The long, hard road to parity will take the women’s Tour Down Under to the summit of the iconic Willunga Hill climb.

In its second year as a WorldTour event, the women’s race continues to field awkward questions about how it compares to the well-established men’s event.

The women are racing separate to the men for the first time from Friday in a bid to help the event’s exposure, with the men racing from Tuesday.

Another key element is taking the women’s race for the first time to Willunga Hill, south of Adelaide.

It has become a famous landmark in Australian cycling thanks to the Tour, especially Richie Porte’s exploits on the climb.

But the women’s Tour remains a three-day race, while the men have competed over six days since their event started in 1999.

The women’s race was introduced to the Tour Down Under schedule in 2016 and has slowly grown each year, with the event making history in 2018 by becoming the first cycling road race to offer equal prize money.

For all the progress, there remains clear disparity in important areas, such as the race distances and flights for international riders.

“We are trying to find funds to support our ladies, so we’ve been on a journey for a number of years and we’ve been slowly adding more and more elements to this race,” women’s race director Annette Edmondson said.

“Unfortunately, it’s just taking a little bit longer than we had hoped, but we’re proud of the progression we’ve made.

“Willunga Hill and Tour Down Under really go hand in hand. That’s a really important moment, that we get to race up there and finish off such an iconic climb in Australian cycling.”

Reigning champion Grace Brown and key rival Amanda Spratt, two likely members of the Australian road team at this year’s Paris Olympics, would like a longer Tour.