The first WorldTour race of the year would be decided on the iconic Old Willunga Hill during Stage 2 of the 2025 Santos Women’s Tour Down Under. 23-year-old Swiss rider Noemi Rüegg surprised everyone by winning the stage after a tactical battle played out from the very first repetition of the famous Adelaide climb.
Last year’s winner, Sarah Gigante, recently underwent successful surgery to treat iliac artery endofibrosis, a condition that impairs blood flow to the legs, causing her to miss this year’s race. Gigante would have been one of the favorites to win on home soil, as she attacked early on Old Willunga Hill last year to claim her first WorldTour victory.
Niamh Fisher-Black and Amanda Spratt from Lidl-Trek formed a strong duo for this race, while Australian climbing star Neve Bradbury, Elise Chabbey, Kim Cadzow, and Tour de France stage winner Justine Ghekiere were also on the start line as top favourites.
Lidl-Trek was confident, with Fisher-Black setting the pace on the first ascent of Willunga Hill, the reduced peloton completing it in 10:30 minutes at 5.25 ᵉW/Kg. They were likely hoping for a strong performance from three-time Tour Down Under champion Amanda Spratt, who won the race from 2017 to 2019.
Fisher-Black was also active on the final ascent of Willunga Hill with a very early attack, followed by Neve Bradbury on the steep sections of the climb. Silke Smulders and Noemi Rüegg closed the gap and managed to stay with them, forming a group of four. The group later grew larger as Fisher-Black, pacing alone, began to slow down compared to the others. Smulders eventually attacked, with only Rüegg able to follow her before launching her own decisive move in the final 400 meters and winning on the climb.
The Swiss champion Rüegg averaged 5.71 ᵉW/Kg on Willunga Hill for 9:57 minutes, winning after a hard stage as the peloton had already been reduced before the final 3.6 kilometers of climbing. Smulders, with 5.60 ᵉW/Kg, finished 10 seconds later, while Mie Bjørndal Ottestad was third and the fastest from a larger group that included Bradbury, Włodarczyk, Ghekiere, and Chabbey, losing 26 seconds with 5.43 ᵉW/Kg. Lidl-Trek’s star duo, Fisher-Black and Spratt, finished 8th and 9th.
Rüegg secured the overall GC victory on Stage 3, which finished up Stirling Hill, claiming her biggest GC win at age 23. On the false flat climb, she finished 3rd behind Chloe Dygert and Smulders.
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