Santos Women's Tour 2018: Preview

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Stage 2 at the Santos Women's Tour(Image credit: Con Chronis)

The professional women's peloton will kick off their racing season at the 2018 Santos Women's Tour. In its third edition, the event has been upgraded to a UCI 2.1 status and is set to run from January 11-14.

In 2016, it was Katrin Garfoot, racing for then Orica-AIS, who broke clear from the field with a small breakaway that finished nine seconds ahead on stage 1. She hung on to the leader's jersey through the stage 2 sprint won by Nettie Edmondson and capitalised on proper teamwork during stage 3, won by her teammate Lizzie Williams from a breakaway. She finished with the bunch on the final day to claim the title. It was a slim margin, though, having held the same time as stage 1 breakaway companions, Shelley Olds and Lauren Kitchen, during all four stages.

Last year, it was Amanda Spratt, from then Orica-Scott, who launched a solo attack three kilometres out and gained 19 seconds to take a solo victory on the first day. Her team kept her in the front group during three subsequent bunch sprints won by Kirsten Wild, Chloe Hosking and Wild, again, to win the overall title. She even managed to build her lead out an additional six seconds as runner-up Janneke Ensing was caught behind a gap in the field on the last stage.

Spratt leads the line up for newly named Mitchelton-Scott in their attempt at a third straight win. She recently competed at the Cycling Australia Road National Championships, where she placed fourth in the road race. Though she appears to be in good form, the new course could better suit her teammate Annemiek Van Vleuten, time trial world champion and winner of La Course atop the Col d'Izoard in 2017.

Garfoot, who is likely more suited to the hilly terrain, just won her third straight title in the time trail at the Australian championships. Unfortunately for Mitchelton-Scott, however, she decided to stop racing for the team so that she could focus on her family and stay closer to home in Australia, while also preparing for the time trial at the Commonweath Games in April. She will instead race for UniSA-Australia, a team put together with powerful riders Tiffany Cromwell, Shara Gillow, Lauren Kitchen and Rachel Neylan.

A day for the overall contenders, stage 2's 102km race will finish at the top of a category 1 climb up Mengler's Hill, which is sure to cause some gaps in the classification because of its 14.4 per cent grade. But the peloton might already be in tatters before the final climb after the two opening circuits, which then passes once over the nine per cent Whispering Wall ascent in Williamstown. The riders going for sprint points will have an opportunity in Greenock along Murray Road.

Stage 3 brings the peloton to the longest race of the four days at 122.4km. The point-to-point event will start at the new Bend Motorsport Park and climb out through Callington and Kanmantoo. The sprinters will have a chance to pick up more points along Old Princes Highway to Junction in Nairne. The race will finish with a tilt up the Comet Mine Climb, along Tischer Road just before concluding in Hahndorf.

Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.

Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.

She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.