Willunga landmark as women aim for Tour cycling parity

The long, hard road to parity will take the women’s Tour Down Under to the summit of the iconic Willunga Hill climb.

In its second year as a WorldTour event, the women’s race continues to field awkward questions about how it compares to the well-established men’s event.

The women are racing separate to the men for the first time from Friday in a bid to help the event’s exposure, with the men racing from Tuesday.

Another key element is taking the women’s race for the first time to Willunga Hill, south of Adelaide.

It has become a famous landmark in Australian cycling thanks to the Tour, especially Richie Porte’s exploits on the climb.

Richie Porte has shown his class in the Willunga Hill stage of the Tour Down Under. (David Mariuz/AAP PHOTOS)

But the women’s Tour remains a three-day race, while the men have competed over six days since their event started in 1999.

The women’s race was introduced to the Tour Down Under schedule in 2016 and has slowly grown each year, with the event making history in 2018 by becoming the first cycling road race to offer equal prize money.

For all the progress, there remains clear disparity in important areas, such as the race distances and flights for international riders.

“We are trying to find funds to support our ladies, so we’ve been on a journey for a number of years and we’ve been slowly adding more and more elements to this race,” said women’s race director Annette Edmondson.

“Unfortunately, it’s just taking a little bit longer than we had hoped, but we’re proud of the progression we’ve made.

“Willunga Hill and Tour Down Under really go hand-in-hand. That’s a really important moment, that we get to race up there and finish off such an iconic climb in Australian cycling.”

Reigning champion Grace Brown and key rival Amanda Spratt, two likely members of the Australian road team at this year’s Paris Olympics, would like a longer Tour.

Reigning champ Grace Brown would like the Tour Down Under to be longer than three days for women. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS)

“It (would be) nice to have a few more days to work with and really develop the story of the racing,” Brown said.

Spratt is more excited about the Willunga summit finish than Brown, given she is the better climber.

Brown beat Spratt to win last year’s race, limiting her losses on the decisive Corkscrew climb before winning the final sprint after the descent.

Asked if the summit finish would mean a chance for revenge, Spratt grinned and said: “Absolutely – look out.”

Sitting next to her at the pre-race media conference on Thursday, Brown immediately replied: “No.”

Spratt added: “I must admit, I was eagerly awaiting the course announcement. I was very happy when I saw Willunga.”

Brown lamented: “I was looking to see if the descent had been cut off.

“(But) it’s really cool we get to race up a climb that has been so iconic in the men’s race.

“I like a challenge, so we’ll see how we go.”

Spratt and Brown might be overshadowed by new star Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Jayco AlUla), who beat them in a pulsating finish on Sunday to win the Australian road title.

The Tour starts at Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills on Friday, followed by the Stirling circuit in the Hills on Saturday, then the decisive Willunga stage on Sunday.