19 Jan 2026

Dominant Ally Wollaston in box seat to win Tour Down Under

8:59 am on 19 January 2026
Ally Wollaston (R) after winning stage one of the Tour Down Under.

Ally Wollaston (R) after winning stage one of the Tour Down Under. Photo: photosport

Ally Wollaston will take a 14-second lead into the third and final stage of the Tour Down Under after dominating the first two days of the World Tour race in Adelaide.

Wollaston powered to victory in each of the first two stages, leaving many of the world's premier riders in her wake.

Both finishes were uphill sprints, which suited the 25-year-old former track star perfectly, calling on her power to twice clinch victory for her French team FDJ-United Suez.

Despite admitted to lacking energy for Sunday's second stage, Wollaston was still able to burn off the tour's defending champion Noemi Ruegg of Switzerland and beat her to the line.

Monday afternoon's 126km stage is in the hills neighbouring Adelaide, where Wollaston and her teammates can expect to be subjected to attacks in temperatures of around 30 degrees.

Poland's Daria Pikulik (L) cycles ahead of New Zealand's Ally Wollaston (R) for second and third place consecutively, in the women's track cycling omnium points race of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines National Velodrome in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, south-west of Paris, on August 11, 2024. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

Photo: AFP/EMMANUEL DUNAND

Wollaston is a former two-time track world champion and won also won silver and bronze in track events at the Paris Olympics.

The Aucklander has also had her share of success as a road professional.

A year ago she won the Great Ocean Road Race one-day event near Melbourne and went on to clinch the overall prize at the Tour of Britain.

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