The 2026 season will see some major changes to the peloton that lines up for WorldTour races, starting with the Tour Down Under.
Baby Amanda “Spratty” Spratt in 2012, repping the Australian National Champ jersey
Cor Vos
Happy New Year and happy new (road) cycling season! As per usual, elite road racing kicked off in Australia at the Road National Championships. The road race, criterium, and time trial were won by WorldTour names, but not ones we’re used to seeing on a top step (yet). It was a great preview of some of the riders we will probably see gunning for stages this weekend…
First things first: Don’t leave us, Spratty!
Another legend has announced her retirement. Four days into 2026, Amanda Spratt dropped the news that this will be her final season racing after 15 years in the professional peloton. The Australian first signed a pro contract back in 2012 when she joined Orica-AIS, now Liv-AlUla-Jayco. Since signing that contract, Spratty has only ridden for two teams, moving from the Australian squad to Lidl-Trek in 2023. It’s proof of how loyal she is and how valuable she is to a team that, in her 15 years, she has only once moved around.
“I am still motivated and still training hard ahead of the 2026 season. I don’t want my career to just fizzle, I want to keep putting the effort in,” Spratt said in a team press release. “I am still really motivated, and I still love what I do, so I want to go out on a good note.
“Of course, I would love to win a race. I haven’t done that in a long time, but mostly, I would just love, over the next year, to be a really valued team member and contribute to some big results for my teammates.”
Spratt playing the teammate role at Brabantse Pijl in 2025.
Spratt hasn’t announced what she’ll be doing in 2027 yet, but as she still has a full season of racing to look forward to, it isn’t surprising that she is focusing on the year ahead. Like her teammate Lizzie Deignan before her, Spratt had a good reason to announce the news before racing even got underway.
“The reason I want to announce it already is that I think it’s going to be quite special to share my final season with so many people that have supported me both near and far, rather than just get to the end and then announcing that I’m stopping and maybe then I don’t get the chance to share it with so many people,” Spratt said.
Now that more and more women who retire are finding ways to stay in the sport, we can all cross our fingers that she remains in the bubble in some capacity. And Spratty, if you’re reading this, you have a lifetime invite to join us on the Wheel Talk Podcast.
Racing continues…
At the Tour Down Under on Saturday!
It’s finally time! I will write a full preview of the courses and riders to watch before the Tour Down Under starts on Saturday, so check back into EscapeCollective.com for that.
Wheel Talk podcast
The full team is back to break down the Australian Road Nationals and preview the Tour Down Under! Loren, Gracie, Georgie, and I had thoughts about road nats and even dared to speak a little about that men’s finish. We can’t wait to get this season started in Adelaide this weekend! Even more exciting … Matt de Neef and Gracie will be on the ground making podcasts for us from the race.
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