In 2027, the Santos Tour Down Under (TDU) will become the first WorldTour event in history to feature men and women riders racing stages on the exact same course, on the same day. The men’s event is six days along, however, while the women’s race is a three-stage event, so the course and the coverage will not be shared every day.

The TDU, which takes place annually in South Australia and has a history stretching back to 1999 (although the women’s race did not begin until 2016), is the opening event of the UCI WorldTour and Women's WorldTour season. Significantly, in 2018, the TDU became the first professional cycling event to offer equal prize money to men and women.

The women’s race has traditionally taken place in mid-January, right in the burning hot heart of the Australian Summer, with the men’s race happening towards the end of the month. However, next year the TDU will run both men’s and women’s stages concurrently from 19–24 January (dates subject to final UCI calendar approval).

The change comes in response to a request from the UCI, following feedback from women’s teams about the expense and logistics of the peloton having to spend an extended amount of time in Australia to take part in two WorldTour races – the Tour Down Under and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, which happens at the end of January.

The six-stage men's tour will run Tuesday to Sunday next year, while the three-stage women's race will be held from the Friday to the Sunday. On corresponding race days, the women’s peloton will start approximately 90 minutes after the men, and will ride the exact same course.

A press release from the organisers of the TDU said it is "expected" both the men’s and women’s races will be broadcast live.

The organisers of Paris-Roubaix, ASO, received criticism this April for breaking with tradition and scheduling Paris-Roubaix Femmes on the same day as the men's cobbled classic; many media commentators and fans observed that – while it might have been a fantastic experience for spectators at the roadside – the change resulted in significantly less media coverage for the women's race.

“The challenge we were given by the UCI was to deliver a more condensed program of racing and optimise the time the women’s teams spent in Australia," said TDU race director Stuart O’Grady. “We saw it as an opportunity to do something different and bring both men’s and women’s racing together and finish off with a bumper final weekend of racing.

“Since the women’s race was introduced to the Santos Tour Down Under in 2016, the level of racing has continually increased and this year was the first time all WorldTeams were on the start line, racing the longest and hardest stages we’ve ever seen."

“Our recent reform submission to the UCI highlighted a multitude of competing pressures on the current professional peloton," Grace Brown from the Cyclists' Alliance told CW. "It is clear that the Tour Down Under is trying to balance these pressures while building the women's race."

"The new format will reduce the amount of time womens teams need to be in Australia in January, which will make it more manageable for riders at the beginning of their season. The race organisers have also noted that they will ensure full coverage of both men's and women's races, which is a very positive commitment. We hope fans will make the most of the opportunity to spectate both races ove the three days.

"There is still potential for TDU to increase the number of stages for the women's and we hope to see a commitment to that in future years.“

Assistant race director Carlee Taylor said: “To have men’s and women’s stage racing on the same day and over the same course is an exciting new frontier for the event.

“Every year we’ve seen the level of women’s racing at the TDU progress and that will now extend to having the peloton riding longer stages, so I’m looking forward to seeing the atmosphere out on the roads for a huge final weekend of the Tour.

“It’s also a great platform to highlight the strength of our women’s peloton on a level we haven’t seen before, and the fact that we’re even able to do this reflects the growth and progression of women’s cycling."

The UAE Tour is the second men's WorldTour stage race of the season, attended by all of the sport's biggest teams and a good selection of its biggest riders.

The women's race has already taken place, running from 5-8 February over four stages. It saw Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Pro Time) reassert her position as the sprinter to beat, while Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) won the GC with her final-day performance at Jebel Hafeet.

The men's race gets under way on Monday 16 February and at seven stages is longer than the women's version. It features flat days, hilly days and mountainous days – including a trip to Jebel Hafeet on stage 6. Due to take the start line are riders including Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates), Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Jonathan Milan (Groupama-FDJ United) – all of whom are likely to be challenging for the results.

Below, Cycling Weekly has laid out all the key information on broadcasters and live streams so you can watch the UAE Tour wherever you are.

Quick guide to watching UAE Tour 2026

• UK: TNT Sports / Discovery+ (£30.99/mon)
• US: HBO Max ($18.49/mon)
• Canada: Flobikes ($39.99/mon)
• Australia: SBS On Demand (Free)
• Worldwide: UAE Tour YouTube (Free)
• Anywhere: Watch your local stream from anywhere with NordVPN

Can I watch the UAE Tour for free?

Coverage of the UAE Tour in Australia is provided by SBS, the country's public service broadcaster and the outlet which shows almost all major bike races Down Under.

It is also being broadcast completely free on UAE Tour's YouTube channel.

Coverage is geo-restricted though, so if you're not in any of these countries right now, and these channels are your usual port of call, you'll need a VPN to get your usual coverage while abroad – more on that below.

How to watch the UAE Tour in the UK

In the UK, the race will be shown on TNT Sports. These are Warner Bros. Discovery's premium channels.

The event can also be streamed on Discovery+, with a package now priced at £30.99 a month.

How to watch the UAE Tour in the US and Canada

For North American viewers, this year's coverage of the UAE Tour is split across HBO Max and FloBikes.

HBO Max is the platform with the rights to show the UAE Tour in the US. Coverage for the Standard version begins at $18.49 per month (or $184.99 annually) which allows 30 downloads and streaming on two devices. Alternatively, viewers can subscribe to the Premium version for $22.49 monthly or $224.99 on an annual basis, which allows for 100 downloads for on-the-go viewing.

Flobikes is in charge of broadcasting the UAE Tour in Canada. Subscriptions cost CA$39.99 a month, with big savings for long-term plans. The Flobikes TV app is available on Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast and Apple TV, as well as on iOS and Android.

How to watch the UAE Tour while abroad

Most streaming platforms have geo-restrictions in place, meaning they only work in certain countries. But being locked out of the races is a thing of the past thanks to a VPN, so you can continue to watch the UAE Tour 2026 while on the move.

A Virtual Private Network is a piece of internet security software that can alter your device's location, so you can unblock your usual streaming services, even when you're abroad.

Our colleagues over at TechRadar know everything there is to know about VPNs and they rate NordVPN as the best VPN out there right now.

Want to know more? We have an explainer on the benefits, costs, and considerations...
– Should I use a VPN to watch cycling?

What to expect at the UAE Tour

This year's UAE Tour has taken on a more eclectic look compared to the last few years, with flat stages, a time trial, hilly stages and mountainous ones too.

Things are punchy from the off, with an uphill finish on stage one after a lumpy day out, which should separate the GC immediately. There are two flat sprinting opportunities for riders like Jonathan Milan, while in the super-flat 12.2km time trial on stage two around the familiar territory of Hudayriyat Island, Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) will be out to repeat the win he took here last year.

The mountain stages come on stages 3 and 6, with finishes at Jebel Mobrah and Jebel Hafeet respectively, and are where we're likely to see riders like Evenepoel and Del Toro feature. The race wraps up with a flat stage to Abu Dhabi Breakwater.

What time is the UAE Tour on?

See also: Cycling TV and streaming guide

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

January is finished with and the scores on the doors are in. We've had a good look at the runners and riders in races across the globe from the Tour Down Under to the Trofeo Mallorca and all points in-between, and they have turned up some interesting – and enticing results.

They won't necessarily enable us to predict the winner of this year's biggest races, but they do at least hint at who has come out of the blocks with momentum, who might be biding their time, and more.

1. Remco Evenepoel means business

Having moved teams from his long-time home at Soudal Quick-Step to Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, the Belgian has wasted no time in getting some first places on the board. He is currently sitting on a 100% record, having won two of the Mallorcan races – the Trofeos Andratx-Pollenca and Serra Tramuntana, as well as the Ses Salines team time trial.

In both individual wins, crossed the line solo, and in the case of Serra Tramuntana after a 50km solo effort. When 2026 is done and dusted, it's unlikely these races will be the ones Evenepoel will be celebrating the most, but they will have given the Belgian and his team a confidence-boosting running start to the year.

2. Matthew Brennan brimming with confidence – and defiance

Having already taken a first and a second at the Tour Down Under – as well as second in the young rider classification, up and coming Britain Matthew Brennan is clearly determined to build on the successes of last season, when he launched himself at the WorldTour with a string of victories.

