The 5 riders with the most stage wins in Tour Down Under history

This Tuesday, 20th January, the Santos Tour Down Under gets underway. Over six days, the peloton tackles the first WorldTour race of the year in Australia. We’ll see riders chase stage wins, trying to bank as many as possible to etch their names into the race’s history. That’s exactly what we’re focusing on below.

After detailing who has won the overall classification the most times, this time we turn to stage victories. You’ll see Andre Greipel clearly tops the list, ahead of Robbie McEwen, Caleb Ewan, and Richie Porte. Fifth place is shared by Allan Davis and Sam Welsford, who is still active and could climb further.

The German is, by some margin, the dominant figure in this category. His first win came in 2008, when he opened his account in Handhorf. He added three more in that edition, making four in total, with Strathalbyn, Willunga, and Adelaide as the venues. In 2009, he took just one stage, in Mawson Lakes, the opening day of that Tour Down Under.

He bagged hat-tricks in 2010, 2012, and 2013. He only repeated in Tanunda and Adelaide, but he also won again in Handhorf, and added Goolwa, Clare, Victor Harbor, and Lobethal. Victor Harbor wouldn’t be a one-off either, as he triumphed there again in 2014, a season in which he also took two further stages. The second came in Adelaide, for the fourth time in his career.

After a four-year drought, he returned to winning ways in 2018, in Lyndoch and Adelaide for a fifth time. In short, Greipel won Down Under in the jerseys of Team HTC - Columbia and Lotto Soudal. He also finished second on three occasions.

Second on the list is a home rider. Unlike Greipel, McEwen finished runner-up nine times and third four times. However, they share the record for Adelaide stage wins, with six apiece. He did it in 2000, 2002, 2004, twice in 2005, as that stage was held twice back then, and in 2007.

Beyond Adelaide, Handhorf was the only finish where he won more than once, in 2003 and 2004. The rest came in Glenelg, Willunga, Victor Harbor (2002), and Angaston (2005). In total, 12 stage wins for the Australian, six fewer than Greipel but three more than the rider in third, now recently retired and unable to add to his tally.

Another Australian occupies third place. In 2016, he won in Lyndoch and Adelaide, a combo he repeated in 2017, adding Victor Harbor and Campbelltown. In 2018 and 2020, he prevailed in Stirling, while his last victory came in Murray Bridge. In total, nine stage wins wearing ORICA-BikeExchange, ORICA-Scott, Mitchelton-Scott, and Lotto Soudal.

He also finished second four times and third once. Retired in May of last year, he won’t have the chance to add more. At 31, it once looked like he could chase André Greipel’s record, but he ultimately fell short.

He is the most successful non-sprinter in the race’s history. As expected, he holds the record on Willunga Hill, with six wins. His other two victories came in Paracombe, another medium-mountain finish. He also has one second place and won stages every year from 2014 to 2020, missing out only in 2017.

Whether with Team Sky, BMC Racing Team, or Trek - Segafredo, Richie Porte raised his arms atop Willunga Hill. As a local, the Tour Down Under became his race to some extent, and he is the rider with the most top-two finishes overall, six in total.

Only Greipel and McEwen have more top-three stage finishes at the Tour Down Under. Second three times and third seven, his six stage wins were spread across Handhorf, Adelaide, Victor Harbor, Stirling, Angaston, and Willunga. He never repeated at the same finish, taking two wins in 2006, one in 2008, and three in 2009.

Wearing Astana, Team UniSA-Australia, or Quickstep - Innergetic, he repeatedly found a way to lift his arms on the line at this race. As is often the case on the Oceania swing, we’re once again talking about an Australian rider.

Welsford is tied with Allan Davis. The key difference is that he’s still active and can keep adding wins. We’ll see how far he can go, but he’s on the start list for 2026 with INEOS Grenadiers. Another quirk: every time he has finished in the top three, he has won.

A treble in 2024, with victories in Tanunda, Campbelltown, and Port Elliott, followed by another hat-trick in 2025, repeating in Tanunda and adding Gumeracha and Adelaide. He starts on Tuesday having just turned 30, with every chance to expand his palmarès here.

Other notable names with multiple Tour Down Under stage wins, but outside the top five, include Simon Gerrans, Erik Zabel, Peter Sagan, Stuart O'Grady, Luis León Sánchez, Cadel Evans, Rohan Dennis, Bryan Coquard, Elia Viviani, Michael Rogers, and Ben Swift, among others. We’ll see what the 2026 edition brings.