the mountains jersey.

Sport director Carmen Small was proud of the way the riders committed to one another from the beginning.

Cadzow was quick to praise her team for the result.

“This team is just insane and everybody is just so lovely,” she said. “It’s the best environment to be in. It feels amazing. I don’t think I could have dreamt it.

“The goal this year was to win one race in Europe and now to have a GC is just crazy. Winning the team GC just shows what kind of team we are, what kind of teammates we have, that we all work together for one goal and we respect each other.”

It was also a fitting way for the team to celebrate International Women’s Day in Europe.