Startlist Tour Down Under 2026 | Jhonatan Narváez, Adam Yates, Jay Vine, Matthew Brennan, Ben O'Connor & more

Cycling
Friday, 02 January 2026 at 13:30
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The 2026 Tour Down Under, the season’s first WorldTour race, will start on January 20th in Adelaide and finish on the 25th of January, with a start list that blends established stars, new signings, and a strong home contingent. The race organisation has released the preliminary entry list, confirming a total of 141 riders for a week that will once again mark the top-tier season opener over 759 kilometres.
Defending champion Jhonatan Narváez will headline a particularly powerful UAE Team Emirates - XRG, joined by Adam Yates and Jay Vine, in a line-up that mirrors the Emirati squad’s dominance across 2025. The team will look to carry that momentum into Australia, relying on a balanced block with overall ambitions, options on demanding stages, and firepower for fast finishes. Below is the provisional start list via Cycling Startlists.
INEOS Grenadiers will arrive at the Tour Down Under with several points of interest, notably the debuts of Jack Haig and Sam Welsford with their new team. By contrast, Oscar Onley, a headline signing for 2026, is not on the roster despite spending much of the winter in Australia and his former team, Picnic PostNL, having earmarked this race as his season opener. The British squad will also lean on the experience of Michal Kwiatkowski and Ben Swift, with Welsford as their finisher in the sprints.
Another focal point will be Matthew Brennan, the main reference for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, returning to Australia aiming for a stage win after coming close on the opening day last year. It will also be a special edition for Guillaume Martin, making his Tour Down Under debut with Groupama - FDJ United, and for Ben O’Connor, who will race on home roads as leader of Team Jayco AlUla alongside Luke Plapp and Mauro Schmid.
The climb to Willunga Hill, pivotal at the Santos Tour Down Under
Willunga Hill is always the key to winning the Tour Down Under
At Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, Haimar Etxeberria’s debut brings optimism to the German outfit. Riders like Danny Van Poppel, Laurence Pithie, and Finn Fisher-Black should shoulder leadership responsibilities, while the Basque rider, arriving from Kern Pharma, gets his first chance to shine.
The provisional list also confirms the presence of riders such as Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain - Victorious), George Bennett (NSN Cycling Team), Laurence Pithie and Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe), as well as Matthew Dinham with Picnic PostNL. Among notable first-timers, Alberto Dainese will make his Tour Down Under debut in Soudal - Quick-Step colours, further raising the interest in a race that once again will serve as an early-season benchmark from day one.
The Tour Down Under will once more provide the year’s first major testing ground, mixing opportunities for climbers, classics specialists, and sprinters, while also showcasing young talents and local riders thanks to the Australian national team’s presence.