He also appears to have carried plenty of confidence across the off-season too and, when he finished second again, this time at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race on Sunday behind Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM), he laid the blame at the feet of a confusing 300m to go sign:

"300m sign looks the same as 200," he protested on X, explaining on the team website: "Unfortunately I launched my sprint about a hundred metres too early. That was a misjudgment."

3. Human Powered Health have already beaten their 2025 pro win record

At the beginning of the new season, anything is possible. Every team wants to go one better than the year before, achieve new aims and goals. Leading the way on that front is surely the Human Powered Health team. Thanks to Maggie Coles-Lyster's victory at the Santos Tour Down Under one-dayer have already surpassed last year's achievements, at least in terms of pro wins.

Last year Thalita De Jongh's win in the Trofeo Binissalem-Andratx in Mallorca was the team's only pro victory, and it was rated UCI 1.1 – lower than the Santos TDU's 1.Pro rating. It seems a little soon after the off-season to be opening the Champagne, but we wouldn't be surprised if corks were popping that evening.

4. UAE sitting pretty on top

With seven victories and a couple of handfuls of top-fives under their belts already, both the men's and women's teams at the UAE stable are already sitting pretty at the top of the UCI's team rankings for 2026. It's a defiant counter-response, perhaps, to the success of Remco Evenepoel and a reminder that UAE's Slovenian talisman is waiting menacingly in the wings.

The men's team, UAE Team Emirates-XRG has seen wins at the Tour Down Under, thanks to new Aussie road champion Jay Vine, and at the AlUla Tour, where Jan Christen scored a final-day triumph after grabbing a sticky bottle only the day before.

On the women's side, UAE Team ADQ netted a double victory at the Challenge Mallorca thanks to Karlijn Swinkels and double Tour de France Femmes stage winner Maeva Squiban.

5. Wollaston's best ever start

Rivalling Remco Evenepoel in the 'flying start' stakes is Ally Wollaston of FDJ United-Suez. You could even argue that the 25-year-old Kiwi has outdone Evenepoel, for the three races she has won already are all WorldTour ranked. In fact the stats currently show she has won 75% of all the WWT events so far this season, thanks to a double stage win in the Tour Down Under and victory in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. That only leaves one stage and the overall of the TDU – and she even took the points classification there for good measure. It's the best start to a season she's had yet.

Wollaston looks to be building on the "bit of belief" that last season's achievements gave her, but said: "I'm still feeling my way through the races and working out what works for me and what doesn't."

Jay Vine broke his wrist after colliding with a kangaroo at the Tour Down Under, his UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad revealed on Tuesday.

The Australian, who went on to win the race overall, was struck by the animal on Sunday's final stage and crashed off his bike.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s medical director Dr Adrian Rotunno said in a statement on Tuesday that Vine suffered a “significant” fracture and has since undergone surgery.

“After the race Jay reported pain in his wrist from his crash during the final stage,” Rotunno said. “After medical review, it was found that he sustained a significant left wrist scaphoid fracture, and underwent successful surgery on Tuesday morning.

“He will be withdrawn from competition for post-op recovery and rehabilitation.”

Vine was leading the race at the time of the kangaroo crash, having won the second stage.

Speaking after the race, he told reporters: “Everything was going according to plan up until that point. Juan Sebastián [Molano] was doing a great job. The breakaway was well within reach. And then, unfortunately, we lost Mikkel [Bjerg], and he knocked the kangaroo into me. So it was just like pinballing inside the group there. But I didn't fall too hard."

Following his crash, Vine swapped bikes with team-mate Ivo Oliveira and rejoined the bunch to finish the race. He ultimately won overall by a minute and three seconds – the largest winning margin at the Tour Down Under since 2004.

“Everyone asks me what's the most dangerous thing in Australia and I always tell them it’s kangaroos,” Vine told ABC Australia. “They wait and they hide in the bushes until you can’t stop and they jump out in front of you. Point proven today.”

Vine's team-mate Bjerg is also reported to have suffered fractures during the crash, breaking his hand and shoulder, according to DR Sporten.

Meanwhile, Visma-Lease a Bike revealed on Monday that one of their riders, Menno Huising, broke his collarbone in the same incident.

The men's WorldTour calendar got off to a searing start – both literally and figuratively – with the Tour Down Under in Australia last week.

Set over six days, it was a race that brought a lot of headlines; there were fast finishes, a heat-induced stage neutralisation, and even kangaroos tearing through the bunch and tackling riders.

If you missed the action Down Under, here are five things you need to know ahead of the rest of the season.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG are still the team to beat

Not even a kangaroo wiping out their leader could stop UAE Team Emirates-XRG from winning the Tour Down Under.

Jay Vine was among the biggest victims of that marsupial two-footer, and, as powerful as it was, he still went on to win overall by one minute and three seconds – the largest winning margin since 2004.

What’s more, Vine finished the race with only two team-mates, having lost four to crashes throughout the event.

UAE have now won three of the last four editions of the Tour Down Under, and look as formidable as ever with Tadej Pogačar still to start his campaign. The team finished 2025 with a record-breaking 97 wins. Can they manage 100 in 2026?

The Brits are finding early form

They may have been a long way from home, but the Brits looked at ease on the roads of Southern Australia last week, clocking three victories from three different riders.

The first fell to Sam Watson (Ineos Grenadiers), who won the 3.6km time trial prologue by half a second ahead of his compatriot Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling). Four days later, Vernon had his own hands in the air in Willunga, as the winner of a mass sprint. Visma-Lease a Bike’s Matthew Brennan then rounded out the race with a sprint win on the final day.

The results mean that British men have won 50% of all the men’s WorldTour race days this year. Admittedly, there have only been six days.

Brennan is no one-season wonder

Matthew Brennan’s curtain-closing stage five victory in Stirling lay a positive foundation for another roaring season.

The 20-year-old was the breakout start of 2025, winning 14 times and earning himself the title of Cycling Weekly’s Male Rider of the Year.

Already, thanks his win in Australia, 2026 has started even better for the young Brit; it wasn’t until early March last year that he won his first race, and he had to wait another three weeks after that before he took his first WorldTour scalp.

Could Brennan go on to better his tally of 14 this year?

The climate crisis isn't going away

Ask any casual cycling fan what their favourite part of the Tour Down Under is and they’ll probably tell you Willunga Hill, the route’s most famous climb. This year, however, the ever-present kicker was plucked out at last minute, due to severe heat and ‘extreme’ fire danger warnings.

The change was a reminder that the climate crisis is real, and will keep impacting races.

Temperatures on the race's fourth stage, the one scheduled to finish on Willunga Hill, rose beyond 40°C, which put it in the 'red zone' of the UCI's High Temperature Protocol – an extreme risk bracket that allows organisers to change start and finish times, neutralise events, or cancel them altogether.

The day after the race finished, the nearby city of Adelaide clocked a new Australia Day heat record of 49°C. It begs the question, as my colleague Adam Becket raised last week: how hot is too hot for pro cycling?

The irony should not be lost that the Tour Down Under is sponsored by Australian oil and gas company Santos. Fossil fuels are responsible for more than two thirds of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN.

Mystery surrounds Ineos Grenadiers’ white shorts

The biggest sub-plot at the Tour Down Under was the debut of Ineos Grenadiers’ new off-white bib shorts. In fact, they even got their first win, thanks to new signing Sam Welsford on stage three.

There was confusion among fans, though, about what colour shorts they should expect to see the riders wearing. Sam Watson, for example, wore black in the opening prologue, white for his stage winner’s podium presentation, white again in the leader’s jersey on stage one, and then black when he returned to his British national champion’s kit on stage two. Welsford, too, went black for the time trial, and then white for the rest of the race.

It was a saga that could keep fans guessing over the next few months. Although the overwhelming sight was that the white shorts are here to stay.

There was around 100km left of the final stage of the Tour Down Under when two kangaroos jumped into the peloton from the roadside bush.

“Oh, it’s a kangaroo!” Shouted Phil Liggett from the commentary box. “Never seen that before!”

Race leader Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was among those knocked off their bike, along with Menno Huising (Visma–Lease a Bike), Lucas Stevenson (Tudor Pro Cycling) and Alberto Dainese (Soudal Quick-Step). The latter were forced to abandon the race due to injuries, along with several other riders.

