Deakin University Road Race 2024

Updated: November 30, 2023

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race 2024 overview

The women’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race is the first one-day race of the Women’s WorldTour calendar, and goes in tandem with the Tour Down Under as part of a mini Australian block for the men’s and women’s pelotons. In 2024, the women’s race takes place on Saturday, January 27.

First launched in 2015, the race’s name is owed to both Australia’s only Tour de France winner and Melbourne native, Cadel Evans, and the Great Ocean Road that makes up much of the course that starts and finishes in Geelong. With some climbing, a punchy finishing circuit and a flat finale, the race suits a rider who can climb but also has a fast finish.

Previous winners in Geelong have included Annemiek van Vleuten, Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) and most recently Loes Adegeest (FDJ-SUEZ), and it’s a race that always produces some exciting racing before the Spring Classics get underway.

After two years of absence through the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was back on the calendar for 2023 and returns in 2024 for its eighth edition.

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race 2024 key information

When is the women’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race 2024? The 2024 race takes place on Saturday, January 27, the day before the men’s race.

Where does the women’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race 2024 take place? The race takes place in Victoria, starting in Geelong before heading into the Moriac hills and through Torquay before returning to Geelong for the finale.

Who won the women’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in 2023? The 2023 edition was won by Loes Adegeest (FDJ-SUEZ) after an opportunist late move and the baiting of Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) in the final sprint.

When did the women’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race start? The women’s race was launched in 2015, at the same time as the men’s race.

Who won the first women’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race? The first edition of the race was won by Rachel Neylan.

Who has the most wins at the women’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race? In its seven-year history, no one has won the race more than once.

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race 2024 route: coastal course provides exciting racing

The official route for the 2024 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race is yet to be confirmed, but it is expected to follow a similar course to previous editions, barring any surprising shake-ups. The race starts and finishes in Geelong, a bay city just outside Melbourne, and takes in around both the inland and coastal roads of Port Phillip's southwest peninsula.

Starting in the city, the race starts off by heading south into the Moriac hills for some early climbing, and then follows the Great Ocean Road and through Torquay on the Surf Coast. The route sticks close to the coast all the way to Barwon Heads, before turning back inland to head towards Geelong.

The race finishes on two laps of a circuit around Geelong, which includes the short but steep Challambra Crescent climb which often breaks the race up in the finale. The final 5km are either downhill or flat, but the race should break up on the circuits so some sort of reduced sprint or solo escape is expected.

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race 2024 contenders

As a race that suits a lot of different types of riders, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race can be very open with plenty of names worthy of being called contenders for the win.

In 2024, last year’s runner-up Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) is making a return to her home block of racing and will be looking to add a second Cadel Evans win to her palmarès on a course that suits her abilities to the tee. She’ll have the rider who beat her at the 2023 Tour Down Under, Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ) for competition, and Brown is a rider who, despite never winning in Geelong, is certainly built for the punchy racing style required.

Among the other Aussies expected to be racing is Brodie Chapman (Lidl-Trek) who could be expected to be given some early-season freedom at her home race. Former winner Liane Lippert (Movistar) could also be eyeing another win at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, particularly as she takes up main leadership at Movistar after Annemiek van Vleuten’s retirement. Should the race come down to a more sprinter-friendly finale, Megan Jastrab (dsm-firmenich PostNL) could be in contention for the win, a rider with a kick who can also get over the climbs.

The startlist for the 2024 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race has not yet been confirmed.

Which teams are racing the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race 2024?

The full list of teams heading to the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race is yet to be confirmed, but the event is expected to attract a number of Women’s WorldTour teams, European Continental teams and some local Australian teams.

The following teams have been confirmed on the start list for the Tour Down Under, so should also be in action at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.

• FDJ-SUEZ
• Canyon-SRAM
• Lidl-Trek
• Human Powered Health
• Liv AlUla Jayco
• dsm-firmenich PostNL
• Jumbo-Visma
• UAE Team ADQ

What happened at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race 2023?

The 2023 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race was won by Loes Adegeest (FDJ-SUEZ) in a two-up sprint against Amanda Spratt (Trek-Segafredo). After an attacking and active race, with various moves going off the front during a dynamic day, it came down to the final circuits when a smaller lead group emerged.

On the final ascent of the Challambra Crescent climb, Spratt put in a big attack and was followed by Adegeest with the pair dropping the few riders who tried to hang onto their wheels. Despite Spratt doing most of the work in the front, the pair held onto a lead towards the finish with a chase group failing to get organised and make an inroads.

A tense final kilometre of cat-and-mouse followed, and with fresher legs, it was Adegeest who was able to sprint to the victory in Geelong, her first at WorldTour level.

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race history

The Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race was launched in 2015 as a farewell event for Tour de France winner Cadel Evans and was his final race as a professional. The event has hosted both elite men’s and elite women’s races from the outset, first featuring mainly Australian teams and riders, and then expanding when the men’s race was added to the WorldTour in 2017, with the women’s race following suit in 2020.

The first edition of the women’s race was not a UCI race and was a heavily Australian affair, won by Rachel Neylan. The race stepped up to UCI level in 2016, when Amanda Spratt won solo, in front of Neylan this time. After stepping up to UCI level, and with the growth of the Tour Down Under meaning more riders were taking the early-season trip to Australia, the race grew in stature, and included Annemiek van Vleuten among its winners with her 2017 victory in a small group sprint.

In 2020, the race joined the Women’s WorldTour, and that year was won by Liane Lippert, marking the young German’s first WWT win and something of a breakthrough ride for her. The race’s short history was then interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic which saw it missing from the calendar for two years, but it returned in 2023 with another exciting edition, won by Loes Adegeest.

With the Tour Down Under now also a WorldTour race since 2023, the pair of races form something of a mini WorldTour block in Australia, and usually attract strong startlists as riders are keen to get their season up and running before the European racing starts in earnest.

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race previous winners

2023 Loes Adegeest (FDJ-SUEZ)

2020 Liane Lippert (Team Sunweb)

2019 Arlenis Sierra (Astana)

2018 Chloe Hosking (Alé-Cipollini)

2017 Annemiek van Vleuten (Orica-Scott)

2016 Amanda Spratt (Orica-AIS)

2015 Rachel Neylan (Building Champions Squad)

Explore more about the women’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race by clicking on the tabs above.

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