"We were Tadej Pogacar's first ever WorldTour race, and Alberto Contador's rebirth" - Stuart O'Grady hypes up Tour Down Under's importance on World Tour calendar

The 2025 World Tour season was kicked off recently in Australia at the Tour Down Under. Race director and Aussie cycling icon Stuart O'Grady has been left delighted by another impressive edition of the race, one that showcased some of the sports biggest stars and given opportunities to a number of potential stars of the future.

"Every year it's one of the hardest parts of the job, designing a different but exciting race," two-time former Tour de France stage winner O'Grady reflected after this year's final stage in Adelaide, in quotes collected by Cycling News. "Speaking to all the guys and girls that I have, they're pretty happy. I didn't see too many riders crossing the line looking fresh, which is a sign that we've kind of got that balance right."

Given it's placement as the first stage race of the year there is always a mixed bag in terms of starters and O'Grady lamented pre-race the true stars of the sport such weren't present. Nevertheless, the likes of Jhonatan Narváez, Javier Romo, Finn Fisher-Black, Sam Welsford and more ensured it was another memorable edition of the race. "It's January, we can't expect guys to be at a Tour de France level," O'Grady admits. "We want the stages to be challenging, to be exciting, but we had a little heat reminder today - if it's 37 degrees (C) and if you start getting longer and longer [stages], we're going to potentially lose that balance."

And their was star power too, from the likes of former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas most notably. "We've had a Tour de France winner here at least every year I've been at the helm. We're always pushing to have more quality, and that's not just as an event but with the riders," O'Grady concludes, insisting the Tour Down Under's importance on the World Tour calendar. "We're super proud of what we deliver and when we deliver it, being that first UCI World Tour race is extremely important for the investment that we put into the into the event. I'm more than happy with the quality of field. "We were Tadej Pogacar's first ever World Tour race, and Alberto Contador's rebirth - those big names have to start somewhere. In that January time slot, we get a first look at the [men's] and Women's WorldTour teams - the flashy new bikes, nice new jerseys - that's part of the build-up and the excitement we get in January. Plus, Chloé Dygert is an absolute international superstar and to see those riders winning on our roads, that's my dream come true."