"Everything was going according to plan up until that point," Vine told reporters after the stage. "Sebastián [Molano] was doing a great job. The breakaway was well within reach. And then, unfortunately, we lost Mikkel, and he knocked the kangaroo into me. So it was just like pinballing inside the group there. But I didn't fall too hard."

After crashing, Vine swapped bikes with teammate Ivo Oliveira and worked his way to the front of the race as the bunch sat up to wait, ultimately finishing in 26th, with Visma–Lease a Bike’s Matthew Brennan sprinting to finish first in the stage. Vine emerged the overall winner of the 2025 Tour Down Under.

“You can’t really predict two kangaroos jumping across the road - I hope everyone is alright,” Brennan said after the race.

“They were quite big - I wasn’t expecting that. I just looked to the right and I saw this big animal. I thought ‘oh, you’re not meant to be here’.

“All the Aussie boys were like ‘they come in pairs’ and then all of a sudden the second one comes along and decides he’s going to throw himself in front of the peloton. So we had two sacrificial kangaroos today.”

While one kangaroo escaped unharmed, the other was euthanised after breaking its leg, an injury it would be unlikely to recover from in the wild.

"Everyone asks me what's the most dangerous thing in Australia and I always tell them it's kangaroos,' two-time race-winner, Vine, told ABC Australia.

'They wait and they hide in the bushes until you can't stop and they jump out in front of you. Point proven today."

Stage four of the Tour Down Under has been shortened and moved earlier due to 'extreme' fire danger warnings and potential temperatures of up to 43 degrees celsius (109 degrees farenheit).

As a result, Willunga Hill has been pulled from the route entirely; the peloton was supposed to climb the famous hill three times.

The decision was made following consultation with emergency services including the Country Fire Service and South Australia Police, riders and the UCI.

Instead of the planned 176km route, stage four will be ridden over 131km, starting an hour earlier, too. The race will still go to to Willunga, but not up the climb, with the same finish as stage one of the women's event used. Despite the earlier start time, temperatures will likely still nudge 40°C.

>>> It could get to 40°C at the Tour Down Under this week – how hot is too hot for pro cycling?

"While the removal of the famous Willunga Hill climb is disappointing news for cycling fans – ultimately rider and spectator safety is always the number one priority for our event," Stuart O'Grady, the race director, said in a statement.

"Following consultation with emergency services authorities, riders and the UCI, we have agreed to proceed with a modified program for Saturday’s racing.

"I encourage fans to stay cool tomorrow, be sun-smart and always listen to the advice of emergency services throughout the day."

Organisers have asked fans to not ride up Willunga Hill on Saturday due to the high temperatures, and follow guidance from emergency services. Stage five is expected to remain the same.

The changes to the stage mean that it will likely not be a day for general classification riders but another sprint. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), the race leader, with 1:05 over the first rider from another team, might already have sealed overall victory as a result.

All UCI races follow High Temperature Protocol, which is measured using the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature Index (WBGT). This takes into account factors to produce a measure of heat stress in direct sunlight. Stage four would be well into the high risk bracket.

The white or 'light grey' shorts of Ineos Grenadiers drew a mixed reaction when launched last month, but they have already delivered a rider to a win. Confidence is needed to wear them, something the team seem to have back at the moment.

It took two bunch sprints for Sam Welsford to open his account for his new team, and means that the British team now have two wins in four WorldTour opportunities in 2026. If they keep this momentum up, it would mean a doubling of their record from last year, a quadruple of their nadir in 2024.

It was not simple for Welsford or his Ineos Grenadiers colleagues on stage three, who were forced to fight to the front in the closing kilometres; in effect, the 30-year-old had to sprint twice, once to get in position, and then again for the win.

"At 2km to go, I was on Kwia [Michał Kwiatkowski] and Swifty [Ben Swift], and we were like 80th wheel. I was thinking, 'There's no chance'," Welsford said post-stage, Cyclingnews reported.

"But Kwia was just so, so calm and so experienced. He said, 'No, we'll be fine. We'll get there.' And then in my head, I was, like, 'How? How are we going to get there from here?'

"There was so much traffic in front of us, but he just has so much experience, and also Swifty in the end there, these guys just were amazing. They knew that it was going to be into a headwind sprint, so the pace would come off the front, and that's how we made our move."

It was his first WorldTour win since stage six of last year's race. Ineos Grenadiers will hope to get more return on their investment throughout the season, but one win already looks like validation for the strategy of signing a solid sprinter, something the team have not always had in recent years.

"I think it just shows the, you know, the level of support you have in this team, and the level of support that these riders give everyone. It doesn't matter whoever puts their hand up, we back them 110%, and even when you don't believe you can probably win from there, they believe," Welsford said.

"To have those guys in your corner just means everything, and for me, if I look up and see Kwiatkowski and Swift, you know these guys have copious amounts of experience. To have a world champ in front of you, all you have to do is just turn the brain off and just follow them as much as you can."

The victory, Welsford's seventh at the Tour Down Under in the past three years, meant a lot.

"For me, this is one of my most special ones," he said. "Coming off a really hard, hard year last year with injuries and broken bones, I lost a lot of self-belief.

"And also with the team last year, we didn't get a really nice last bit of the season with injuries and stuff as well. I lost a lot of opportunities as a sprinter. As a sprinter, you need that belief, you need that momentum, and I kind of lost my way a lot of last year.

"So for me to come here and win on a day that did probably didn't really suit me on paper – still a sprint, but the hardest sprint day – I'm really happy with that."

Ineos Grenadiers, with two wins in four days, first with Sam Watson and with Welsford now – the two Sams – look in a much more settled position than they have over the past few seasons. They might not be a super-team of UAE Team Emirates-XRG's level anymore, but they are winning – it's a good start.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG finished 2025 with 97 wins, the most a professional cycling team has ever won, but just short of 100. The aim for 2026 then, improbable as it is, is to better their record from last season.

Their year has begun well, then, with a dominant victory on stage two of the Tour Down Under, which saw Jay Vine win after riding away with teammate Jhonatan Narváez. There are still three stages to go, but the pair have a minute on the field.

UAE took until the fifth day of WorldTour racing in 2025 to take a win; this year, it was day three. Add in Vine's win in the time trial at the Australian National Championships, and things feel like they're heading in one direction.

On Thursday, the inevitable happened on the Corkscrew climb, as Adam Yates – an 18-time WorldTour winner – put the peloton under pressure, stretching things out, allowing Vine – a six-time WorldTour winner – to attack alone, only to be joined by Narváez, himself a four-time WorldTour winner, and the defending champion.

It doesn't take a genius to work out that through being the richest team in the world, funded by the UAE and Abu Dhabi-based energy company XRG, they can stockpile talent to hitherto unforeseen levels, and create results like stage two of the Tour Down Under.

"It’s been on my mind since the last time I wore it. I really love this jersey," Vine said post-race. “It’s incredible to win on such a hard stage. We’ve got such a strong position now with me and Jhonny, and being led out by Adam is pretty incredible as well."

"With two guys in the front, it’s pretty simple what’s going to happen,” Yates added. "I just followed the guys that were attacking and we ended up with a group of five or six. They were working quite well together, but we had two super strong guys in the front. So yeah, it was a good day for the team."

A lead of a minute might already be enough to secure the overall for Vine and UAE. Three lumpy stages remain, including three ascents of Willunga Hill on stage four, but in this form, it already appears that the race might be gone for their rivals. UAE are simply a level above.

"Anything can happen," Vine laughed when it was put to him that 'you can't lose it from here', according to Cyclingnews. "But yeah, it's really good to have such a big lead compared to my last tour. It's a lot more secure and we also got Jhonny in second now so we've got a very strong position."

Visma-Lease a Bike sports director Jesper Mørkøv put it succinctly in a statement: "The UAE Team Emirates-XRG block was simply too strong today."

Two wins by the 22 January, with the possibility of more this week to come; it feels like we might be in the era not of super-teams, but one super-team.

It is forecast to be 41°C in Adelaide, South Australia this weekend, just 33 degrees more than it will be for me in southern England. It might sound nice, even appealing to us in the northern hemisphere, but 41 is too hot. It’s a staying inside day, a day when you feel like the melting clocks in Dali’s The Persistence of Memory. It’s hot enough for people to be unwell, a temperature a thousand Calippos could not combat.

