Alex Manly and Ruby Roseman-Gannon will lead Liv AlUla Jayco at the 2024 Santos Tour Down Under to open the Women’s WorldTour calendar in the new year.
Five Australians and newly-signed Ella Wyllie of New Zealand are part of the six-rider squad which will make its debut at the three-day ‘home’ race with their new look from a merger with Liv Racing-TeqFind for 2024. The women’s race takes place January 12-14 across Adelaide and culminates with a finale on top of Willunga Hill.
Last year Manly sprinted to a victory on stage 2 to put her in the ochre-coloured leader’s jersey. Her teammate Roseman-Gannon then took over on stage 3 as part of a small group chasing race leaders Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ) and Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek), who went 1-2 in the final GC, through the Corkscrew climb, and the Jayco rider finished fifth on the final stage and secured fourth overall.
“I always love racing back on home soil, and to get to race around all my favourite training roads is an absolute pleasure. It was one of my career highlights to win a stage and wear the Ochre jersey this year. It was a goosebump moment for me and the team. I am so excited to get back out there with the girls again,” said Manly, a native Adelaide, in a team statement.
Wyllie, riding for Team New Zealand at last year’s event, finished second in the youth classification and eighth on GC. She was also second in the youth classification at the Tour de France Femmes, riding for LifePlus Wahoo. Considered one of the best climbers among under-23 women, the young Kiwi committed to a two-year contract to ride for the Jayco programme earlier this season.
“As everyone knows, the Santos Tour Down Under is a very important race for our team and every time we take that start line, staff, riders and supporters are filled with pride,” said Megan Chard, team sports director.
“Our goal is to start the season on a high and carry that momentum through the whole year. Our line-up is very strong and very well balanced. we have riders suited to the different terrain and types of stages and we hope we can put on a great show and come away with more victories in Adelaide.”
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Georgia Baker, Australian criterium champion Amber Pate and 2022 Oceania Continental time trial champion Georgie Howe will provide options for daily attacks and support the GC leaders.
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