Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race – Women 2026

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race Women overview

Taking place on Saturday, January 31, 2026, the Mapei Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race – Women will once again be the first one-day race of the Women’s WorldTour, following on from the Santos Tour Down Under stage race in South Australia.

The Victorian race was first held in 2015 and was added to the Women’s WorldTour calendar in 2020.

Rosita Reijnhout (Visma-Lease a Bike) was a surprise winner in 2024 with the then 19-year-old Dutch rider holding off the pursuing Dominika Wlodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Suez) to claim her first professional win.

Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez) won in 2025, from a reduced bunch sprint in Geelong, claiming her first one-day WorldTour victory. Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ) was second and Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) took third place on the day.

In 2024 the mid-week Geelong Classic race made a return as the precursor event. In 2025, Wollaston won to set-up her remarkable Australian double.

Now called the Women’s Surf Coast Classic, the race starts in Lorne and finishes in Torquay, featuring rolling terrain and coastal winds of the the spectacular Victoria’s coastline.

The 141km course of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race winds through the Bellarine Peninsula and Surf Coast, with the decisive Challambra Crescent climb and a fast finish on the Geelong waterfront.

The race offers equal prize money and prestige to the men's race, with the new WorldTour participation rules ensuring the top teams and riders from around the globe will be in action.

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