You might think it odd to open this with a discussion of the weather on the other side of the planet, but it matters because the WorldTour season has just begun in South Australia. When I was in Australia for the Tour Down Under two years ago, I remember how hot it was, and how difficult I found exercising in the sun. I might not be an elite athlete, but neither did I have to ride hundreds of kilometres.

Stage three of the men’s Tour Down Under, on Friday, will be ridden in temperatures approaching 40°C, before Saturday’s Queen Stage, with its triple ascent of Willunga Hill, could tip over 40; the final day, stage five on Sunday, is forecast for similar levels of heat.

All three of these days, if the forecast temperatures, wind speeds and humidities are correct, will fall in the ‘red zone’ of the UCI’s High Temperature Protocol, which is measured using the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature Index (WBGT). This takes into account factors to produce a measure of heat stress in direct sunlight.

Anything over 28°C on the WBGT is in the high risk bracket, and stages three, four, and five all fall within this. It’s no longer a hot day, but a day of danger, with the weather putting a strain on the riders. They might be elite athletes who have raced in these conditions before, and have a team of helpers ready to cool them down at the end of the stage, but equally, it is putting them in peril, perhaps pushing their bodies too hard, with heart rates soaring. The UCI’s protocol suggests changing start and finish times, neutralising a part of the race, or even cancelling the event, if the level of risk is deemed too high.

And yet, as temperatures across the world continue to slowly rise, the party goes on. Cycling goes on. The WorldTour has arrived for 2026, it is a time for celebration, not introspection about rising global temperatures and how they might impact our lives and the sport. But road racing is a sport uniquely impacted by climate change, with extreme weather an all-too constant presence. It’s not always heat, obviously, with rain, snow, and wind affecting cycling in a way that other elite sports can escape from. It’s part of the beauty of it, why we love it, but as climate change disrupts our world, it will affect everything, and that includes bike racing.

Everything might pass completely fine this week, apart from the tell-tale white salt stains on kits, and a few riders dropping out, or blaming underperformance on the heat. The world will move on, and yet things will only get worse. There is a heat protocol, designed to keep riders safe, and it should be implemented rigorously. We shouldn’t wait for a serious incident to occur before acting.

The Tour Down Under’s slot in the calendar works logistically, but it might not work for climate reasons soon. Australia deserves an elite race as much as the rest of the world, but flying in whole teams from Europe does not help the climate issue.

Australian cyclist Maeve Plouffe, who is from Adelaide, wrote in The Guardian last week of her shame at how the heat impacts the Tour Down Under.

“It’s like hosting international friends in a house that is visibly on fire,” she wrote. “Don’t look at that, we say. Look at the spectacle. Look at the sunshine. As international guests, they don’t always know any different. But we do.”

She continued: “Here’s the uncomfortable truth: if we applied strict heat cutoffs consistently, whole chunks of racing would be at risk. Applying Cycling SA’s policy of cancellation over 37C, for example, would have resulted in 25 cancelled Tour Down Under race stages by now. If we continue on this trajectory, the race itself is at risk.”

It does not help for optics that the Tour Down Under is sponsored by Santos, the Australian oil and gas company, which has been criticised in the past for its role in greenhouse gas emissions.

Both the issues with heat and the unhelpful sponsorship are not unique to Australia. I’ve been at the Tour de France when temperatures have been uncomfortably high, days where I have been forced to seek shelter in a shady underground car park to stay healthy; I can’t imagine cycling through it. Much of this year’s Vuelta a España takes place in Andalucia in late summer, in what will surely be challenging levels of heat. There are also teams with oil and gas companies as partners, whether that be UAE Team Emirates and XRG or Bahrain Victorious and Bapco.

The protocol on heat needs to be used and enforced to protect riders’ health. Cycling also needs to wake up and realise that climate change has already changed the world, and the sport. 40°C is too hot.

This piece is part of The Leadout, the offering of newsletters from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here.

If you want to get in touch with Adam, email adam.becket@futurenet.com.

Sam Watson won the first WorldTour race of 2026, taking victory for Ineos Grenadiers in the Tour Down Under prologue.

British national champion on the road, the 24-year-old swapped the red, white and blue bands for his team's new orange jersey on Tuesday, but then swapped it again for the ochre leader's jersey at the end of the stage.

The 3.6km-long course was suited for a rider like Watson, who won the prologue at the Tour de Romandie last year and came second in the same discipline at the Lidl Deutschland Tour. Monday was his second WorldTour win, completed at 50.448km/h.

He was the 11th rider off in the Adelaide evening, and set a time that would not be beaten for the two hours that he spent in the hot seat; the closest challenger was Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling), who finished minutes after Watson, but only 0.59 of a second down.

Third was Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), two seconds behind Watson, with home favourite Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in third.

"There were quite a lot of guys [to watch for]," Watson said post-race. "Just as I climbed off the bike, Ethan Vernon came across the line. He was 0.5 behind me. I knew he’d be a contender, and maybe I wouldn’t have even made it to the hot seat.

"Obviously then it was a big sigh of relief for myself," he said of when Vine finished last, clearly behind himself. "I’m so happy to start the season with a win.

"I’m not complaining [of changing jersey], I’m leading the race now. It’s great for myself and the team to start the season like this."

Ineos Grenadiers will attempt to make it two from two WorldTour races on Tuesday, with a bunch sprint finish in Tanunda on the menu. The British team will target the win with their new Australian sprinter Sam Welsford, who has won the points competition in the last two editions.

"We go 100% for him," Watson explained. "He’s won here six times in the last two years, so it’s all for him.

"[I'm the] last or second-last leadout guy. It depends how it is on the day, we’ve got Swifty [Ben Swift] too, who has a lot of experience. Whatever Sam prefers, but I’ll be up there towards the end."

Ineos Grenadiers waited until February for their first win of 2025, Egan Bernal's victory in the TT at the Colombian National Championships. This season, things have got off to a flier early.

If it ain't broke, don’t fix it, right? Well, that’s exactly the approach Cannondale seems to have taken in what appears to be the fifth-generation SuperSix Evo Lab71. The bike was raced by EF Education-Oatly at the Tour Down Under and has already notched up its first victory of the season, following Noemi Ruegg's sprint finish to win stage three and secure the overall title for a second time.

While Cannondale has been tight-lipped in sharing any details around the bike, a new SuperSix Evo wouldn't come as a shock based on the 3-4 year model lifecycle most brands employ, and the fact that at the 2023 product launch, Cannondale's senior design engineer, Dr Nathan Barry told me the design team was already making plans to start work on the fifth-generation SuperSix Evo.

From the pictures, the new model looks very much like the fourth-generation SuperSix Evo launched in 2023, with subtle nuances in the tube profiling, particularly around the headtube and the fork, the former of which looks slightly deeper and shorter than before. This is nothing particularly groundbreaking and falls within the current push towards enhanced aerodynamics.

It's hard to tell from the pictures if there are any other frame tweaks; if so, the alterations are very small. The seat tube, however, looks a lot like what we've seen on the new SuperX and Synapse models, tapering towards the bottom bracket junction, which could suggest improved tyre clearance. For contrast, the fourth-generation SuperSix Evo has space at the rear to clear 30mm tyres. A closer examination of the dropout assembly reveals a UDH dropout - ensuring the new model plays nicely with most modern groupsets and futureproofs the setup, too.

What I have noticed is what appears to be a new cockpit configuration, eschewing the Vision and MomoDesign SystemBar R-One bar configurations of the fourth-generation Lab71 team bikes, but I can't tell if it's sponsor-specific or from the manufacturer.

Given that both the men's and women's EF Education teams are racing the bike in the public eye, the official launch is imminent, so keep an eye on our website and social channels for when that news breaks.

In the final kilometre of stage three of the 2026 Tour Down Under, everything was still on the line. Noemi Rüegg of EF Education-Oatly, the defending champion, was present, but vastly outnumbered. She had fought to stay with three UAE Team ADQ riders – Mavi García, Dominika Włodarczyk, and Paula Blasi – over the final ascent of the Corkscrew climb, but there was still an imbalance.

