Once more, Victoria’s Sarah van Dam came so close to taking a big win. However, the day ultimately belonged to Ally Wollaston who powered to another victory on Saturday at the 2026 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. Wollaston once again showed her sprinting prowess, crossing the line ahead of the field for her third win of the year. And the season has barely begun! It’s been a helluva start for the Kiwi.
The course
The women’s race was 145 km long, finishing in Geelong after a demanding route that mirrored the men’s course, minus one final loop. As always, Challambra Crescent—1 km at an unforgiving 9.8 percent—shaped the race, with its final ascent coming just over ten kilometres from the line.
It was a perfect course for Van Dam, and her team knew it and did everything to keep her there for the finale.
An early solo move by Petra Stiasny animated the opening phase. The Swiss rider quickly built a commanding advantage, at one point stretching it to eight minutes. However, with teams such as FDJ–SUEZ, Van Dam’s Visma – Lease a Bike and Picnic PostNL controlling the bunch, her lead steadily evaporated as the pace increased and the wind began to play a role.
Van Dam crashes and fights to get back
The race ignited on the first ascent of Challambra Crescent. Crashes and accelerations split the peloton, while attacks from Mavi García and Sherbrooke’s Magdeleine Vallières-Mill forced a reduced front group. Van Dam had to fight back after crashing with 22 km remaining, making her way back into contention and keeping Visma – Lease a Bike represented at the front.
On the final climb, Vallières-Mill attacked again, briefly distancing Wollaston. The New Zealander calmly limited her losses, bridged back with help from her teammates, and positioned herself perfectly for the run-in.
García launched the sprint early, but Wollaston swept past with authority to take the win ahead of Josie Nelson and Mireia Benito. Van Dam was right there, finishing sixth.
The 24-year-old rider left the Tour Down Under knowing she is close to her first WorldTour win. Racing her first event for Visma, she finished fifth on the final stage. She ended up fifth overall after three strong days in Australia. Although it was a fine result on the last day of racing, she said she thought she could have won.
“I had the legs to win today,” Van Dam said. “So I was a bit disappointed afterwards.”
Once again, she was right there in the finale, so so close. But it just shows she’s definitely becoming one of the heavy hitters in punchy courses with fast finishes. She’ll get the dub eventually.
World champ Vallières-Mill finished 21st, and Maggie Coles-Lyster (who just took an awesome win herself in Australia) finished 37th. Olivia Baril of Movistar was 59th.
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
The men’s race goes down on Sunday, with EF’s Michael Leonard the sole Canuck.
Check out the women’s finish below.
Ally Wollaston (FDJ – Suez) won Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race Women (terrible name) for the 2nd time in a row. 👍🏻🇳🇿 Josie Nelson and Mireia Benito completed the podium.#CadelRoadRace pic.twitter.com/F10H1JxU9i
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) January 31, 2026