How to watch the 2026 Tour Down Under live and on TV in the UK, USA and Australia - Dates, stages and schedules
CyclingThursday, 15 January 2026 at 15:00
The road season kicks off next Tuesday, 20 January, a very special day. The Tour Down Under 2026 will begin, kicking off the men's world tour calendar. We take a look at how to watch the race in Australia, the United States, and Great Britain, whilst showcasing the dates and schedules for all stages.
The race will eature defending champion Jhonatan Narváez as an interesting figure and potentially the man to beat in Australia, backed up by UAE Team Emirates - XRG's Jay Vine and Adam Yates.
Other notable names confirmed for the Tour Down Under 2026 startlist should not be overlooked: Javier Romom, Matthew Brennan, Corbin Strong, Simone Velasco, Ben O'Connor, Santiago Buitrago, Mauro Schmid, Luke Plapp, Andrea Bagioli, Lennert van Eetvelt and Sam Welsford; some of the men who will make it an exciting week of racing Down Under.
The race begins with a prologue this year, providing European viewers with a chance to follow the opening day of the race live. Otherwise, it will be a night-time finish all-round, except for those following the race from Australia or nearby.
You can follow all the online coverage of the 2026 Tour Down Under and the rest of the UCI calendar on CyclingUpToDate: startlists, previews, profiles, post-stage quotes and recaps of all stages.
The Tour Down Under 2026 will run from Tuesday 20 to Sunday 25 January. Stage dates and times (Central European Time: CET) are as follows:
- Prologue: Tuesday 20 January (08:30 - 10:30 CET). Local time: 18:00-20.30h.
- Stage 1: Wednesday 21 January (01:40 - 04:33 CET). Local time: 11:10-14:00h.
- Stage 2: Thursday 22 January (01:40 - 05:32 CET). Local time: 11:10-15:00h.
- Stage 3: Friday 23 January (01:40 - 05:22 CET). Local time: 11:10-14:50h.
- Stage 4: Saturday 24 January (01:40 - 06:09 CET). Local time: 11:10-15:39h.
- Stage 5: Sunday 25 January (01:40 - 05:56 CET). Local time: 11:10-15:30h.
How and when to watch the Tour Down Under 2026 on TV
The race will be broadcast on the traditional channels, most notably Discovery, MAX and Eurosport. As always, you can always follow the 2026 Tour Down Under on CyclingUpToDate with our full coverage of the race.
In Australia it will be able to follow the race live on Seven and 7Plus; In the United States NBC and FloBikes will broadcast the race whilst in the United Kingdom it will be possible to follow it through TNT Sports.
| Location | TV |
| Latin America | ESPN |
| United Kingdom | TNT Sports / Discovery + |
| United States | NBC / FloBikes |
| Canada | NBC / FloBikes |
| Australia | Seven / 7Plus |
| Europe | Eurosport / HBO Max / Max L’Equipe / VG / Ökko |
| New Zealand | Sky |
| Asia-Pacific | Jsports / Zhibo TV |
| Oceania | Jsports / Zhibo TV |
| Middle East | Abu Dhabi Media Network |
The five main favourites to win the Tour Down Under 2026
1. Jhonatan Narváez
The first name is obvious. Although UAE Team Emirates - XRG will bring a powerhouse lineup to dominate almost every stage, Jhonatan Narváez has earned the right to be considered the leading contender for the overall. He won last year on debut with the Emirati team, and he will surely aim to retain the title to start 2026 in style.
2. Jay Vine
UAE have a very strong team and can play several cards. Another one will be Jay Vine, winner of the 2023 race; winner of the recent Australian time trial nationals and contender to win the opening prologue. His climbing ability however is his strongest weapon and the climbs of this race have proven to be well suited to him in the past.
3. Ben O'Connor
The home favourite rounds out the top three. Ben O'Connor lines up at the Tour Down Under chasing more than just victory in his country’s biggest race. The Jayco-AlUla rider wants to atone for an uneven 2025, which stalled his major 2024 momentum despite a Tour de France stage win.
But as he admitted a few days ago, he will go all-in at the 2026 Tour Down Under. And if fans get even a glimpse of the O’Connor from two years ago—the one who finished 2nd overall at the Vuelta a España and took silver at the Zurich Worlds.
4. Santiago Buitrago
Santiago Buitrago will lead Bahrain Victorious for the overall. The goal is to match his excellent start to 2025, and if he has his best form he will certainly be a contender to win at the Old Willunga Hill. The Colombian can benefit from a winter spent in good weather back in Colombia, something other contenders may not have in their legs.
5. Javier Romo
To open 2025, Romo claimed a superb stage win on day three of the Tour Down Under. That haul put the rider from Toledo in the leader’s jersey, which only Narváez could strip from him on the queen stage to Willunga Hill. Romo was second in the overall but returns this year to try and win the ochre jersey.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Probably interesting enough to read in detail (which I’ll do when time frees up). But, knowing what some amateurs and other sport athletes do, I’m surprised that in today’s hyper professional and competitive environment, the amount has not really increased that much, maybe from 30-40k/y in the past 3, 4, 5 (cycling) generations to 40-50k in the most recent 2-3?Mistermaumau15-01-2026
- It’s « funny » all this moaning in cyclocross, quite different from road racing where riders seem to have more respect for the winners. It’s as if some are not considered welcome but no-one dares to say it. Imagine TP would get the idea to try his hand at it, would they freak out? Jonas has NEVER complained about losing to TP and he’d be far more entitled to being sour. Without TP, Jonas would have been considered the potential greatest ever tour rider with already 5 TDFs in a row and almost never having been dropped from a tour podium. Ok, the pay is better but that’s also the case when comparing cyclocross to even poorer cycling disciplines or other sports.Mistermaumau15-01-2026
- Eddy won because Plapp had a brain fart. I think he should look at some of Sagan's WCRR races to understand how he wonabstractengineer15-01-2026
- "Do you think there is a gap to UAE Team Emirates in the classics and the Grand Tours? " I would say that there is no gap to UAE team, the gap exists with Only Pogi. Its only one rider that is winning everything GT/Monument related. Pogi alone is ~10th in the world tour team rankingsabstractengineer15-01-2026
- It's only in a downward spiral when Plugge can't find more money
ScottG14-01-2026 - Have to agree. It's like, "Let's stick a random maple leaf on this jersey in the least prominent position"mobk14-01-2026
- That's one of the most poorly designed Canadian national champions jerseys that I've ever seen. It's more like a lazy afterthought.
santiagobenites14-01-2026 - "about beating Tadej Pogacar" LOL!!!MajorPayne14-01-2026
- Don't think I ever read a positive story with Plugge as the sourceslappers6614-01-2026
- Maybe it’s even simpler. He got a check up, discovered an issue and decided it wasn’t worth taking more risk. Not every rider feels like discussing health or personal matters openly despite many doing so in order for their decisions to get accepted without controversy.Jumpyjohn14-01-2026
Loading
Write a comment