Rüegg, thanks to bonus seconds, only needed to finish with the group to win the race overall, but it was not an easy assignment, especially after a testing time in the kilometres leading up to this point.

She had been distanced on the first time up the climb after Garcia and Włodarczyk went clear, along with Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease a Bike), but thanks to the work of her team, especially world champion Magdeleine Vallieres, Rüegg got back to the front of the race. Now it was just a question of timing.

With the three UAE riders looking spent after their afternoon of attacking riding, Rüegg was able to sprint to a clear victory in Campbelltown, looking every inch the deserving winner.

That was the climax, but there was more that occurred on the other side of the world this weekend that you should know about.

Rüegg and EF Education-Oatly mean business

There isn't much of a better way to announce your arrival as a Women's WorldTour team as winning a race at the first opportunity, but that's what EF Education-Oatly did, through Noemi Rüegg.

The Swiss rider timed her sprint to perfection in the end to defend the ochre jersey, but her being there was thanks to the stellar work of her teammates in Australia: Henrietta Christie, Magdeleine Vallieres, Stina Kagevi and Alice Towers. Vallieres, the world champion, put the team in front of any ambitions she had to star on stage three, and it paid off handsomely.

The American team is young, and full of talent, and their year is off to a flyer. Expect them to continue with their aggressive riding through the season, and keep your eyes on them – they're hard to miss anyway, in that pink.

Canadian cycling is in rude health

Vallieres is world champion and helped her teammate to victory, but there was another Canadian who impressed on stage three: Visma-Lease a Bike's Sarah Van Dam, who, in her first race for her new Dutch team, finished fifth overall after briefly looking like a potential winner.

The 24-year-old raced for CERATIZIT last year, and hardly went beneath the radar, finishing third overall at Itzulia Women and fifth at the Tour of Britain Women. However, Van Dam showed how she is one to watch in 2026 Down Under, at the front of the race on the Corkscrew.

While Visma remain led by Marianne Vos and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Van Dam will offer another option for the Dutch squad this season.

Wollaston continues to be more than a pure sprinter

Stage one played out exactly how FDJ United-SUEZ wanted it, with Ally Wollaston dominantly sprinting to victory after a flat day. However, the Kiwi's win on stage two reminded all that she is more than a pure sprinter, with a stage win after 2,000m of climbing.

The 25-year-old has form, winning the Tour of Britain Women last year, but with two victories to kickstart her 2026, expect her to challenge at a variety of races this season. Wollaston seems strong on tough days, so could well be an option when the Classics come around.

FDJ United-SUEZ, meanwhile, look to have real strength in depth across the team.

Australia left empty-handed again

For the second successive year, there was no Australian winner at the Tour Down Under. In fact, the second successive year that there was no Australian in the top-three on any stage either.

Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek), in her retirement year, finished seventh overall, but the next best Australian was Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv AlUla Jayco) in 20th.

For Liv AlUla Jayco in particular, the lack of success at their home race must sting. Australian riders should have the advantage, given the TDU comes in their summer, on their roads, and after their National Championships.

The nation that produced Spratt, Grace Brown and Chloe Hosking, and more recently Neve Bradbury and Sarah Gigante, will have to wait another year for a win.

Josie Nelson points way forward for Picnic

Picnic PostNL had a major reshuffle ahead of 2026, losing Marta Cavalli to retirement, and Charlotte Kool, Franzi Koch, Megan Jastrab, Francesco Barale and Nienke Vinke to other teams.

However, they left their first race of the season reasonably happy, with two podium finishes through Josie Nelson, and 12th overall too. The 23-year-old is already into her third season with the Dutch team, but showed signs last year that she was close to a big result, which has continued this year.

The rider from Lichfield is something of an all-rounder, and will work well alongside fellow Brit Pfeiffer Georgi. As a relatively inexperienced team, Picnic PostNL will use the early-season success to keep them rolling on, and hope that Nelson will break through to victory.

The Tour Down Under kicks off the Women's WorldTour and WorldTour seasons, and is a must-watch as 2026 gets underway.

The women's race took place from Saturday 17 January until Monday 19 January with defending champion Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) coming out on top once again after the three stages.

The men's race is now underway, starting on Tuesday 20 January with a prologue won by Sam Watson (Ineos Grenadiers), and followed by five stages around South Australia, finishing on Sunday 25 January. The defending champion Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) is racing, along with his teammate Jay Vine, as well as Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla) and Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike).

Below, Cycling Weekly has laid out all the key information on broadcasters and live streams so you can watch the Tour Down Under wherever you are.

Quick guide to watching Tour Down Under 2026

• UK: TNT Sports / Discovery+ (£30.99/mon)
• US: Peacock (from $10.99/mon, $109.99/year)
• Canada: Flobikes ($39.99/mon)
• Australia: 7plus (Free)
• Anywhere: Watch your local stream from anywhere with NordVPN

How to watch the Tour Down Under in the UK

In the UK, the race will be shown on TNT Sports. These are Warner Bros. Discovery's premium channels.

The event can also be streamed on Discovery+, with a package now priced at £30.99 a month. This might be handier if you're getting up in the middle of the night to watch the action.

How to watch the Tour Down Under in the US and Canada

For North American viewers, this year's coverage of the Tour Down Under is split across Peacock and FloBikes.

Peacock, which is the streaming platform of NBC, has the rights to show the Australian race in the US. Subscriptions start at $10.99 a month, or $109.99 a year, for the 'Premium' offering with ads. Viewers can pay a little bit more to watch without ads thanks to 'Premium Plus', priced at $16.99 a month, or $169.99 a year. A longer subscription will secure your Tour de France streaming.

Flobikes is in charge of broadcasting the Tour Down Under in Canada. Subscriptions cost CA$39.99 a month, with big savings for long-term plans. The Flobikes TV app is available on Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast and Apple TV, as well as on iOS and Android.

Can I watch the Tour Down Under for free?

Fans in the home country of Australia, can watch the Tour Down Under for free thanks to the race's deal with Seven. That means you can watch on TV on 7Mate and 7two, and online on 7plus.

That's different to the rest of the year, when racing coverage is provided by SBS, the country's public service broadcaster.

Coverage is geo-restricted, so if you're not in any of these countries right now, and these channels are your usual port of call, you'll need a VPN to get your usual coverage while abroad – more on that below.

How to watch the Tour Down Under while abroad

Most streaming platforms have geo-restrictions in place, meaning they only work in certain countries. But being locked out of the races is a thing of the past thanks to a VPN, so you can continue to watch the Tour Down Under while on the move.

A Virtual Private Network is a piece of internet security software that can alter your device's location, so you can unblock your usual streaming services, even when you're abroad.

Our colleagues over at TechRadar know everything there is to know about VPNs and they rate NordVPN as the best VPN out there right now.

Want to know more? We have an explainer on the benefits, costs, and considerations...
– Should I use a VPN to watch cycling?

What to expect at the Tour Down Under

The Tour Down Under is the beginning of the season for most, apart from those who have taken part in the Australian National Championships, so it's a chance for all to shake their rust off and get into the thick of action.

The men's and women's races might be shorn of some of cycling's top-level stars, but that just means there is more room for emerging talent and for new names to stake a claim. Two years ago, that was Isaac del Toro and Oscar Onley in the men's race, two names we're all much more familiar with, while in the women's, Sarah Gigante and Ally Wollaston have both partly emerged Down Under.

The women's race sees three lumpy stages around Adelaide, for the longest race yet, while the men will similarly have hilly stages, five of them, after an opening day time trial.

For the first time, all 14 Women's WorldTour squads will be present, while all 18 men's WorldTour teams have also headed to Australia.

What time is the Tour Down Under on?

See also: Cycling TV and streaming guide

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Women's Tour Down Under, 17-19 January, Adelaide, Australia
Men's Tour Down Under, 20-25 January, Adelaide, Australia

The WorldTour season begins on Satirday with the women's Tour Down Under, a three-stage race which aims to set the tone for the season. It will be followed by the men's race, a six-stage event, which begins on Tuesday, running until next Sunday.

The biggest races of the Australian calendar are always full of intrigue and interesting storylines, with Antipodean riders in particular keen to show off their form, while riders from the rest of the world aim to kick off their years with a bang.

