Victoria is now home to the longest women’s one-day classic in the world – lead by an all-female executive team – who will also oversee the famous men’s event in 2022.
The new race format, officially titled the ‘Lochard Energy Women’s Warrnambool Cycling Classic’ was launched this morning and will be held across the weekend of February 19 and 20, 2022 with Raglan Pde Warrnambool the destination for this endurance event. The overall Powercor Melbourne to Warrnambool Cycling Classic has been run since 1895 and will write a new chapter in its rich history with the first exclusively women’s event.
The women will race from Colac to Warrnambool, the 160-kilometre race set to be the longest single-day road race for women anywhere in the world for 2022. The women who have raced the Melbourne to Warrnambool in the past have done so alongside the men, with now-professional Lauretta Hanson the first officially recognised winner of the ‘race within the race’ in 2015.
Back-to-back winner of the women's category in the Melbourne to Warrnambool, Matilda Raynolds, gave her opinion at the race launch on the new women-only event, which will be run as part of the National Road Series.
“This is fantastic, and while I will miss rubbing shoulders and racing with the boys it is so good to finally have a women’s event that we can call our own and continue to grow the breadth and depth of the women’s field and as the event solidifies itself, we will get WorldTour riders," said Raynolds.
“I’m incredibly grateful to so many people, like our race executive who have paved the way previously. I’m always conscious of the symbolism, especially to that little girl who might be watching on the sideline as we go through these country towns – you can’t be what you can’t see, so I’m excited to be able to provide that for young women and it becomes a global event we can all be proud of.”
The men’s race is set to return with long-term sponsors Powercor continuing with the naming rights. The oldest and longest event in Australia will travel the traditional 267 Kilometres from Avalon for the 106th edition of the prestigious race, with past winners among the legends of Australian cycling. The 2021 champion, Jensen Plowright, will be racing off in Europe next year with a prestigious French team, highlighting the effect of winning the Melbourne to Warrnambool.
Behind the scenes of both races, an all-female executive is in charge of the continued development of the events. Event Director Karin Jones leads an all-female executive team including Race Director Elizabeth Taylor (nee Tadich), Patron Tracey Gaudry, and Chief Commissaire Karen O’Callaghan.
Gaudry was the first women to make the time cut in the classic in the 1994 edition and has since gone on to be one the most influential figures within cycling on a global stage. She was the vice president of the governing body for cycling (UCI) for 4 years, president of the women’s commission for 9 years and is the current president of the Oceania Cycling Confederation.
“In recent years the Melbourne to Warrnambool has embraced the opportunity for women to compete within the men’s event, however across the globe the cycling world has signalled that it is time for elite women cyclists to battle it out on their own stage," said Gaudry.
“The women’s ‘Warrny’ will provide a platform for Australia’s most talented women cyclists to shine and be a vital launchpad for international competition. The women’s ‘Warrny’ is ideally positioned for future UCI sanctioning as a one-day classic to attract the world’s best women riders to regional Victoria.”
Taylor was Australia’s first medallist at a Road World Championships, back in 1997, and brings an extensive history of racing knowledge to the role. Jones and O’Callaghan form the backbone of many races in Australia, the pair have decades of experience running and officiating top-class events.
Tracey Gaudry at the Melbourne to Warrnambool launch Source: Melbourne to Warnnambool/Con Chronis
