The elite women's Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race – aka the Deakin University Elite Women's Road Race – takes place on January 26, following a very similar course to the men's event, which includes the steep Challambra Climb just before the finish in Geelong.
As the women's race takes place on Australia Day in 2019, expect what is already an extremely popular race to enjoy even bigger crowds than normal.
Ale Cipollini's sprint star Chloe Hosking kept those Australian crowds happy with her victory in 2018, although the often-dominating Mitchelton-Scott were left scratching their collective heads as to where it all went wrong, with Gracie Elvin their best-placed rider in the runner's-up spot, ahead of Cylance's Giorgia Bronzini.
It will be the fifth edition of the women's event in 2019. While Rachel Neylan won the inaugural race in 2015, Mitchelton-Scott – or Orica-AIS and Orica-Scott, respectively, as they were then – took the wins in 2016 with Amanda Spratt and 2017 Annemiek van Vleuten.
