Ally Wollaston stormed to victory in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, timing her sprint to perfection to claim her first one-day WorldTour win in Geelong. The New Zealander, racing for FDJ-Suez, powered clear in the final metres of the reduced bunch sprint, finishing several bike lengths ahead of Karlijn Swinkels and Tour Down Under winner Noemi Rรผegg.
Table of Contents
ToggleIt was Wollastonโs second win in four days, following her triumph at the Women’s Surf Coast Classic on Wednesday. โThis is actually my first one-day WorldTour win,โ she said after the race. โI’m so proud to win today. And I knew the last two weeks that I felt super strong, and today, I’m just so happy that it all came together like the other day. So I’m just so proud, and it’s such a great start to the season. I can’t wait to go over to Europe with these girls.โ
A decisive final sprint
With 300 metres to go, Silke Smulders launched a long sprint from the back of the lead group, but Wollaston reacted instantly, surging past with an acceleration no one could match. โI knew thatโs what I had to doโconserve all day,โ she explained. โI was really lucky that my teammates were strong enough to follow all the moves. But the first time up Challambra, I said to the girls, I feel super strong today. I was really surprised actually, that I could go over with the front group. So proud of the girls, they just went all in for me in the final.โ
The reduced peloton of 14 riders had been whittled down by the second ascent of the Challambra Crescent climb, where Niamh Fisher-Black attacked, briefly shaking up the group. FDJ-Suez had played their cards perfectly, with Elise Chabbey shutting down the final move from Mie Bjรธrndal Ottestad in the last kilometre to set up the sprint.
A chaotic race with multiple crashes
The 142.4km race was marked by several crashes, with Alyssa Polites and Daniek Hengeveld among the riders forced to abandon. The first major incident saw Maeve Plouffe, Dominika Wlodarczyk, Alison Avoine, and Mara Roldan caught up, while a later crash involved Ella Simpson, Nicole Steigenga, and Justine Ghekiere.
An early move saw Babette van der Wolf attack inside the last 70km, joined shortly after by Stine Dale. The Norwegian rider managed to hold off the peloton over the first climb up Challambra but was eventually reeled in inside the final 20km.
Missing contenders and a relentless chase
One of the notable absences at the start was Neve Bradbury, who was ruled out due to illness. โShe wasn’t 100% well before Wednesdayโs race, and so weโd made the decision to not start there,โ said Canyon-SRAM sports director Beth Duryea to Cyclingnews before the race. โSince she’s also not 100% recovered, we just said, ‘OK, itโs not the time of year to be really pushing and forcing’, even though we knew that actually, she could do really well in this race.โ
Canyon-SRAM played an aggressive role throughout the race, launching multiple attacks in the final 20km to force the other teams to chase. Chloe Dygert was a pre-race favourite and looked strong on both ascents of Challambra, but with the race coming down to a sprint, she finished just outside the podium in fourth.
As the race hit the final kilometres, Amanda Spratt, Amber Kraak, and Ruth Edwards were caught behind a late split, forcing them into a desperate chase to bridge back. They made contact inside the last three kilometres, but by then, FDJ-Suez had full control at the front.
With Wollaston delivering in the final sprint, it marked a dominant display from the French squad, rounding off a strong week for the New Zealander.
2025 Women’s Cadel Evans Road Race result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Getty