Tom Pidcock delivered a huge performance, claiming his first win with the Q36.5 team. With one more climbing stage ahead, he’s now the clear favourite to secure his first-ever GC victory in a professional race.

It was the first race and a key opportunity for Tom Pidcock to secure a victory with his new Q36.5 team. With little major competition, he was the clear favourite to win on the irregular and highly challenging Bir Jayvdah Mountain Wirkah, which featured an extended section with gradients exceeding 16%.

Due to poor road conditions, the organisers and commissaires decided to neutralise the downhill of the second passage and remove one lap, shortening the stage from 157.7 km to 130.6 km for safety reasons. This decision was made not far from the final hill, allowing the peloton to regain strength, recover significantly, and produce huge watts on the climb. By the time they reached the final hill, 3:11 hours had passed, with riders expending 2066 kilojoules at an average of 10.74 kJ/kg/h.

UAE Team Emirates had brought Rafał Majka for the GC, but after crashing on stage 1 and losing significant time, they shifted their support to 18-year-old Spaniard Adrià Pericas, who was making his debut in the pro peloton. Pericas was not strong enough to launch an attack after Majka’s pacing was done but managed to finish 20th. In the final kilometre, with no team controlling the pace, the tempo remained high. With 500 metres to go, Pidcock attacked and was never seen again, flying to his first win and delivering one of his best pure W/kg performances immediately after leaving INEOS.

On the final hill, Pidcock produced 7.69 ᵉW/kg for 7:27 minutes, a performance very similar to Javier Romo’s effort on Willunga Hill at the Tour Down Under. However, Romo’s effort came after a harder race leading up to the climb, whereas Pidcock had the chance to recover in the peloton beforehand. Austrian Rainer Kepplinger, who delivered a standout performance on Vall d’Ebo during Bahrain Victorious’ testing day a year ago, finished second. In his first race with Jayco AlUla, XCO Mountain Bike World Champion Alan Hatherly secured third place with 7.56 ᵉW/kg. His teammate Eddie Dunbar lost 11 seconds to the 28-year-old South African.

With one more climbing stage ahead, Tom Pidcock is the clear favourite to secure his first-ever GC win in a UCI race of .1 category or higher. Jayco AlUla could try to play the numbers with Hatherly and Dunbar on the plateau of Skyviews, but it will be a difficult task, as Pidcock will likely receive help chasing from other GC riders like Kepplinger.

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Javier Romo was the race leader and the strongest rider on the Willunga Hill finish, but it wasn’t enough, as drafting on shallow climbs played a crucial role. Jhonathan Narváez, with a late sprint, secured the stage victory and claimed the Tour Down Under GC title.

Stage 5 marked the Queen Stage of the Tour Down Under, concluding with the iconic ascent of Willunga Hill (3.6 km at 7%). Javier Romo led the general classification by a slim margin following his heroic victory on Stage 3 after Knotts Hill. With several favourites, including Jhonathan Narváez, Oscar Onley, Finn Fisher-Black, and Luke Plapp, threatening his position, an exciting finish was guaranteed.

Chris Harper attacked early and raised the tempo for his teammate Luke Plapp during the first ascent of Willunga Hill. Harper attacked and subsequently his teammate Mauro Schmid bridged across, but both were reeled in during the valley, as INEOS Grenadiers set a fierce pace in the main group. Crosswinds added to the chaos, splitting the GC contenders into several groups.

As the second and final climb began, Romo launched an attack at the base of Willunga Hill despite a medium headwind. His move immediately shattered the group, which had remained relatively large until that point. However, given the shallow gradient and headwind, Romo needed to be significantly stronger than his rivals to maintain his lead. This proved challenging, as riders in the chasing group benefitted from the draft, saving an estimated 0.3 to 0.6 ᵉW/kg on certain sections of the climb.

Plapp worked tirelessly in the chase group, with Onley and Narváez taking full advantage of the draft. The group eventually caught Romo. In the final sprint, Narváez edged out Onley, while Fisher-Black paced his effort well to secure third place.

