Tour Down Under 2026 : Preview, favourites, profile, route and predictions - UAE and Jayco battle for ochre jersey at Old Willunga Hill and Corkscrew

From the 20th to the 25th of January, the 2026 season sees its first men's World Tour event: the Tour Down Under. Australia's top race provides thrilling action every year, with sprinters, classics specialists and climbers alike starting their season in the southern hemisphere's warm temperatures. We preview the race ahead, looking ahead at its favourites and stage profiles.

The Tour Down Under has grown from a niche Australian stage race into one of the most respected early-season tests in professional cycling. First held in 1999 around Adelaide and South Australia. Over the next two decades the race’s popularity surged, and in 2008 it became the first Australian event to earn UCI ProTour status, later integrated into the UCI WorldTour calendar.

Across its history, the Tour Down Under has produced memorable champions and established itself as the traditional curtain-raiser to the WorldTour season each January. Australian riders have historically dominated — with Simon Gerrans holding the record for most overall wins and multiple titles also claimed by Aussie greats like Richie Porte and Daryl Impey. International stars such as Jay Vine, Stephen Williams and Jhonatan Narváez have also left their mark on the race in recent years.

The 2025 edition, the 25th anniversary of the event, delivered thrilling racing and a landmark result. Jhonatan Narváez of UAE Team Emirates - XRG emerged victorious overall, finally claiming the ochre jersey after narrowly missing out in prior years. The Ecuadorian seized the lead with a powerful performance on Willunga Hill and held on to win by seconds over Spain’s Javier Romo who led throughout much of the race; with New Zealand’s Finn Fisher-Black rounding out the podium.

The Tour Down Under 2026 will run from Tuesday 20 to Sunday 25 January. Stage dates and times (in Central European Time: CET) are as follows:

The race begins this year with a prologue in the city of Adelaide, taking place in the late afternoon and with road bikes, unlike the traditional prologues. It will open up minor gaps, but above all set an early leader in the race and provide a different start to the season.

Stage 1 will start and finish in Tanunda, with three laps of a circuit providing the sprinters with their first chance to win, and also take the ochre jersey. The circuit is not completely flat, but it will be very hard to disrupt the fast men's goals.

Stage 2 into Uraidla will be the first important day for the overall classification, with some serious climbing in the mix. The stage begins uphill straight away out of Norwood, but then on two occasions the riders will climb the famous 'Corkscrew', a climb that can make big differences amongst the favourites; but also a rolling finale which provides further opportunities for attacks even outside the climbs.

The third stage is a relative novelty in the race, taking the riders from Henley Beach to Nairne in a route that should suit the sprinters, however may also see surprises as it starts with quite a difficult set of climbs, and has some minor difficulties all throughout the day. The stage's length could also potentially make it attractive for a breakaway.

Stage 4 sees the peloton go up to Old Willunga Hill. This could be the queen stage, but without a doubt it's the day of the race that will gather the most attention. Usually a very easy day until the final climbs, but this time around there is more climbing early on out from Brighton, and the riders will go up the climb already a first time in the stage's first third.

Then however, the traditional finale will follow, with two ascents of the 3.2-kilometer long climb, the last one coinciding with the finish. Bonifications can be crucial, but the time that can be gained uphill may not be matched in any other finale.

The race ends in Stirling this year with a circuit that is traditional to the Tour Down Under, however potentially with very different dynamics this year. Usually this circuit, featuring several rolling climbs, is a day for the sprinters and some puncheurs to be in the mix and sprinting against each other. Now in the final day of the race, it provides more possibilities for a breakaway to succeed as many will have lost time; it provides motivation for some GC contenders to try and surprise in the hilly terrain; and it may make the fight for bonifications and the stage win more important than ever before.

UAE - UAE Team Emirates - XRG is the team to beat here, I can safely argue that. The defending champions have a luxurious team and they have deployed serious weapons to open up the year with a big win. Last year Jhonatan Narváez took the overall win, putting in perfect display his ability to sprint and also climb extremely well in the short ascents. Whilst the Ecuadorian covers one base, if the race proves to be more climber-oriented, Jay Vine - the 2023 winner - has that base covered. The home rider has recently won the time trial national championships and is motivated to win here, providing the team with a very strong climbing option, whilst Adam Yates himself can't be ignored as another dangerous card for the overall classification.

Jayco - The home team has also deployed strong weapons to try and win big in Australia. That comes as no surprise, and we shouldn't underestimate them. Luke Plapp's tactics at the national championships were questionable to say the least but his form doesn't seem to be, but the route of the Tour Down Under this year is quite difficult and perhaps better suited to the Australian who may also gain time on the competition in the opening prologue. For him, this race is a big goal, and with Ben O'Connor and Mauro Schmid also on board, Jayco has depth to not only race on power but also with tactics.

We've got climbers such as Santiago Buitrago and Lennert van Eetvelt who are very explosive and at their best level, absolutely have the level to win this race; whilst last year's runner-up Javier Romo also proved to be very well adapted to the course of the Australian race and makes a return here. The startlist also features climbers such as Nicolas Prodhomme, Guillaume Martin and Filippo Zana who will want a more attrition-based type of racing.

Meanwhile in the puncheur side we've got figures such as Corbin Strong and Finn Fisher-Black who could have some great form as they typically spend time in New Zealand over this period; and other men like Edoardo Zambanini, Michal Kwiatkowski, Andrea Bagioli, Matteo Sobrero, Anthon Charmig, Andreas Kron and Simone Velasco who will all be outsiders for the GC.

The race is the World Tour opener and although it starts off quite far away from Europe, it does feature quite the strong startlist. The sprints will see interesting battles as the 'Tour Down Under sprint king' Sam Welsford is back to the race where he always thrives every year. Will he be able to do the same now for INEOS Grenadiers? He might, but Visma's Matthew Brennan is likely the biggest threat for the flat finales and is also a rider capable of climbing and fighting for the finishes in the rougher stages.

Juan Sebastián Molano, Tobias Lund Andresen, Luke Lamperti, Tim Torn Teutenberg, Danny van Poppel, Alberto Dainese, Casper van Uden, Aaron Gate, Marius Mayrhofer and NSN Cycling Team duo Jake Stewart and Ethan Vernon are all capable sprinters who are also expected to be in the mix in these finales.

Furthermore, we can expect some action as well from the likes of Australian national champion Patrick Eddy or Chris Harper who will be headlining the Australian national team; and the likes of Sam Watson, Ivo Oliveira, Laurence Pithie, Rémi Cavagna and Maikel Zijlaard who will be amongst the big favourites to win the opening prologue in Adelaide.

*** Jay Vine, Jhonatan Narváez, Luke Plapp
** Corbin Strong, Javier Romo, Santiago Buitrago
* Adam Yates, Edoardo Zambanini, Nicolas Prodhomme, Lennert van Eetvelt, Finn Fisher-Black, Mauro Schmid, Ben O'Connor, Simone Velasco

Pick: Jay Vine