If you want to find out to watch, wherever you are in the world, make sure you check out our how to watch the Tour Down Under guide.

Advance Australia Fair

Perhaps obviously, this race matters more to our Antipodean friends than to others, as it is one of a few opportunities for European-based riders to show their talent on home, or closer-to-home roads. It’s no surprise that there have been 14 Australian winners of the men’s race, and six of the women’s. However, it was a surprise that there was no Aussie winner at the women’s event last year – something they will be keen to rectify.

Training through racing

Perhaps obviously, this race matters more to our Antipodean friends than to others, as it is one of a few opportunities for European-based riders to show their talent on home, or closer-to-home roads. It’s no surprise that there have been 14 Australian winners of the men’s race, and six of the women’s. However, it was a surprise that there was no Aussie winner at the women’s event last year – something they will be keen to rectify.

Women’s WorldTour strength

Unlike previous years, when Women’s WorldTour teams could forgo events that they didn’t fancy – which was often the TDU, given the travel – all 14 squads have to race this year’s race. It means potentially the strongest field ever, with SD Worx-Protime present for the first time in their illustrious history, which is intriguing.

Tougher races

Despite it coming in January, and talk of easing into the season, both the men’s and women’s races are billed as the toughest ever, with longer stages, harder climbs and technical descents. The women will be riding the longest stage ever in the TDU, and also tackling Corkscrew Road twice for the first time, while the men will ascend Willunga Hill thrice.

Wine time

South Australia is home to some of Australia’s biggest and most well-known Vineyards, in the hills around Adelaide. The state is responsible for more than half of all Australian wine, so if you’ve ever sipped on a Shiraz or a Sauvignon from the other side of the world, it might well have been produced from the vines the riders will whizz past.

Focus on: Willunga Hill

Where else to look out for at the Tour Down Under but the famed Willunga Hill? The women will go close but not actually head up the full hill itself on stage one, but the men will make up for that, climbing it three times on stage four. It’s only 3.2km at 7.5%, so wouldn’t be beyond most of us, but it’s the way it is raced which makes it hard. The race could very well be decided here.

Riders to watch

Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) *****
The winner of three Vuelta a España stages in 2025, along with the KOM title, the Tour Down Under probably isn’t quite hard enough for the Australian to shine. However, on home roads, it would make sense for his team to go all in for Vine. He’s also the time trial national champion for a second time.

Ally Wollaston (FDJ-SUEZ) *****
Not Australian but from New Zealand, but Wollaston will still be aiming to make a splash at her almost-home WorldTour race. The 25-year-old won the GC last year at the Tour of Britain Women, so has form in short, punchy stage races, and will be looking to at least double her tally of stage wins.

Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike) ****
It all started for last year’s phenom at the Tour Down Under, where he finished second on his first ever WorldTour stage. The second year is often difficult, but Brennan has the speed and power to impress, and will fancy his chances against some of the other sprinters who have made it Down Under.

Ben O’Connor (Jayco AlUla) ****
Last year, his first at his ‘home’ team of Jayco AlUla, was a bit of a mixed bag, with a Tour de France stage win the absolute highlight. Returning to the Tour Down Under for the first time since 2023, O’Connor has a point to prove, and along with Luke Plapp, will be heading up Jayco’s goal of the orange jersey.

Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-EasyPost) ****
The young Swiss rider saw off much more experienced competition to win the race last year, and returns to defend her crown. The remainder of Ruëgg’s 2025 did not see a win, but a lot of consistency, including third at San Remo Donne, and top 10s at Strade Bianche and Trofeo Alfredo Binda.

The 2025 cycling season is well and truly up and running with some talking points already beginning to develop after the first races flashed by. The Tour Down Under is done and dusted and all eyes now turn to Europe and the imminent arrival of Opening Weekend, via the Middle East.

Here are five takeaways from the Tour Down Under and recent men’s and women’s races in Spain to whet the appetite for what's to come in the weeks ahead.

Marc Hirschi starts as he means to go on with Tudor

Marc Hirschi kickstarted his career at Tudor with an emphatic win at the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana in Spain, the second race of the European men’s racing season, and showed signs that there’s more to come.

Hirschi was in scintillating form at the tail end of last year for UAE Emirates. The Swiss star enjoyed a trio of victories at the Clásica San Sebastián, Coppa Agostoni and Sabatini and finished sixth overall in the men’s elite World Championships road race. His transfer to a new environment could well be the catalyst to him kicking on even further in the coming years and take him to the next level.

Along with fellow new arrival Julian Alaphilippe, who Hirschi narrowly beat in his San Sebastián victory, Hirschi will enjoy a clear leadership role at the Fabian Cancellara-backed squad and will represent a real threat in the hillier Classics.

Will Sam Welsford make the Tour de France?

Australian sprinter Sam Welsford grabbed his second successive hat trick of stage wins at the Tour Down Under, but will he be able to sustain his form and ensure he lands a spot in Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Tour de France team?

After splitting his focus between his track ambitions at last summer’s Olympics and his goals on the road, he now says it is all in for results for his trade team and the start of the year couldn’t have gone much better. Red Bull team management will have been impressed with his opening performance, but the French Grand Tour is still a long way off.

Building on his Tour Down Under success with a few wins in the upcoming UAE Tour, followed by a solid performance in Paris-Nice, could well put him in contention for a return to the Tour this summer where he says he will be targeting opening day victory and the race's first yellow jersey if selected. However, three wins at the TDU last year did not amount to much more in Europe. Welsford will hope this year is different.

Marlen Reusser demonstrates impressive form on Movistar debut

Similarly to the likes of Marc Hirschi and Jhonatan Narváez, Marlen Reusser started as she meant to go on at Movistar after switching to the Spanish team from SD Worx-Protime last year.

Reusser endured a difficult 2024 campaign after the latter half of her season was derailed by illness, although she appeared back to full fitness and looked sharp when holding off Mavi García to win the Trofeo Palma Femina on Sunday. The Swiss rider expertly held off Garcia on the climb to the finish before sprinting away to take the win on the ascent with little response from the Spaniard.

It’s difficult to read too much into early season results, but Reusser could well be on track to return to the one-day form she demonstrated in 2023 when she took the win in Gent-Wevelgem and finished third at Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes.

Jhonatan Narváez begins with a bang at UAE Team Emirates

Jhonatan Narváez went one better at the Tour Down Under on debut for UAE Emirates after finishing second overall last time out in Australia. The Ecuadorian secured the overall win last week by nine seconds after taking a stage victory on Willunga Hill.

Narváez was one of several to make for the exit door at Ineos Grenadiers at the end of last season and, on paper, represented an astute signing for UAE Emirates. The Ecuadorian achieved some solid results for Ineos in the Classics last year and could be set to replicate those performances this spring.

A race like Strade Bianche and the E3 Saxo Classic appear tailor made to his strengths as a puncheur, although the latter would appear more of a possibility this year with Tadej Pogačar set to lead UAE in Tuscany at Strade Bianche.

Oscar Onley shows good form in Australia

After his stage-winning exploits on Willunga Hill 12 months ago, Oscar Onley was a huge favourite to double up on his success this time round in Australia and seal a second consecutive win on the famous climb. However, the 22-year-old Scottish rider ended up taking second place, which all but sealed fourth overall in the general classification.

Onley’s ride in Australia was just 15 seconds off of overall Tour Down Under victory and a first WorldTour stage race win, showing that a major victory is just around the corner.

Onley made clear in a recent interview with Cycling Weekly that he is aiming for a Tour de France stage win this year. His form in 2024, particularly at the World Championships, showed that he is more than capable of holding his own on the biggest of stages.

Half a bike length was all that separated Matthew Brennan (Visma Lease a Bike) from a fairytale start to his pro career, as he sprinted to a close second on stage one of the Santos Tour Down Under in Australia.

The 19-year-old neo-pro finished runner-up to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Sam Welsford on the opening day of the WorldTour calendar. The Brit accelerated from fourth to second place in the final metres of the finishing straight in Gumeracha, and almost pipped the victory with a bike throw, held off by Welsford who had posted up to celebrate.

Following the stage, the Brit said the result is “one I’ll remember for a long time”.

