Women's Tour Down Under - Nine riders to watch as race builds to Willunga finale

The start of a new season of the Women’s WorldTour is about to get underway, and it's happening just about as far away from the wintery European base of racing as you can get with the annual pilgrimage to Australia for the Women’s Tour Down Under.

The three-stage tour in and around Adelaide is the first chance riders will get to build that winning momentum for a new year, but it is also one of those races where there are so many unknowns. Riders are settling into new teams and are at varying stages of their rebuild following the off-season, some will be settling in for a first race with a new team, while others will be grappling with the shock to the system of coming from icy temperatures to the hot Australian mid-summer weather where stockings filled with ice are dolled out by the esky load.

The field is made up of a mixture of some of the top Women’s WorldTour teams – with SD Worx and Movistar the only missing players from the top eight – continental teams from Australia and beyond as well as Australian national team.

FDJ SUEZ come into the race with the defending champion Grace Brown, though there are plenty of fierce rivals that will be trying to make the ochre jersey of the race leader their own.

The course, too, has changed in nature in the second year of the race at the Women’s WorldTour level, with a finish on top of Willunga Hill likely tipping the balance toward the riders who specialise in the climbs.

With the race to start the year on the front foot about to begin, Cyclingnews takes a closer look at some of the riders to watch at the Women’s Tour Down Under from Friday, January 12 to Sunday, January 14.

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Amanda Spratt

For three years straight, from 2017 to 2019, Amanda Spratt made the race her own, stepping up to the top of the podium and then even when she surrendered ochre in 2020 and 2023, she still kept her rivals on their toes as an ever-present threat and remained on the overall podium. 

This is a race where the 36-year-old excels, and what's more, this year, she is facing up to it on the back of a strong season. Add to that the summit finish, and it looks like a year made for Spratt, who came second to Brown by a mere ten seconds in 2023. 

Spratt will be fronting up with a strong team, with four of the riders having already blown out the race cobwebs at the Australian Road Championships, with Lauretta Hanson coming second in the road race and Brodie Chapman second in the time trial. 

Spratt also showed she is carrying some handy climbing form on the race that circles over Mount Buninyong, coming ever so close to staying away in a break of three in Ballarat. The good news for Spratt is that in contrast to that first Sunday of racing for the year, the final finish line comes on top of the climb, not after it. 

Grace Brown

Grace Brown hadn't been in the cycling scene long when she first made a mark at the South Australian race in 2018, when the rider, who was then with domestic squad Holden Team Gusto, claimed a stage podium and fifth overall. It wasn't until last year that she had a chance to better that result as in her previous appearances at the race, she had been riding in the Australian squad backing Amanda Spratt but with a shuffling of the decks, 2023 was a year where she was unequivocally the team leader, and she delivered the very top step of the podium.

This year, however, with the race finishing on the top of Willunga Hill and few opportunities to build gaps beforehand, defending the title started to look like a tougher ask for the rider who excels on punchy terrain rather than the long climbs. That is the terrain where teammate Cecilie Uttrup-Ludwig excels, so, defending champion or not, the team priorities could well lean toward the Danish rider. 

However, who knows what could happen if Brown manages to get away in one of the first two stages and put those time trial skills that just earned her a fourth national title to good use, carving out a buffer. 

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig will also be on the start line for a powerful FDJ SUEZ team that also includes Evita Muzic. Along with Grace Brown, this will be one of the strongest and most well-rounded teams on paper.

The trio of riders will be well-suited to the parcour in the context of the overall classification, as all three will be contenders for the finale on Willunga Hill. All three riders are also tactically savvy, understand how to read the race and are all capable of initiating and performing during a breakaway.

Watch for Uttrup Ludwig to hold her cards back for the Willunga Hill, as climbing is her primary strength, but it would not be surprising to see multiple riders from FDJ SUEZ on the overall podium.

Sarah Gigante 

It's been a tough run for Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) in recent seasons, but there are all the signs that this Australian season could be just the beginning of a much-anticipated turning of the corner for the Australian, who leapt into the senior ranks in spectacular style in 2019 when she claimed the women's elite/U23 road race victory at the National Championships straight away as she stepped out of the junior category. 

Injuries, the COVID-19 pandemic and health problems have blighted her path since but hopes are high that the young rider is finally hitting the light at the end of the tunnel.

