Absence of Willunga Hill creates wide-open 2026 Women's Tour Down Under – Analysing the contenders

The 2026 Women's Tour Down Under promises three days of action-packed competition, opening the top-tier racing season from January 17-19 in and around Adelaide, Australia. In the absence of the famed Willunga Hill, this year's race is wide-open for both puncheurs and climbers in pursuit of the ochre jersey.

The route marks the longest so far at 394km, with the racing set to begin with stage 1 in Willunga; however, instead of showcasing the famed longer version of Willunga Hill, the stage will include three trips up a much shorter 475-metre-long lower Willunga climb on the main street in town. The route will cater to the punchy sprinters. Stage 2 from Magill to Paracombe offers another lumpy route and a challenging final circuit.

The most decisive day of racing will happen on the final day of racing, with stage 3 beginning in Norwood on a route punctuated by Corkscrew Road. The peloton will tackle the ascent twice, followed by a technical five-kilometre descent into the finish line in Campbelltown, where the overall winner will be crowned.

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All 14 of the Women's WorldTeams will be on the start line for the first time in the event's history, due to a notable regulation change allowing top-tier teams to miss only one Women's WorldTour event in a season. Therefore, all of them have travelled to compete in both the Women's Tour Down Under and will likely stay for the following week's Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.

That means the depth and strength of the peloton will be the highest it's ever been, with a wider range of riders who can pursue both stage wins and the overall title.

Only two previous winners will be on the starting line with defending champion Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) and three-time winner Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek), who won her titles in 2017, 1018 2019, and is beginning her final year of racing on home soil.

Cyclingnews has handpicked a selection of riders to watch for the 2026 Women's Tour Down Under.

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Magdeleine Vallieres and Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly)

New World Champion Magdeleine Vallieres and defending champion Noemi Rüegg will lead the EF Education-Oatly team in their attempt to win it a second time in a row. Vallieres' presence marks the first time the rainbow jersey will be part of the peloton at the early-season race.

If her history-making breakaway victory wasn't proof enough of her strength and tenacity, this three-day Tour Down Under could well see her secure the overall title across the three challenging courses, all suited to the all-rounder in their own way.

The team have another winning card to play in last year's overall champion Rüegg, who won the race ahead of Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Mie Bjørndal Ottestad (Uno-X Mobility) after winning the decisive Willunga Hill stage.

The absence of the main climb, however, means that the race presents an opportunity for riders of varying strengths and skill to contend for stage wins and the overall title, but Rüegg is also a proven all-rounder, so watch for her stage wins and decisive breakaways.

Neve Bradbury (Canyon-Sram zondacrypto)

Neve Bradbury will lead a powerful Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto team and aims to improve on her eighth place overall last year and third-place podium finish the year before.

She will be surrounded by one of the strongest teams with teammates Tiffany Cromwell, Soraya Paladin and Chloé Dygert, all capable of taking stage wins and setting up their overall leader on the decisive final day of racing.

Bradbury is a climber at heart and, in her sixth season with the team, is one of the more experienced contenders, having finished on the podium at the Giro d'Italia, Tour de Suisse, and UAE Tour.

Beginning her season in Australia will undoubtedly add to her motivation to win her home top-tier race.

Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ)

Absent from the start line are last year's runner-up overall finishers Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Mie Bjørndal Ottestad (Uno-X Mobility).

However, fourth overall last year and fifth overall the year before, Dominika Włodarczyk will lead UAE Team ADQ in an attempt to improve her performance and take a step onto the podium.

She is beginning her third year in top-tier racing and turned heads when she finished fourth overall at the Tour de France Femmes in 2025.

She more than earned her place as the team's leader in some of the biggest races, especially when the double Giro d'Italia winner Elisa Longo Borghini is focused on a different early-season schedule that likely includes another run at the UAE Tour's overall title in February.

She will also have the support from teammate and potential winner Brodie Chapman, along with Mavi García, Erica Magnaldi and Paula Blasi.

Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a Bike)

If we are going to pick out a pure climber in the field, who will more than likely focus on the stage 3 finale to make a possible winning move, it is Marion Bunel.

At just 21, the French rider got her chance at the WorldTour with Visma-Lease a Bike for the first season in 2025. She had spent two seasons with St Michel-Mavic-Auber93, during which she delivered strong GC performances at the Tour de l'Ardèche, the Volta a Catalunya, and the UAE Tour.

The team gave her a chance to grow with leadership roles at smaller races, fourth at l'Ardèche, second at l'Avenir, third at Catalunya and then ninth at the top-tier Tour de Suisse.

Now in her second season at the highest level, watch for her to begin leading the team in the bigger races, where her strength in the mountains gives her team the edge.

Mackenzie Coupland (Liv AlUla Jayco)

Mackenzie Coupland stunned even herself by winning the elite and under-23 women's road race title at the Australian National Championships at the weekend.

The first-year professional went solo in the final 10km of the race to win the green and gold jersey just days into her tenure with Liv AlUla Jayco, even more surprised to beat teammate Ruby Roseman-Gannon and Bradbury, who finished second and third on the podium.

This week, she will line up at one of the biggest races on the Women's WorldTour, and certainly the biggest on home soil, racing for the home team while wearing a brand-new national champion's jersey. In many ways, she already won before she even started.

Gaia Realini and Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek)

Amanda Spratt is entering her final year in the professional peloton before retiring, beginning her victory lap at a race she knows all too well - Tour Down Under - where she has won three overall titles from 2017-2019.

She brings ample experience as a road captain, having also been a major contender at the Ardennes Classics, Grand Tours and three-time winner of Emakumeen Bira, in her sparkling 15-year career.

She has stated that she aims to support the younger riders on Lidl-Trek in her last year of racing, but also said she would like to race hard and win this year. There would be no better place than to win a stage in her last Tour Down Under in front of home crowds.

She will almost surely support Gaia Realini on the final day of racing, however, as the team hunts the overall classification.

Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal)

AG Insurance-Soudal will line up without former winner Sarah Gigante, but the team will field Mireia Benito.

The Spanish rider is a talent across punchy one-day races, having finished fourth at the Gran Premio Ciudad de Eibar, Giro del Veneto, and Navarra Women's Elite Classics.

Her style of racing could be important during the three demanding stages at the Tour Down Under, and consistency in those races could land her in one of the top places in the overall classification.

Olivia Baril and Paula Ostiz (Movistar)

Olivia Baril will lead the Movistar squad at the three-day race, another rider who is a strong climber and opportunist, and well-suited to this year's parcours.

A strong general classification contender at the Tour de Scandinavia, Itzulia Women, and punchy one-day races like Gran Premio Ciudad de Eibar, watch for Baril to make a mark on this challenging course.

She will have support from Floortje Mackaij and Claire Steels, while junior World and European Champion Paula Ostiz could really surprise in her first full year on the WorldTour.