“I’m really happy with it,” he said. “I have to thank the team—they worked hard for me all day. In the final kilometres, we wanted to take our chance and see how close we could get. I spotted a gap on the left side of the road and decided to go for it. I think I had a strong sprint, but in the end, I came up just short. At this level, there’s no shame in that.”

Brennan was one of three Brits who finished in the top five on the stage. Matthew Walls (Groupama-FDJ) placed third, while Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), riding in his 17th full season as a pro, was fifth.

The Visma-Lease a Bike teenager will begin stage two on Wednesday in the white jersey as the best-placed young rider.

“Before the race, I would have gladly signed up for a podium finish in my very first WorldTour event,” Brennan said. “Of course, it stings a little to miss out on the win by such a small margin, but it’s amazing to be starting tomorrow in the white jersey.

“This was a hectic season opener, but one I’ll remember for a long time. This second place gives me a lot of confidence. I think we’ve started this Tour Down Under on the right foot as a team.”

Having come through the UK-based Fensham Howes-MAS Design junior team, Brennan joined Visma-Lease a Bike’s development arm last season, scoring a notable win on the final day of the Giro d’Italia Next Gen.

He made his professional debut last Saturday at the Villawood Men’s Classic – a pre-Tour Down Under criterium event – and finished third, again behind the winner Welsford.

The six-stage Tour Down Under continues on Wednesday with a hilly second stage in Tanunda. The race will begin at 11:14 local time (00:44 GMT).

Groupama FDJ’s Rudy Molard has said that he has no memory of being involved in a heavy crash on stage three of the Tour Down Under which landed him in hospital. 

The Frenchman was one of many riders that was unable to finish the third stage of the men’s WorldTour curtain raiser in Adelaide due to hitting the tarmac. He suffered a concussion, which has meant he is unable to head home.

Shortly after the stage had finished, Molard shared an update on his condition on social media. He posted a photo on Instagram which showed he had suffered some facial injuries, as well as road rash, with a brief caption which said the crash “could have been worse”. 

A further update from Molard, shared by his team on Thursday, explained that he had been forced to stay in Australia to fully recover due to being too unwell to travel home to France after the race had concluded. 

“After my crash on the Tour Down Under, I spent 48 hours in hospital,” he said. “I was put under general anaesthetic to clean my wounds and have my dressings changed, so I wouldn’t suffer too much. 

“The wounds are still superficial, although the one’s on my hands are really bothering me. The concussion, on the other hand, is really annoying. I’ve got headaches and I’m tired. I wasn’t able to make the journey back to France, so I’m recovering here in Australia with the team.” 

He continued: “I’d never had a concussion before, so I know risks are not to be taken lightly. I have no memory of the crash, which is quite significant. My overall condition is improving, and it’s incredible to see how quickly the wounds on my face have progressed. 

“It puts the brakes on the first part of my season. I felt fit and capable of performing. Today, it’s still too early to say what my recovery programme will be. I’m going to concentrate on recovering well and come back with even more motivation.” 

Australian national champion Luke Plapp was also involved in a crash on the third stage which left him with severe road rash. The Jayco AlUla rider managed to finish the stage but was unable to start the fourth stage the following morning. 

Welshman Stevie Williams won the race overall. It was the 27-year-old’s first WorldTour GC win. 

It seems strange to think that Julian Alaphilippe is still only 31. It feels as if the Frenchman has been around forever, and almost belongs to a different era to that of Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel. His back-to-back World Championships victories feel longer than three years ago, possibly thanks to Covid time, and that run at the 2019 Tour de France even longer ago.

However, he is still here, speaking of wanting to get back to his best level, and wanting to fight with the best at whichever race he is sent to. This feels like a crucial year, after two seasons beset with illness, injury, and disappointment. Not just because it's his contract year with Soudal Quick-Step, but because it feels like he could be at a turning point. A successful year could encourage him to keep marching on, while another below par effort might do the opposite.

"To be honest, I took every season of my career like it’s the last one," Alaphilippe told Cycling Weekly and others at the Tour Down Under. "I never think about ‘f***, it’s my contract year’ or ‘oh, last year I won a lot so this year I don’t care.’ Every new season I started with grinta, like I won nothing before. I always think like this.

"To be honest, I don’t know where I will be next year, if I continue in the team or if I continue cycling, I don’t know."

Alaphilippe feels like a survivor from another era, perhaps because he was at Quick-Step before the Remco revolution began. His calendar this year reflects the new hierarchy at the team, with Evenepoel heading to the Tour de France and Alaphilippe to the Giro d'Italia. There is no room on an eight-man team looking to win the yellow jersey for a rider like the Frenchman, although he says it was his idea to go to Italy instead of France. You can see his logic.

"It's mostly a decision that came from myself, because a few years ago I said to my team that I want to go to the Giro one time in my career," he said. "This year, I want to come back to my best level. The goal is to be at 100% for the Flemish Classics, especially the Tour of Flanders, with the Giro after. It's nice to have new goals. 

"You shouldn't think that the Giro is easier than the Tour or the Vuelta. There are always guys at 100%, in every race. I know the Giro is one of the hardest races, as I have seen on television. We will have a strong team with a sprinter and a lot of opportunities."

You can see Alaphilippe triumphing up one of those punchy climbs so beloved of the Giro's organisers, maybe even a couple depending on the field. In a year in which Evenpoel, Pogačar, Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard will all be going to the Tour, it might be a good idea to seek success elsewhere. He has triumphed on Italian soil before - at Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo and Strade Bianche, so he is no stranger to victory on the peninsular.

He has been a stranger to consistent form in the last few years, with four wins coming since his last world title in 2021, but has proven that he still has the ability to win. His plan now is to make that a more regular occurrence. Sixth overall at the Tour Down Under might not scream world beater, but the Soudal Quick-Step rider stressed that he was happy with his performance in Australia, where he finished fourth on Willunga Hill and sixth on the Mount Lofty stage. It is January, after all.

"It was a really beautiful few weeks we had here and after," he said. "It will be the time to start in Europe for the Classics and a completely different mood and atmosphere and weather, but I think I am already happy now.

"I saw the result of a good feeling. Simply, I came here with the ambition to see how I feel and I was realistic with my ambition about results, because I knew what I did during the winter. I was surprised that I can fight with the best guys until the top of the climb, it is a good surprise, to be honest."

"I knew it would be difficult to win because the guys that win here, I know they train à bloc all winter since November and even October. I know where I am and it’s a good surprise to be there already."

Despite his struggles in 2022 and 2023, there was no big change in his approach to 2024, but he does sound like he is finally coming to a place where he is finding himself again. That's good for him and his team, but also good for cycling.

"I was in the mood to really fight, go in the red zone and really stay there," Alaphilippe said about his race up Willunga. "I never lost this spirit [in the past], but physically I [couldn't]. When I felt that I could not win, a lot of times I did efforts just to kill myself, because it was not funny for me to destroy myself when I knew I cannot win.

"I know myself and one year ago for sure, in this situation, I will feel directly I cannot win and I will attack or I will do two/three big efforts, explode and drop just to destroy myself."

"I did nothing crazy this winter, normal training, no big hours, no crazy intensity, because the most important thing for me was to build a good base and to improve from now to my goals."

One of his loudest critics in recent times has been Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere, who has not been happy with the return from his investment. To that end, the team parted ways with Alaphilippe's coach, Franck, his cousin, at the end of the year. However, Alaphilippe would not stoop to a war of words.

"I don't care [about the comments], I just do what I have to do," he said.

"I think now I am really busy, I give my best every day, I also know how professional I am, so I just do my job and he does his job. I think now he is quite busy and so am I, so if we have to talk together, we always do and the relationship is always ok."

Next stop for Alaphilippe is Opening Weekend and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad; if he can continue to fight in that red zone and train at his best, then we might see the 31-year-old crossing the line first a few more times in 2024. Then remember how good he still is, rather than was. 

Good morning and welcome back to The Leadout. I’m currently writing this from Hamad International Airport in Qatar, where I’m stopping over on the way back from the Tour Down Under. Thoughts and prayers for my body clock to adam.becket@futurenet.com, please, as well as any comments, suggestions, or general chat.

