Record points on offer for women's race
The Santos Tour Down Under has announced an additional one-day race for the women’s peloton next January, giving riders a valuable extra chance to secure crucial Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) points as they begin the 2025 season.
Marking a historic first, the Schwalbe Women’s One-Day Classic will be held on Sunday 26 January on the same city route as Schwalbe Men’s Stage 6: Adelaide to Adelaide - offering fans an exclusive opportunity to see the world’s best women’s and men’s riders in one location as Australia’s greatest cycling race celebrates its milestone 25th year.
Minister for Tourism Zoe Bettison said the additional one-day race was another reason for visitors to stay in South Australia.
“The Santos Tour Down Under continues to showcase South Australia on a global scale, significantly benefiting our tourism sector and thrilling fans from around the world,” Minister Bettison said.
“Adding the Women’s One-Day Classic to next year’s lineup creates even more reasons for people to come to the Santos Tour Down Under, as we celebrate our milestone 25th anniversary in 2025. It will be a wonderful way to close out 10-days of festivities.”
Santos Tour Down Under Race Director Stuart O’Grady OAM said the women’s peloton had been asking for more opportunities to earn valuable UCI points – the scoring system used to rank professional teams and cyclists around the world.
“Unlike the men, women’s UCI WorldTeams are not obligated to attend the Santos Tour Down Under, so being able to offer them four opportunities to secure UCI points at the start of the season is a major incentive and will bolster competition in the women’s field,” he said.
With the support of naming rights partner Santos, the Santos Tour Down Under women’s race has gone from strength to strength since its inaugural edition in 2016. In 2018 it became the first race in the world to offer equal prize money to men and women.
Santos Tour Down Under Assistant Race Director Annette Edmondson said she was proud to be part of the team helping to grow the women’s race.
“We now have four days of world-class women’s racing to look forward to in January. Four opportunities for elite riders to launch their seasons – and four days for them to earn as much prize money as the men,” she said.
“We are all about incremental and sustainable growth, and I’m so pleased we can offer another day of points to help attract the best riders and teams to start their seasons in Adelaide.”
Three-time Santos Tour Down Under winner Amanda Spratt said the Women’s One-Day Classic was an exciting addition to the event next year.
“I have been riding the Santos Tour Down Under since its inception in 2016 and have seen the enormous growth of this event from the very beginning,” Spratt said.
“There is, however, always room for more, and this is something that the peloton has been asking for so, it's fantastic to see that the Santos Tour Down Under has been able to deliver.”
“I think adding this extra UCI race to the schedule next year is a good initial step forward. It gives us another opportunity to secure valuable points early in the season and my hope is that it can be a catalyst for adding more stages to the women’s Santos Tour Down Under in the future as well.”
Classified as a Pro Series event, the Schwalbe Women’s One-Day Classic will offer 200 UCI Points and equal prize money to the Villawood Men’s Down Under Classic.
It will feature the same peloton as the Santos Tour Down Under women’s race, along with invited domestic teams creating a chance for emerging riders to test themselves against the world’s best.
The opportunity for the additional day’s race has resulted from the city-based race route, which was created specifically to celebrate the 25-year anniversary.
