The Women’s Tour Down Under, the opening event of the Women’s World Tour, begins in Hahndorf on Friday January 12 and ends in Willunga Hill on Sunday January 14, 2024.
Sprinters and rouleurs should shine in the first two stages while the winner of stage three will be crowned atop Willunga Hill, for the first time in the history of the race. Only time will tell if the famous climb will also decide the overall winner.
Stage 1 – Hahndorf – Campbelltown
A picturesque start in the main street of Hahndorf will see the women off for their 2024 Santos Tour Down Under. The relatively flat 93km stage, with 1,483 metres of vertical and 1,681 metres of descending, will pass through Echunga, Balhannah, Woodside and Lobethal before navigating down the steep Gorge Road and lining up for the expected bunch sprint finish at Campbelltown’s Fox Oval.
Stage 2 – Glenelg – Stirling
After record crowds at last year’s Glenelg start, the Tour Down Under returns to Glenelg beach for the second day of racing. At 104.2 kilometres it sets a new length record for a Women’s Tour Down Under stage, with 2,079 metres of vertical in the mix. The women will travel to Cherry Gardens, a category one climb only 12.4 kilometres into the stage. The ascent covers almost three kilometres, with a maximum gradient of 15.6 percent. The peloton will continue through Adelaide’s southern hills before tackling two-and-a-half laps of a circuit through Stirling.
Stage 3 – Adelaide – Willunga Hill
After leaving the Tour Down Under Tour Village in Adelaide, the peloton will be challenged early on, just 3.8 kilometres into the third stage with the category 1 climb of 3km Windy Point which reaches a brutal 20 percent gradient. After a technical section of terrain beyond Belair, the 93km stage then heads towards the coast to deliver the final challenge, the famous Willunga Hill, 3.72km long with a maximum gradient of 15.6 percent.
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