Chapman returns to defend title at Women's Herald Sun Tour

At this point last year, riding for the Australian national team at the inaugural women's Herald Sun Tour, Brodie Chapman wouldn't mind admitting that she wasn't a marked rider.

However, after winning the opening stage of the two-day race in 2018, and then holding on to her lead on the second-stage time trial to beat Mitchelton-Scott's Annemiek van Vleuten by five seconds overall, Chapman knows that this year's Herald Sun Tour will be very different – both in terms of her being watched, and because of a very different course.

"It's like a totally new race, so we won't approach it in the same way as last year," Chapman told the media the day before the race.

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"You can only really play the dark-horse card once – if it pays off, which it did – so obviously there's going to be a target on my back, and I'm not going to be able to sneak away. But I guess I'm a bit more prepared this year. Having the support of a team that I've been racing with this season, and a lot of the girls last year, you're just less anxious because you've got your team around you. It makes such a big difference."

Still an amateur rider last year, Chapman's Sun Tour ride caught the attention of the US-based Tibco-SVB team, who quickly snapped her up, with the Australian turning professional last February, just two weeks after her win.

This year's race route will see a flat – but potentially very windy – opening stage over 22 laps (97.9km) of the Phillip Island MotoGP course, south of Melbourne, on Wednesday.

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