Amanda Spratt, one of the favorites to win the women's race at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, has withdrawn from the event due to abdominal pain.

The Australian Lidl Trek rider was expected to be one of the team's key cards after a long history of powerful performances at the event, including a win in 2016 and three previous podium finishes. Spratt's climbing ability has often proven to be a powerful weapon when the race inevitably breaks up on the Charambra climb. Unfortunately, (Amanda Spratt) suffered a stomach ache in the middle of the night and had to abandon today's Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. Get well soon, Spratti," the team said in a statement on social media. Spratt later added more details in a post to Instagram: "I was watching the race from the hospital last night, very depressed with kidney stones. The good news is that I am ok and recovering well, and while Spratt, who finished second in the 2023 race, may have been a strong card for the team, there were other riders in the remaining four who would be in this race. Brody Chapman has often delivered powerful performances in this race, finishing in the top 10 or close to it, and her aggressive style fits this course.

And the next contender is Lauretta Hanson. She has greeted the Australian summer in powerful form, finishing second in the Australian Championships Road Race. Her turn of speed appeared to be just what was needed if the race was to tangle into a small group sprint. However, as soon as the race began, she was forced to retire as well. Robbie McEwen, a member of the commentary team for broadcaster Seven, said on the live broadcast that she was also sick, but she started the race so the team could at least get out. Felicity Wilson-Haffenden (who ran with the team in the Tour Down Under) was already off the start list, so the team was already down to five before the two were sick. Chapman, Elinor Backstedt, and Ilaria Sanguinetti were all sidelined when the race started.

The 140.8-km Women's World Tour race on Saturday, January 27, will head from the Geelong waterfront to the rolling hills inland, then along the coast back to Geelong.

The race was often narrowed down to a lone winner or the smallest group, and 2023 winner Roes Adeguest (FDJ Suez) crossed the finish line with Spratt, with a two-man sprint to clinch victory. Then, just four seconds behind, Nina Buisman (Human Powered Health) led the 14-man pack to take the final podium position.

The women's race in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, also known as the Deakin University Elite Women's Road Race, began at the Australian Championships in Ballarat and traveled to South Australia on the Tour Down Under to Sunday's 174 .4km elite men's race will be the finale to Australia's summer season.