The 23-year-old found enormous success in the domestic replacement race for the Tour Down Under, the Santos Festival of Cycling, in 2021, securing victory on the stage that finished at the top of Willunga Hill and overall victory too. 

Not only is that key climb in the race obviously one that suits her, but Gigante is also fresh from claiming the Queen of the Mountain jersey at the Road National Championships, with the rider hard to hold back on the familiar slopes of Mount Buninyong Rd, and showing that climbing form is well and truly back.

Ruth Edwards

Ruth Edwards (née Winder) has returned to professional bike racing after retiring from the sport in 2021. She will line up with her new team, Human Powered Health, and while her form is somewhat of an unknown, she is remembered for winning the overall title at the 2020 Tour Down Under.

She spent much of her time away from road racing, competing on the gravel scene, winning last year's Chequamegon MTB Festival and Old Man Winter Rally as well as taking second-place finish at the 105-mile Leadville Trail 100 MTB. 

All eyes will be on Edwards as she makes her return to road racing, and both her strength and experience will lend well to the Human Powered Health team that also lines up with Henrietta Christie, who came 7th overall in last year's edition, and Audrey Cordon Ragot.

The team will also have two cards to play in the overall classification, as Edwards will be joined by Krista Doebel-Hickok. Watch for her to shine on the Willunga Hill finale.

Ella Wyllie

The new Liv-AlUla-Jayco recruit from New Zealand is a signing the team may well put to good use straight away. The race had already proven pivotal for the 21-year-old, as that is when the Australian Women's World Tour team first noted her potential. She took on the event with LifePlus Wahoo and stepped straight into the top ten, finishing eighth overall in 2023. 

She then stepped up onto the podium at the 1.Pro ranked Navarra Women's Elite Classic and finished in the top 20 at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. What's more, that came with an eleventh place on the Col du Tourmalet stage, so Wyllie is clearly a rider with some serious climbing talent – a valuable asset in an edition of the Women's Tour Down Under, which finished on top of Willunga.

It should be intriguing to watch the debut race and season with the team, as while it is early days for Wyllie, she has already shown a remarkable ability to rise to a challenge.

Ruby Roseman-Gannon

Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) is one of those riders who has a strong history at the South Australian race, having claimed the domestic Santos Festival of Cycling in the year of her professional debut, 2022 – when the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the international race and just missing out on the podium in 2023. 

But just like last year's winner, Grace Brown, she too may find that the Willunga Hill climb plays more effectively into the hands of others.

Still, don't expect Roseman-Gannon to fade into the background, as the Australian jersey she will be wearing on her back should speak loudly of her form and, likely confidence, heading into the race. 

Her turn of speed in the rush to the line could definitely come in handy before the Willunga stage as the rider chases her first Women's WorldTour victory.  Her teammate Alex Manly, too, could just as easily be out to take a second stage victory at the race after winning in Uraidla last year, which delivers an added benefit – their rivals will be kept guessing.

Neve Bradbury

Neve Bradbury hasn't had an opportunity to race her home tour before and is clearly coming into the race with some solid form after a 10th place overall at an attack-heavy combined elite/U23 women's road race at the Australian Championships.

What's more, that secured her the U23 title as the first rider in that category over the line, but what was perhaps more impressive was her charge toward more. The Canyon-SRAM rider may have been the only under-23 in the lead group, but there was certainly no sense that she was just hanging in for the ride, with an aggressive bridging move in the final stages.

The rider, who made her way into the peloton via the Zwift Academy, may only be 21 but already has a solid list of top ten and even top five GC finishes at key races, including the Giro d'Italia Donne and Tour of Scandinavia. The home race with a Willunga finish could help her add to that list or maybe even step it up another notch.

Sofia Bertizzolo

UAE Team ADQ has multiple options that include both Sofia Bertizzolo and Mikayla Harvey at this year's Tour Down Under.

Bertizzolo is in her third season with the team, and as a strong one-day race and climber, she is well-suited to this year's route. She had a number of strong results last year with a stage win at the Tour de Romandie, third at GP de Plouay and La Classique Morbihan, and top 10s in stages at the Tour of Scandinavia and Simac Ladies Tour.

She might not be among the top-tier of favourites for the overall title, but a three-day race like the Tour Down Under offers a level of unpredictability that could see a rider a savvy as Bertizzolo winning stages and landing in the top 5 overall.