Picture by Zac Williams/SWpix.com - 19/01/2026 - Cycling - 2026 Women's Tour Down Under Stage 3 - Norwood to Cambelltown - Noemi Ruegg, EF Education Easypost, wins Stage 3 and the overall classification.

Naomi Rüegg wins Tour Down Under queen stage to defend overall title

Swiss climber turns numerical disadvantage into a winning lead-out on the double-Corkscrew queen stage, securing back-to-back overall victories at the WorldTour season opener.

By Peter Stuart · · 2 min read

Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) won stage 3 of the Women's Santos Tour Down Under and claimed her second consecutive overall title, outsprinting three UAE Team ADQ riders in a four-up finale after the decisive double ascent of Corkscrew Road.

Results

Norwood - Campbelltown • Jan 19 • 126.5km

Velora
PosRiderTeamTime
🥇
CH flagNoemi Rüegg
EF EDUCATION - OATLY3:24:02
🥈
ES flagMargarita Victoria Garcia Cañellas
UAE TEAM ADQ+01
🥉
ES flagPaula Blasi Cairol
UAE TEAM ADQ+01
4
PL flagDominika Wlodarczyk
UAE TEAM ADQ+02
5
CA flagSarah van Dam
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+12
6
NL flagNina Buijsman
HUMAN POWERED HEALTH+12
7
NZ flagElla Wyllie
LIV-ALULA-JAYCO+12
8
ES flagMireia Benito Pellicer
AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM+12
9
AU flagAmanda Spratt
LIDL - TREK+12
10
BE flagLotte Claes
FENIX-PREMIER TECH+12
11
GB flagLauren Dickson
FDJ UNITED - SUEZ+12
12
NL flagAnouska Koster
UNO-X MOBILITY+12
13
NL flagMaud Oudeman
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+14
14
GB flagJosie Nelson
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+27
15
IT flagAlessia Vigilia
UNO-X MOBILITY+27
16
CA flagOlivia Baril
MOVISTAR TEAM+27
17
DE flagJustyna Czapla
CANYON//SRAM ZONDACRYPTO+27
18
NL flagRosita Reijnhout
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+27
19
IT flagErica Magnaldi
UAE TEAM ADQ+27
20
BE flagJulie van de Velde
AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM+27
21
AU flagRuby Roseman-Gannon
LIV-ALULA-JAYCO+1:18
22
NZ flagMikayla Harvey
TEAM SD WORX - PROTIME+1:18
23
GB flagClaire Steels
MOVISTAR TEAM+1:18
24
FR flagLéa Curinier
FDJ UNITED - SUEZ+1:18
25
AU flagNeve Summer Bradbury
CANYON//SRAM ZONDACRYPTO+2:43
26
AU flagMackenzie Coupland
LIV-ALULA-JAYCO+2:48
27
CA flagMagdeleine Vallieres Mill
EF EDUCATION - OATLY+3:01
28
GB flagAlice Towers
EF EDUCATION - OATLY+3:26
29
IT flagGaia Realini
LIDL - TREK+3:26
30
AU flagSophie Edwards
Unknown+3:34
31
PL flagMarta Lach
TEAM SD WORX - PROTIME+3:34
32
FR flagMarie le Net
FDJ UNITED - SUEZ+3:34
33
ES flagPaula Ostiz Taco
MOVISTAR TEAM+3:36
34
NL flagLoes Adegeest
LIDL - TREK+4:19
35
AT flagCarina Schrempf
FENIX-PREMIER TECH+4:43
36
NL flagTeuntje Beekhuis
UNO-X MOBILITY+4:53
37
ES flagLucia Ruiz Perez
MOVISTAR TEAM+4:53
38
FR flagMarion Bunel
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+5:55
39
AU flagTiffany Cromwell
CANYON//SRAM ZONDACRYPTO+6:04
40
IT flagGaia Masetti
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+6:04
41
AU flagTully Schweitzer
Unknown+6:56
42
AU flagAlexandra Grace Manly
AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM+7:03
43
BE flagXaydee van Sinaey
FENIX-PREMIER TECH+7:03
44
IT flagSofia Bertizzolo
FDJ UNITED - SUEZ+7:03
45
NL flagMarit Raaijmakers
HUMAN POWERED HEALTH+7:03
46
IT flagCarlotta Cipressi
HUMAN POWERED HEALTH+7:03
47
FR flagMargaux Vigie
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+7:03
48
NL flagFloortje Mackaij
MOVISTAR TEAM+7:03
49
AU flagAnya Louw
AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM+7:03
50
CZ flagJulia Kopecký
TEAM SD WORX - PROTIME+7:03
51
NL flagFemke Gerritse
TEAM SD WORX - PROTIME+7:03
52
NL flagAmber Kraak
FDJ UNITED - SUEZ+7:03
53
NZ flagAlly Marée Wollaston
FDJ UNITED - SUEZ+7:03
54
DE flagRicarda Bauernfeind
LIDL - TREK+7:03
55
NL flagNicole Steigenga
AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM+8:06
56
AU flagLucie Fityus
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+9:25
57
CO flagJuliana Londoño David
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+9:25
58
GB flagFlora Perkins
FENIX-PREMIER TECH+9:43
59
BE flagFien van Eynde
FENIX-PREMIER TECH+9:43
60
BE flagFauve Bastiaenssen
AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM+9:43
61
FI flagWilma Aintila
CANYON//SRAM ZONDACRYPTO+9:43
62
NZ flagHenrietta Christie
EF EDUCATION - OATLY+9:43
63
SE flagStina Kagevi
EF EDUCATION - OATLY+9:43
64
IT flagBarbara Guarischi
TEAM SD WORX - PROTIME+9:43
65
RU flagAlena Ivanchenko
UAE TEAM ADQ+9:43
66
AU flagJosie Talbot
LIV-ALULA-JAYCO+9:43
67
AU flagAlyssa Polites
Unknown+14:37
68
BE flagJulie de Wilde
FENIX-PREMIER TECH+15:20
69
DK flagEmma Cecilie Norsgaard Bjerg
LIDL - TREK+15:20
70
AU flagLauretta Hanson
LIDL - TREK+15:20
71
IT flagFrancesca Pellegrini
UNO-X MOBILITY+15:20
72
BE flagElla Heremans
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+16:26