Tour Down Under 2026 start list

Team  Rider
UAE Team Emirates XRG
1 Narváez, Jhonatan
2 Bjerg, Mikkel
3 Laengen, Vegard Stake
4 Molano, Sebastián
5 Oliveira, Ivo
6 Vine, Jay
7 Yates, Adam
Alpecin - Premier Tech
11 Plowright, Jensen
12 Ballerstedt, Maurice
13 Glivar, Gal
14 Sentjens, Sente
15 Marsman, Tim
16 Busatto, Francesco
17 Gogl, Michael
Bahrain Victorious
21 Buitrago, Santiago
22 Eržen, Zak
23 Miholjević, Fran
24 Stannard, Robert
25 Stockwell, Oliver
26 Meulen, Max van der
27 Zambanini, Edoardo
Decathlon CMA CGM Team
31 Andresen, Tobias Lund
32 Chamberlain, Oscar
33 Gautherat, Pierre
34 Gudmestad, Tord
35 L'Hote, Antoine
36 Prodhomme, Nicolas
37 Scotson, Callum
EF Education - EasyPost
41 Cepeda, Jefferson Alexander
42 Lee, Jardi van der
43 Sweeny, Harry
44 Walker, Max
45 Mackellar, Alastair
46 Lamperti, Luke
47 Leonard, Michael
Groupama - FDJ United
51 Bower, Lewis
52 Cavagna, Rémi
53 Donnenwirth, Tom
54 Fontaine, Titouan
55 Geniets, Kévin
56 Martin-Guyonnet, Guillaume
57 Paleni, Enzo
INEOS Grenadiers
61 Haig, Jack
62 Hamilton, Lucas
63 Kwiatkowski, Michal
64 Svestad-Bårdseng, Embret
65 Swift, Ben
66 Watson, Sam
67 Welsford, Sam
Lidl - Trek
71 Bagioli, Andrea
72 Ghebreigzabhier, Amanuel
73 Konrad, Patrick
74 Mosca, Jacopo
75 Oomen, Sam
76 Sobrero, Matteo
77 Teutenberg, Tim Torn
Lotto - Intermarché
81 Fox, Matthew
82 Rutsch, Jonas
83 Taminiaux, Lionel
84 Thompson, Reuben
85 Hoorn, Taco van der
86 Eetvelt, Lennert Van
87 Zimmermann, Georg
Movistar Team
91 Cepeda, Jefferson Alveiro
92 Moro, Manlio
93 Novák, Pavel
94 Romo, Javier
95 Serrano, Gonzalo
96 Tesfatsion, Natnael
97 Torres, Albert
NSN Cycling Team
101 Bennett, George
102 Clarke, Simon
103 Gilmore, Brady
104 Schultz, Nick
105 Stewart, Jake
106 Strong, Corbin
107 Vernon, Ethan
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe
111 Drizners, Jarrad
112 Etxeberria, Haimar
113 Fisher-Black, Finn
114 Pithie, Laurence
115 Thornley, Callum
116 Tuckwell, Luke
117 Poppel, Danny van
Soudal - Quick-Step
121 Dainese, Alberto
122 Eenkhoorn, Pascal
123 Raccagni, Andrea
124 Reinderink, Pepijn
125 Pedersen, Casper
126 Bossche, Fabio Van den
127 Zana, Filippo
Team Jayco AlUla
131 O'Connor, Ben
132 Durbridge, Luke
133 Porter, Rudy
134 McKenzie, Hamish
135 O'Brien, Kelland
136 Plapp, Luke
137 Schmid, Mauro
Team Picnic PostNL
141 Dinham, Matthew
142 Hamilton, Chris
143 Knox, James
144 Märkl, Niklas
145 Peace, Oliver
146 Haquin, Henri-François
147 Uden, Casper van
Team Visma - Lease a Bike
151 Brennan, Matthew
152 Fiorelli, Filippo
153 Hagenes, Per Strand
154 Schiffer, Anton
155 Huising, Menno
156 Mattio, Pietro
157 Rex, Tim
Uno-X Mobility
161 Kron, Andreas
162 Charmig, Anthon
163 Skaarseth, Anders
164 Blikra, Erlend
165 Resell, Erik
166 Ingebrigtsen, Storm
167 Bugge, Martin Urianstad
XDS Astana Team
171 Kajamini, Florian
172 Romele, Alessandro
173 Schrettl, Marco
174 Bekkum, Darren van
175 Velasco, Simone
176 Toneatti, Davide
177 Gate, Aaron
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
181 Brenner, Marco
182 Mayrhofer, Marius
183 Suter, Joel
184 Stork, Florian
185 Kelemen, Petr
186 Wirtgen, Luc
187 Zijlaard, Maikel
ARA Australian Cycling Team
191 Howson, Damien
192 Harper, Chris
193 Eddy, Patrick
194 Walsh, Liam
195 Bleddyn, Oliver
196 Greenwood, Matthew
197 Stevenson, Lucas

The keys to the 2026 Tour Down Under

In 2026, the Santos Tour Down Under will again open the WorldTour season, with the new edition running in Australia from 17.01.2026 to 25.01.2026. The women’s race will be held from 17.01 to 21.01, while the men’s race will open with a prologue on 20.01 and finish on 25.01.
UAE won TDU 2025 thanks to Narváez
Jonathan Narváez won the Tour Down Under in 2025
Although the favourites are not yet confirmed — Tadej Pogacar has been mentioned — this edition promises plenty of excitement. The route brings changes, with decisive climbs such as Willunga Hill, tackled three times, and the famous Corkscrew Road, climbed twice, plus a big final circuit in Stirling.
Beyond the race, the 2026 Tour Down Under will deliver a 10-day cycling festival. Fans can enjoy various venues, participatory activities such as the Adelaide Epic or the Carpark Climb, a Bike Expo, and the team presentation in Victoria Square on 16.01.
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