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Romo’s performance was huge, as he averaged 7.72 ᵉW/kg for 7 minutes and 58 seconds. However, the achievement was not as remarkable as it initially seemed, given that the climb was near sea level and the relatively shallow gradient favoured Romo, who weighs closer to 70 kg. Similarly, Plapp, who did extensive work in the wind, averaged 7.63 ᵉW/kg. Other top-10 finishers averaged 0.3 to 0.5 ᵉW/kg less than Romo, highlighting the importance of drafting on shallow gradients with headwinds at speeds of 27.11 km/h.

Romo’s recent contract extension with Movistar through 2028 appears to be a masterstroke, with the team securing the Spaniard before his first UCI victory. Adjusted for altitude, Romo’s performance still impressed at 630 aSLP (adjusted sea level power), although it was not groundbreaking by 2025 standards. With top GC riders like Tadej Pogačar adding 5–10% to their climbing power on hard stages compared to 2023, performances at the highest level continue to trend upward, much like Elon Musk’s net worth.

In 2024, Romo had already demonstrated his capabilities with standout performances on demanding mountain stages. Notably, he sacrificed himself for Alex Aranburu during the gravel stage of the 2024 Tour de France, helping his teammate secure fourth place. Additionally, Romo impressed on steep mountain gradients at the Critérium du Dauphiné, finishing 11th, 12th, and 13th on consecutive stages, as well as excelling on brutal rampas inhumanas climbs in the Vuelta a Valenciana and Vuelta a Burgos.

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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Tadej Pogačar won his fourth consecutive Il Lombardia, showcasing his greatness with another long solo after attacking early on the Colma di Sormano with 48.5 km to go.

With Pogačar being an overwhelming favourite to win the race, the teams challenged UAE by forming a huge breakaway with Eddie Dunbar, Thymen Arensman, Dani Martinez, Wilco Kelderman, Kevin Vermaerke, Tiesj Benoot, and other elite riders. That was the only way to beat Pogačar, but UAE Emirates had brought a strong supporting cast with Fisher-Black, Christen, Majka, Hirschi, Yates, and Sivakov, who controlled the gap to the breakaway that was not cooperating perfectly when Colma di Sormano (10.1 km, 7.16%) approached. Xandro Meurisse was the best from the early breakaway, losing almost 5 minutes to Pogačar and finishing 10th.

Pavel Sivakov, before the decisive climb, had spent 5009 kilojoules over 4:46 hours at 15.16 kj/kg/h. It was an intense, high-expenditure day as it is a monument, and the peloton was not big when Adam Yates started pulling on Sormano. Sivakov remained as the last UAE rider for Pogačar. When Pogačar attacked with 48.5 km to go, no one even tried to follow him as he was far better than Remco Evenepoel, Enric Mas, and Lennert Van Eetvelt, who were riding in the second group.

Pogačar delivered a strong performance by his Autumn standards, pushing 6.74 ᵉW/Kg for 24:16 minutes in the first 10.1 km of the climb, as the last 3 kilometers were irregular. Pogačar did not need to go full gas as there were still 48 kilometers of racing left and he very likely could have done higher watts. No one could challenge him as Remco Evenepoel and others in the last part of the season were nowhere close to their best shape due to a tiring season. The same with Pogačar, who cannot replicate his Tour de France performances outside of the biggest race of the year, but he does not need to, as in Lombardia or other races, his competition cannot challenge him. Evenepoel did 6.48 ᵉW/Kg for 25:05 minutes, which would have been a good performance in the 2010s before the invention of sugar.

Pogačar took his 88th career win, dominating the whole 2024 season, making this the most impressive season in cycling history in terms of palmares and w/kg. But that does not mean he cannot show his greatness in the next seasons as he keeps improving, getting more professional coaches, with the rest of the peloton continuing to add watts in 2024 and reaching new heights no one in cycling history has reached.

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