Preview stage 4 Tour Down Under 2026 - Old Willunga Hill is out; sprinters get a new opportunity in the brutal heat
Cycling
We preview stage 4 of the Tour Down Under that is set to take place on the 24th January, having an estimated start time at 01:40CET and finishing at 05:40CET. The stage was going to, initially, take the riders up the Old Willunga Hill on three occasions, however it has been changed due to the extreme heat, which will provide the sprinters with another opportunity to fight for the win.
The profile of stage 4 has been modified. Due to extreme heat, with temperatures looking to reach as high as 43 degrees in the Adelaide region, there is an extreme fire risk which has forced race organizers to cancel the ascents of Old Willunga Hill. The stage will begin in Brighton, but will then follow a mostly flat course, ending in Willunga, replicating the finale of the women's Tour Down Under stage finale, with a slight uphill ramp to the line.
Stage 4: Brighton - Willunga
Brighton - Willunga, 131 kilometers
Read also
The Weather
*Previous map of stage 4 of the 2026 Tour Down Under
As we've established, the wind doesn't seem to play much of a role in this race, despite its intensity. Tomorrow more of the same is expected, with the wind blowing hard from the northwest which should give us a tailwind sprint in Willunga and along the final kilometers. But as was previously mentioned, it is the extreme heat the riders will be under that can really make it complicated, and dare I say perhaps even unsafe.
The Favourites
Sam Welsford - INEOS have gotten their win with Welsford which was important. Now the INEOS rider has a new opportunity, but the arrival in Willunga is slightly uphill, and even though he won today he struggled a lot. Hence I think it's optimistic to think he'd be able to sprint against his rivals with the road going up like this, and the team is more likely to give freedom to Sam Watson who is at the end of the day better adapted to such a finale.
Matthew Brennan - Brennan has failed with positioning on both sprints thus far, which is an issue. However this sprint, this time around, will have nothing of technical and finishes uphill, which makes positioning less important. This gives him more space to be able to actually do a proper sprint from a good position, whilst on paper Filippo Fiorelli is also a good leadout for such a finale.
Tobias Lund Andresen - He isn't a stronger sprinter than the two above, but he climbs better than Welsford and has positioned himself much better than Brennan. The Dane is in the lead of the points classification for a reason and he can surely finish high up there once again - and win for a second time if his rivals do not have their best day.
There are a few riders who may struggle with the finale such as Juan Sebastián Molano, Alberto Dainese or Casper van Uden who do pack a lot of speed; even Danny van Poppel as well, not because of his quality but rather the form he hasn't shown. BORA may give freedom to Laurence Pithie, in a case that is almost identical to that of INEOS.
NSN have a choice to make, with Jake Stewart doing the sprint today and putting in a strong result they may go with him, but the truth is that both Ethan Vernon and Corbin Strong are on paper also well suited to this finale. We've also got Tim Torn Teutenberg, Aaron Gate, Luke Lamperti, Lionel Taminiaux, Jensen Plowright and Lewis Bower to add into the mix.
Lastly, the fight for the bonus seconds may also come alive, with Finn Fisher-Black and Mauro Schmid being very explosive riders who carry a strong sprint that can see them up there, but the big question is on Jhonatan Narváez. On paper, he can fight for them and the win here, but will UAE let him? Jay Vine is only 6 seconds ahead, and I am not sure if the team will want to take this win away from him.
Read also
Prediction Tour Down Under 2026 stage 4:
*** Matthew Brennan, Tobias Lund Andresen
** Jake Stewart, Sam Watson, Laurence Pithie
* Sam Welsford, Danny van Poppel, Corbin Strong, Ethan Vernon, Casper van Uden, Lionel Taminiaux, Jhonatan Narváez, Finn Fisher-Black, Mauro Schmid
** Jake Stewart, Sam Watson, Laurence Pithie
* Sam Welsford, Danny van Poppel, Corbin Strong, Ethan Vernon, Casper van Uden, Lionel Taminiaux, Jhonatan Narváez, Finn Fisher-Black, Mauro Schmid
Pick: Matthew Brennan
How: I will put faith in him, despite him missing out on the last sprints, because this stage now suits him very well.
Original: Rúben Silva
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment