The opening two stages of the Santos Women's Tour Down Under were not easy by any stretch of the imagination - but right from the beginning when it comes to the overall battle, all eyes have been firmly trained on stage 3.
There is a good reason for that, or perhaps two, given the double ascent of Corkscrew Rd that is on the agenda on Monday.
The ochre jersey of the race leader has been on Ally Wollaston's back so far, but while the sprint prowess of the FDJ United-SUEZ rider has delivered an impressive sweep of the stage victories, that's expected to change on Monday due to the two crossings of the brutal 2.4km ascent with an average gradient of 9.7% and peak of 16.2%.
Even Wollaston herself is playing down her chances of remaining in ochre to the end: "I think it could be a miracle if I make it over tomorrow, but yeah, I'll still give it a red hot crack," the rider from New Zealand said with a laugh.
The first two stages have been far from easy, with both challenging terrain and weather, but so far, the gaps are relatively slim. There was certainly potential to blow them out a little on Sunday, with the intense heat adding a layer of difficulty to a day with 2411m of climbing - something that one sports director pointed out wasn't exactly apparent when planning for the race while sitting in temperatures of zero.
But ultimately, while splits occurred, there were still 30 riders crossing the line in the same time. Although it should be remembered that doesn't mean there won't be a toll from the day that goes beyond mere seconds lost or won.
"I think a lot of riders will still feel this stage in the legs tomorrow, so maybe we will not see the biggest gaps today in the result, but it will still be a factor for tomorrow," cautioned EF Education Oatly sports director Daniel Foder before the start of stage 2.
The GC situation with one day remaining has Wollaston with a 14-second advantage to second-placed Josie Nelson (Picnic PostNL) - another sprinter but one who has spent a considerable period during her off-season working on her climbing – while defending champion Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) sits 17 seconds back.
Olivia Baril (Movistar) is fourth at 19 seconds, Marta Lach (SD Worx-Protime) fifth at 22, Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease a Bike) sixth at 23 and than there is a group of 21 riders lined up at 24 seconds back.
Pole position but still a challenging defence
As last year's winner, and with a climbing ability that was on display as she claimed the Willunga hill stage last year, Rüegg is the rider who looks to be in pole position heading into the final day, though the target on her back will be considerable. Her team is not underestimating the degree of difficulty involved in delivering the victory two years running.
"We know that Noemi is very strong, and she's very committed to try to do it again, and the whole team around her is committed to support her," Foder told Cyclingnews before the second stage unfolded.
"And of course, we try to do everything possible, but to do it two years in a row is always difficult. That said, I'm very positive that she will be up there and yeah, of course, we will do everything we can in order to make it happen."
There will, however, be a substantial group lined up close to Rüegg on the results sheet that will be doing everything they can to make sure there is a different winner in 2026 to 2025.
Among that group of 21 riders sitting 24 seconds back from Wollaston is some serious climbing firepower from three-time race winner Amanda Spratt as well as Gaia Realini for Lidl-Trek, Giro d'Italia stage winner Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), and for the home Liv AlUla Jayco squad, Ella Wyllie. But probably most notably, there is a particularly dangerous trio from UAE Team ADQ consisting of Mavi García, Dominika Wlodarczyk and Paula Blasi.
"I'm quite sure we have one of the strongest teams now here, especially going up," said Blasi after being awarded the Queen of the Mountains jersey after stage 2. "Domi and Mavi, I think they are our main cards so, for me, I will be happy working for them because I really trust them and I think we can do a really good job."
No matter who wins, there is one certainty and that is that the double Corkscrew climb so close to the finish will deliver an action packed stage that leaves the suspense building to the very end in a tour that has upped the ante.
"It is a significant climb, and the first time we've had two of them as well, so it's really good to see stages in this year's Tour Down Under that are longer and harder," said Liv AlUla Jayco sports director Jess Allen, who also raced the event five times. "That's something we've been fighting for for a few years now, so it's really positive to see the tour going in this direction."
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