Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Health) made sure of her return to road racing in Australia, finishing fourth from a chase group of nine racers in Saturday's Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. After teammate Audrey Cordon-Lagotte reeled in from a lone attack but failed to respond to Melville Street winner Rosita Reinhout's attack, she used her climbing skills on the two climbs of the Charambra Crescent to shake off the rest of the field.

The former U.S. road champion officially retired from the pro peloton in 2021 after seven seasons, during which she won stages at the Tour de Feminine, Giro Rosa, and De Brabanthe Pile. "Retirement" did not mean giving up racing altogether, however, and he has been active in off-road racing, winning a variety of events from Old Man Winter to the Chequamegon MTB Festival, and last year's epic MTB race, the Leadville Trail 100 in which he finished in second place.

In 2024, she returned to the Women's World Tour from Human Powered Health, where she last raced at Trek Segafredo and rapidly replicated her past climbing form, reminiscent of her most recent road race in Australia. She last competed in the Tour Down Under four years ago, when she won the overall title.

"It feels great to finish fourth," Edwards said in a team statement. 'We like to win, so of course we would have liked to have done a little better, but I'm happy with this result and with the way the team drove, and I think it's great to be back on the podium.'

The 30-year-old's first start in a road race in several years was marred by question marks over her form, but she said she was "kind of enjoying" what she could do against an ever stronger pro women's field.

"I don't know what I'm going to do, and that's kind of fun. There's no pressure to win or get on the podium, but there is pressure to see how good I can be," she told Cycling News just before the Tour Down Under in January. But there is pressure to see how far I can go.

In the opening round of the three-stage Women's World Tour, Edwards finished in the top 10 on the second stage. No wonder she calls the Tour Down Under "one of my favorite road races."

In 2020, Edwards also finished eighth overall in the Cadel Evans Road Race (now renamed the Deakin University Elite Women's Road Race); four years later, she led a field of 15 riders through the first pass, Charambra Crescent (1.1 km, 8.2%) with 26 km remaining. She crossed the pass with 15 riders. Sara Gigante (AG Insurance Sudar) made the first acceleration on the climb and scattered the riders. Ella Willey (Ribe-Allura-Jeico) took the lead, with Cecily Uttrup-Ludwig (FDJ-SUEZ) and Edwards taking the remaining mountain points.

The pace slowed on the final lap, with many riders catching up, and Cordón-Lago attacked on the flat section. Cordón-Lago attacked on the flat section before the finish for the final Charambra climb.

"The wind was blowing really hard. It was a headwind, so I knew I needed 45 seconds to make it tough.

"But I knew that if I could get to the front, the girls behind me (Edwards and Katia Ragusa) could just get away."

With 5km to go, Ryan Hout (Visma Lease-a-Bike) saw an opportunity to attack from the leading group of three, resulting in a solo victory for the 19-year-old. Dominka Wlodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) and Uttrup Ludwig followed in second and third, respectively.

"I feel very confident coming back to the peloton and am excited to push and race hard," Edwards added.

"I get a lot of motivation from racing in Europe."

Edwards' race in Australia ended with three events and two top-10 finishes. For early season stage races and classics, Human Powered Health heads to Europe in February to compete in the UAE Tour Women's and Setmana Valenciana.