Amidst the sweltering heat of the Australian summer, the Tour Down Under kickstarts the men’s and women’s WorldTour calendars in frenetic style.
Riders head to the Southern Hemisphere to begin their seasons due to the testing parcours that Adelaide and its surrounding countryside offer, with ample opportunities for sprinters and climbers alike.
In 2026, this looks to be no different for the respective Tour Down Under routes, with the men tackling a new prologue around Adelaide’s city streets, returning to the Corkscrew and Willunga Hill climbs, and the toughest final stage yet in Stirling. Meanwhile, the women’s peloton will take in the longest stage in the race’s history to open proceedings, and a dual assault of the Corkscrew climb on the third and final day to shake up GC proceedings.
While startlists for both races are yet to be confirmed, home favourite Ben O’Connor (Jayco AlUla) is pencilled in, while so too the women’s road world champion, Magdalene Vallieres (EF Education-Oatly) – marking a first appearance for the rainbow jersey in the women’s race.
Given the limited information regarding who is set to line up in Adelaide this coming January, predicting who will go away with the iconic ochre leader’s jerseys is more of a challenge than climbing Willunga Hill three times in one day. However, one thing that is for certain is that Cyclingnews will be in South Australia for gripping editions of both the men’s and women’s WorldTour season openers.
As part of our unrivalled coverage, we’ll bring you stage previews, key contenders for both races, and live minute-by-minute reports for each and every day of racing. Australian Editor Simone Giuliani will be on the ground in Adelaide to bring you in-depth analysis, breaking news as it happens, and exclusive interviews with some of the major names racing down under.
With it being the opening WorldTour races of the season, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the new tech and kits on show too, sharing an in-depth tech gallery with our subscribers courtesy of experienced photographer Chris Auld, who will be on the ground in Adelaide for us.
On top of all our exclusive content from on the ground in Australia, our global Cyclingnews team in Europe and North America will ensure you don’t miss out…
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