'Bring it on' – Climbers excited for double ascent of Willunga Hill at Women’s Tour Down Under

There was plenty of anticipation when the climb of Willunga Hill was first introduced to the Santos Women’s Tour Down Under in 2024 and the excitement is high as prepare to climb it twice on Saturday's second stage.  

Some may dread the extra haul, while other will relish the opportunity provided by the double climb. New contenders like Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek), Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal) to returning rivals like Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek), Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) and Ella Wyllie (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) all happy for a double whammy of Willunga Hill.

“Pretty happy that it's a double Willunga, I think the harder the better, the longer the better, so bring it on,” the current New Zealand champion Wyllie told Cyclingnews at the beachside start line of stage 1 in Brighton.

One ascent was decisive in 2024. Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) had to fight to stay with the bunch in the wind and splits before the climb but once she got on its slopes, Gigante attacked with 2.3km to go. The Australian rider, who is out this year due to iliac artery endofibrosis surgery, finished 16 seconds ahead of her nearest rival on Willunga to claim the final stage and overall victory in 2024.

This year however, the shift of the climb to stage 2 isn’t the only alteration. 

After the first ascent of the category 1 climb of 3km with an average gradient of 7.4% and maximum of 11% finishes there will still be 23km of racing to go. Riders will descend, loop back around to McLaren Vale and then the 115km stage will finish at the top of the second climb of Willunga Hill.

Stage 1 of the Women's Tour Down Under was, in theory, for the sprinters. Daniek Hengeveld (Ceratizit-WNT) won with a suerb solo breakaway and may have carved out a GC gap of 43 seconds to her nearest rival, Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez) but the top 64 riders are still all within 49 seconds. 

The overall classification could change dramatically on Saturday. Last year, after one ascent of Willunga, just the top ten that remained within 47 seconds of Gigante.

With a challenging descent, flat roads and then another tine up Willunga Hill, if anyone else takes off with as much gusto the gaps could be much bigger.

Good enough?

Bradbury, one of the riders on the Willunga stage podium last year is one of the riders many will be keeping an eye on, particularly after a stellar 2024.

The 22-year-old claimed the stage win on the brutal Blockhaus at the Giro d'Italia Women, as well as third overall and second at the UAE Tour.

However, her focus on those big targets means she is not yet hitting her best from. 

"I'm not at top form because it's January and I have some big goals later in the season so it didn't make sense to be in the in top form," said Bradbury.

"But I think I'm in good enough form, so I'm excited to rip it up in the next few days."

We've already seen what 'good enough form' can look like on Willunga, with Bradbury having delivered a similar reminder of where she was at before the race last year.

In 2024 Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) came over the line just behind Bradbury. Judging the way Spratt raced aggressively at the AusCycling Road National Championships in Perth less than a week ago, the three-time race winner looks on form.

Then there is Wyllie, who was seventh last year but then the 22-year-old was just launching into her first race with new team Liv-AlUla-Jayco.

"It's really nice to be back again with the team because in your first year there is a little bit of extra nerves," said Wyllie. 

"You just want to make a good impression with the team and now I kind of know how everything going goes and us girls just know each other so much better. We just have so many more cards to play and I think it just means that it will be a better race.”

There are also other riders that jump out as contenders who haven't raced Willunga. 

One is Niamh Fisher-Black who has now moved to Lidl-Trek so will have Spratt as an ally on the climbs. There is also the Tour de France Femmes and Giro d’Italia Women mountains classification winner Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance Soudal).

"I did a recon of the Willunga Hill and I think it suits me. But I will see, especially with the heat here," said the rider from Belgium who is going to have to manage through temperature of around 34 °C on Saturday.

The early season positioning of the race also adds another big variable, as even without the heat factor it can be hard to tell where the form is going to sit after a break from racing. 

One thing we do know, is that the GC situation will have changed significantly after the two climbs of Willunga Hill. However, with a final stage that includes 2,000m of vertical ascent, Sunday's five ascents of Stirling could deliver the final word at the 2025 Women's Tour Down Under.