Riders in this year's Women's Tour Down Under have received a pay boost with a decision by the South Australian government to award the same prize money as offered in the men's race.
The move will bring the total prize pool for the 2018 event to more than $100,000, well above the $15,000 originally listed.
Australian Amanda Spratt (Mitchelton-Scott) was the overall winner of this year's women TDU last week.
The government has described the decision as a breakthrough for women's sport.
It has also pledged to pay equal prize money in all future races.
"These athletes are at the top of their game, displaying professionalism, determination and skill during every stage of the hard-fought race," SA Sports Minister Leon Bignell said.
"It's only fair the prize money they receive is on par with their male counterparts for each stage as well as the general classification."
Before the SA move, women cyclists were only guaranteed equal prizemoney in world championship and world cup events.
"The broken bones don't hurt any less because you are a woman. You have to do just as much work as the men to become a top rider, so we think it's high time in 2018 that women get paid the same as the men do," Bignell said.
UCI chief David Lappartient who welcomed the move by the SA government.
The Women's Tour Down Under is held the week before the men's event and this year was elevated to a UCI 2.1 classification, one level below Women's World Tour status.