UAE placed Mavi Garcia, Paula Blasi and Dominika Wlodarczyk in the final selection but did not take the win. Wlodarczyk attacked before the final climb, forcing EF to commit world champion Magdeleine Vallieres to the chase. The trio regrouped with Rüegg over the top and launched successive attacks on the five-kilometre descent, but the Swiss rider sat tight, conserving energy in the wheels.

In the final 200 metres, UAE led out from the front. Rüegg waited, then came over the top to win by a second from Garcia, with Blasi third at the same gap and Wlodarczyk two seconds back.

Picture by Zac Williams/SWpix.com - 19/01/2026 - Cycling - 2026 Women's Tour Down Under Stage 3 - Norwood to Cambelltown - Noemi Ruegg, EF Education Easypost, wins Stage 3 and the overall classification.
Image 1 of 4
Picture by Zac Williams/SWpix.com - 19/01/2026 - Cycling - 2026 Women's Tour Down Under Stage 3 - Norwood to Cambelltown - Magdeleine Vallieres, EF Education Easypost.
Image 2 of 4
Riders climbing an ascent on the Santos Women's Tour Down Under
Image 3 of 4
Picture by Zac Williams/SWpix.com - 19/01/2026 - Cycling - 2026 Women's Tour Down Under Stage 3 - Norwood to Cambelltown - Noemi Ruegg, EF Education Easypost, wins Stage 3 and the overall classification.
Image 4 of 4

Image credits: Zac Williams/SWpix.com

"Honestly, I can't believe it," Rüegg said following the race finish. "I'm totally overwhelmed. We wanted to defend the title but it is always harder to defend. My team was amazing."

GC reshaped on the first ascent

Ally Wollaston (FDJ United-Suez), who entered the day in the ochre jersey after back-to-back stage wins, was dropped on the first Corkscrew ascent as Lidl-Trek and EF set a hard pace. The New Zealander finished over seven minutes down, and lost the overall lead.

Blasi secured the Queen of the Mountain classification, while Rüegg added the points jersey to her ochre. Justyna Czapla (Canyon//SRAM Zondacrypto) took the best young rider award.

The 2026 edition marked the first time the women's race tackled Corkscrew twice, on a longer, harder route with more climbing than previous editions. Rüegg's successful defence gave her a second overall title at the event.

On Tuesday the men's Santos Tour Down Under will begin, and we expect to see a redesigned course there generate similar drama.

Peter

Peter Stuart

Editor

Peter is the editor of Velora and oversees Velora’s editorial strategy and content standards, bringing nearly 20 years of cycling journalism to the site. He was editor of Cyclingnews from 2022, introducing its digital membership strategy and expanding its content pillars. Before that he was digital editor at Cyclist, and then Rouleur. Before joining Cyclist in 2012, he completed freelance work for titles including The Times and The Telegraph. He has reported from Grand Tours and WorldTour races, and previously represented Great Britain as a rower.