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Human Powered Health starts its 2024 campaign in Australia at the Santos Tour Down Under from January 12 to 14. 

The team has a strong history in the race with Daria Pikulik winning the opening day of the Women’s WorldTour season last year.

2020 race winner Ruth Edwards and Audrey Cordon-Ragot head up a strong squad in the Southern Hemisphere and are joined by Krista Doebel-Hickok, the fifth-place finisher in 2023, the defending Zwift Young Rider’s jersey victor Henrietta Christie, Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift runner up Katia Ragusa and Olympian Lily Williams.

How to watch

USA
FloBikes 1/11 – 1/13 | 6:30 pm CT.

Europe
Eurosport/Discovery+ 12/1 – 14/1 | 1 am CET

Australia
Channel 7

The squad will go elbow-to-elbow with some big names in Australia – three-time GC winner Amanda Spratt (Lidl – Trek), the FDJ – SUEZ duo of Grace Brown and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Australian champion Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv AlUla Jayco) and last years Valenciana GC winner Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance – Soudal Team) are all on the start list.

The peloton takes on three exciting stages in South Australia. A flat opening day will likely end in a sprint before a rolling stage two into Stirling and a race-making end atop the famous Willunga Hill. 

Visited by the men’s race on many occasions – where Richie Porte was the victor more often than not – it is the first time Australia’s best-known road climb features in the women’s race. It will act as the center point of the 2024 edition. 

Ride Willunga Hill on Zwfit

Head to the climb portal from the routes menu on Watopia or France maps and find Willunga Hill, this month’s featured climb. 

Sign up for the Zwift Social Spin with Human Powered Health and Thorne on January 18 and tell us, and ride leader Maëlle Grossetête all about it. 

“The finishing stage will be the decisive one,” said Doebel-Hickok. “But it’s not going to be like a Tour de France climb so the GC is still pretty open. Stage 2 is deceiving because there’s no monster climb but there is a lot of gain. Add in the heat and it plays into the hands of the teams ready to take risks and roll the dice and we’re into that.” 

The traditional Southern Hemisphere season openers are a great way to lay the groundwork for the year ahead. 

“It’s warm and sunny and everyone is eager to get the season started, riders and staff,” Doebel-Hickok explains. “The team did well here last year and that built momentum so I want to do that this year.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by New Zealander Henrietta Christie.  

“There are pictures of Daria everywhere here after her stage win last year and that’s so cool to see,” she said. “We’re here because we love the sport so it’s about enjoying ourselves and racing hard.”

Having won the young riders classification in 2023, Christie is once again excited to get her campaign going again at the Tour Down Under. 

“Last year was a big confidence boost,” the 21-year-old said. “It’s great to be in a supportive team who then helped me to learn and develop as a rider.”

The Christchurch native has focused on the Pillars of Performance in her preparation.  

“For my mindset, I always keep up my journaling,” she says. “I have a day planner where I write out my daily goals – It can be anything from completing my activations to pedaling smoothly on the bike. This is so important before the first race of the year and getting it right now makes a difference long-term.”

At the recent training camp, pre-ride activation was a vital part of the athlete’s early morning routines and it is something Christie has kept up.

“It is good for movement and it’s something I’m keen on continuing. Even after being on the bike, it’s important for recovery to then go for a walk and get some fresh air.”

Team nutritionist Erica Lombardi has been helping with fuel from afar.

“Erica has been advising which Thorne products to take and when to take them. After we did personalized blood tests, Thorne and Erica then helped to advise how much Vitamin D-5,000 I need to take because I’m low on vitamin D. The team as a whole has improved and this has made me excited to get racing,” she ends.

Santos Tour Down Under Stage by Stage

1/12 Stage 1 | Hahndorf – Campbelltown (93.9km) Flat
Just like in 2023, the action gets underway with the only stage that will suit the fast finishers on paper. However, 1,483 meters of climbing over the day is no joke so depending on how it’s raced it may well be an even better day for puncheurs who can pack a punch. The final 30km does favor the sprinters but will they have the legs for the final kick? 

1/13 Stage 2 | Glenelg – Stirling (104.2km) Rolling + uphill finish
There’s no messing about in this years route and we’re straight into a punch day on stage 2. We head into the Adelaide Hills for 2,079 meters of climbing and two and a half laps of a hilly circuit around Stirling taking in the final climb three times. The selection for the overall win will certainly be made on the 2km at 3.9% climb. 

1/14 Stage 3 | Adelaide – Willunga (93.4km) Uphill finish
If a selection was made yesterday then the winner of the Tour Down Under will then be crowned atop the famous Willunga Hill. 3.4km at 7.4%, the climb will be decisive and suits climbers who can get up to speed quickly for that final push.

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

1/27 | Geelong – Geelong (140.8km) Rolling
Named after Australia’s only winner of the men’s Tour de France, the Great Ocean Road Race is a 141km one-day Classic starting and finishing in Geelong. Rolling terrain, exposed coastal roads and a double ascent of the 1km at 8.9% Montpellier Hill in the finale will once again reward attacking racing. As we saw last year, the combination of leg-sapping crosswinds and the steep ascents on the finishing circuit, reduce the race to only the toughest racers.

Roster for Australia
Henrietta Christie
Audrey Cordon-Ragot
Krista Doebel-Hickok
Ruth Edwards
Katia Ragusa
Lily Williams