Get ready for the green-and-gold colours of the ARA Australian Cycling Team to light up Aussie roads again this summer.
Twelve months after winning the king and queen of the mountains at the Santos Tour Down Under (TDU), the national team will line up against the might of the WorldTour to make another big impression.
AusCycling has today named the athletes who will represent the ARA Australian Cycling Team at the TDU and the Mapei Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
Damien Howson – ninth overall in 2024 – leads the men’s TDU team alongside Chris Harper, winner of this year’s Giro d’Italia queen stage.
Damien Howson brings senior leadership to the men's TDU team. (Zac Williams)
They will be the experienced heads of an exciting young team including sprinter Liam Walsh, who finished fourth on a stage last year; Olympic gold medallist Oliver Bleddyn; and 18-year-old Lucas Stevenson, who steps up from the junior ranks.
A youthful team has been named for the women’s stage race, with four athletes set to experience their first WorldTour race shortly after graduating from the under-19 ranks. They include junior points race world champion Anna Dubier and Australia’s junior road female athlete of the year, Hannah Gianatti.
The women’s team will be guided by Alyssa Polites, who won the mountains classification in 2025, and Olympic track cyclist Sophie Edwards, a continental champion on the road.
Alyssa Polites won the queen of the mountains in 2025. (Zac Williams)
“We’re excited to field a strong team for the men’s Tour Down Under,” said Donna Rae-Szalinski, AusCycling’s Director of Pathways.
“Early in the race, we have the prologue and sprint stages that suit the characteristics of Oli and Liam. Alongside them, we have well-credentialled leaders in Damien and Chris, who are motivated to strive for top results and to guide the younger riders.”
Rae-Szalinski said the summer events will expose developing athletes to WorldTour racing under the mentorship of senior Australian riders and staff.
“These races are ‘upper pathway’ activities,” Rae-Szalinski said, “meaning they are high-level races where the focus is given to riders on the cusp of turning professional.
“Lucas Stevenson may be young, for example, but his performances this year at Nations Cup level – including a stage win – combined with the trend of professional teams recruiting younger riders, give us confidence that he is ready for this opportunity.”
Lucas Stevenson is the youngest member of the men's squad. (Zac Williams / SWpix.com)
Rae-Szalinski acknowledged the absence of a women’s team for the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
“Athlete availability, with key riders focusing on other goals this summer, and developmental priorities played a role in deciding not to enter a women’s team for Cadel's,” she said.
She said the Women’s Tour Down Under would be a valuable opportunity for emerging Australian talent to put themselves in the shop window of European teams.
“Four of the women selected for the TDU are first-year under-23s who represented Australia at Junior World Championships this year. They are exciting, fearless and motivated young riders,” Rae-Szalinski said.
“It’s wonderful that we can give them this chance to race against the world’s best and get themselves noticed by professional teams.
“We’re grateful to the TDU and Cadel’s for facilitating these opportunities.”
Fergus Browning, a chief animator of the 2025 summer, will line up in the men’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in place of Howson.
Four riders in the women's TDU squad, including Tully Schweitzer, rode at a Junior Worlds in 2025. (Alex Whitehead / SWpix.com)
Women’s Santos Tour Down Under
- Sophie Edwards (25, Norwood CC)
- Alyssa Polites (22, St Kilda CC)
- Tully Schweitzer (18, Hamilton Wheelers CC)
- Hannah Gianatti (18, Penrith CC)
- Amelie Sanders (18, Gold Coast CC)
- Anna Dubier (18, Lidcombe Auburn CC)
Men’s Santos Tour Down Under
- Damien Howson (33, Central Districts CC)
- Chris Harper (31, Norwood CC)
- Liam Walsh (24, Balmoral CC)
- Pat Eddy (23, Bendigo & District CC)
- Oliver Bleddyn (23, Norwood CC)
- Matt Greenwood (22, Hamilton Wheelers CC)
- Lucas Stevenson (18, Northern Sydney CC)
Men’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
- Chris Harper (31, Norwood CC)
- Liam Walsh (24, Balmoral CC)
- Pat Eddy (23, Bendigo & District CC)
- Oliver Bleddyn (23, Norwood CC)
- Matt Greenwood (22, Hamilton Wheelers CC)
- Fergus Browning (22, Hawthorn CC)
- Lucas Stevenson (18, Northern Sydney CC)
Feature photo: Zac Williams