Standing at the top of Willunga Hill on Saturday, it was striking that the first two men across the line were British: Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL) then Stevie Williams (Israel-Premier Tech). Twenty-four hours later, at Mount Lofty, it was Williams who was first across the line first, while Onley’s race finished in disappointment - for him - with fourth. There was, in fact, another Briton in the top ten in Simon Yates, who finished seventh.

Yates, Onley and Williams are different riders at different stages of their career, but they are all part of the proof that British riders are doing better than ever at the highest level. There are 33 male WorldTour professionals with contracts currently, and 25 female Women’s WorldTour pros, both comprehensively more than ever. Those riders range from some all-time greats, like Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) or Lizzie Deignan (Lidl-Trek), through to the freshest, like Oliver Knight (Cofidis) or Cat Ferguson (Movistar).

The reason why the success of Britons at the TDU was so striking to me was not just because I am the news editor of Cycling Weekly, but because the results came in the same week in which the Tour of Britain and the Women’s Tour looked in as grave danger as ever. It’s an odd dichotomy to see British prosperity at the same time as bad news back home.

Last week, we broke the story that the organiser of both races, SweetSpot, had gone into liquidation, a move which puts the future of the premier British races into doubt, for this year at the very least. It seems inconceivable that Britain can’t sustain an international stage race, yet here we are.

Yates, Onley and Williams - and Knight, actually, who was also at the TDU - have been successful despite the domestic scene, not because of it. All four came into the WorldTour with international teams, and none have ever particularly relied on the likes of the Tour of Britain or British conti teams. All British riders have benefited from the boom in British cycling in the build-up and after London 2012 and Bradley Wiggins’ Tour de France triumph, but also the growing internationalisation of the peloton, and English emerging as the main language of the pack.

We should be hopeful for the future of British cycling, especially with coming talents like Onley, Ferguson, and Knight around, but it is clear that something needs to be done to revive the domestic scene. British Cycling, the governing body in the UK, is soon to publish the findings of its road racing task force, and it will be interesting to see what concrete measures are actually suggested.

It is not the plight of the elite riders, who are usually talents at junior level, that we should be worried about here. It is the late developers, the riders who get a spot at one of the few British Continental teams left, shine at a race like the Tour of Britain, and then get a leg up to the next level. Doubts over the future of the race harm the whole ecosystem, even if it is not really clear to see yet.

It’s great to see British success on the world stage, and it doesn’t appear to be something which will be slowing down anytime soon. It would just be good to see British success in Britain, too. Over to you, BC.

The problem with high expectations is that however narrowly you miss them, it ends in disappointment. This was the fate that befell Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) on Sunday, with the pair producing standout performances at the Tour Down Under over the past week, but neither winning overall.

Onley, 21, and Del Toro, 20, won their first WorldTour races this week, showcasing not just their potential but their present ability, but they could not match Stevie Williams on stage six, as the Welshman won the stage and the overall.

Despite their happiness at winning stages of the race, the denouement ended in a little dismay, even though Del Toro finished on the podium and as the best young rider. Onley lost time on Mount Lofty, finishing fourth, but still taking home his best WorldTour GC result.

"In a few hours I’ll be happy with it, but for now it’s pretty disappointing," Onley said. "But I think when I look back over this week I’ll be happy. I’ve taken a big step I guess.

"I’ll go over the race today and see what I could have done better, and in the week in general there’s things I can take away. Maybe I just wasn’t on my best day, I don’t know to be honest, I just couldn’t follow."

Ironically, it was his fellow disappointed rider, Del Toro, who was responsible for ruining Onley's day.

"Del Toro attacked first, and then the guys that went with him were on his wheel and I just couldn’t follow his wheel," he said. "Then the other guys in my group tried to make me do the work, which I get, but I was just empty, I couldn’t really do anything."

Del Toro sounded similarly down after the stage, despite a breakthrough week - his first WorldTour race, his first win, and his first podium. Not bad for a neo-pro January, but he still apologised to his teammates as they rolled up to him post-stage.

"It was hard to be honest," he said. "In the last part I tried for the team, they all helped me into the last corner. I did my best and can do it better than today. I tried, and the first part and the second part I enjoyed, but in the sprint, I can do it better. I’m happy but at the same time not too much, but it’s good.

"It’s more that I won. But after yesterday, because I did not do my best climb, it is good for me but I like to give my 100% for the team. You have six guys working for you, and 100 guys working off the bike, and for me it’s not really nice. Today I tried to win the stage or for the seconds, but I can do it better. I’m happy but not too much. But I try to enjoy."

Both are young, though, and both can build on their impressive weeks. If anything, the climbs of the Tour Down Under weren't hard enough for a pure climber like Onley. Bigger things loom.

"It [the climb] was probably a little bit too short and wasn’t really steep enough," he said. "I’ve got some more exciting races coming up that maybe can suit me better, so I’ll focus on them."

Similarly, Del Toro has more to focus on in the coming months and years.

"I think [my performance] was really good," he said. "It’s like a dream for me and it’s the first experience, and I enjoyed it a lot. It’s one of the biggest dreams. It’s a lot.

"I don’t feel pressure, because my teammates are really good with me. They care about me, they always stay talking with me about this. There’s not a lot of pressure, only responsibility to do my work well and try to do my best, and my teammates are really good with that and they help me a lot with this situation."

Stevie Williams' trip to Australia did not get off on the best foot. The Israel-Premier Tech rider was "spewing his head off" on the flight over, according to his teammate George Bennett. Fortunately, he had a bit of time to recover before the Tour Down Under kicked off. His trip is certainly going well now, with victory on stage six of the race netting him the overall title, his first general classification win at WorldTour level. From sickness to the best health.

The 27-year-old from Aberystwyth was not top of many people's lists of favourites ahead of the week, something his directeur sportif Sam Bewley readily admitted. It might be January but the likes of Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla), Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jack Haig (Bahrain-Victorious) were worthy challengers, but none could match the Welshman.

Williams finished second on Willunga Hill on Saturday's stage five, to take the leader's jersey, and then completed his total victory on Sunday, with a stage win. The man in ochre calmly reeled back in those attacking him on the final ascent of Mount Lofty, before launching his sprint, keeping Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) and Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers) at bay. It was his sprint which won him the race.

"He's really quick, people underestimate him I think," Bewley said. "We knew he was a good chance for us this week, we kept it under wraps pretty well I think. I hazard to guess that no one would have said Stevie Williams would have won the Tour Down Under, but we delivered it."

Perhaps we should have seen this coming when Williams finished third on stage two, the bunch sprint finish where the win was stolen by Del Toro, who ended up finishing second overall. Williams didn't have any doubt in his team, that was clear.

"I thought we were nailed on to do something to be honest," he said. "I think the calibre of riders we had here, we were backing ourselves to come here and perform. We weren't here to make the numbers up."

Williams' victory did not come out of the blue. His win at the Tour Down Under followed taking the Arctic Race of Norway last year, and a stage of the Tour de Suisse the year before. However, it is safe to say this is the biggest moment of his career to date.

"Cycling is funny, they [wins] don't come round so often, once you get a victory like this, you have to make sure you enjoy it and take it in," he said. "For me to win a WorldTour GC, at this point in the season, is really important for my development.

"It's nice to start a season well for once. If you look at my career over the last five or six years, it has been pretty up and down. I think from here, it's definitely something I want to kick on with, and make sure the season is consistent."

His Israel-Premier Tech team know they have a big talent on their hands, they just had to get him to believe in his abilities.

"He's a really calm guy," Bewley explained. "Sometimes he doesn't back himself, and we've been trying to instil it in him that he should. Case in point is this. I think there's going to be a big shift in his confidence, and that's going to take him a long way for the rest of his career. 

"He's a really unassuming guy and he just gets on with it. He doesn't like to overcomplicate things, he spends his evening watching old NBA highlights and listening to Drake. He's a relaxed guy and he just wants to get out there and race his bike."

Williams might not be on the level of a Primož Roglič, Remco Evenepoel or Tadej Pogačar, but he is from the same school of riding. Climb, go into the red, and then manage to sprint at the end.

"He's got the goods. In this kind of race especially," Bennett explained. "He's incredibly fast on five minute climbs. This is his bread and butter, he's genuinely one of the fastest people I've ever met. His sprint is unbelievable. He can hit bunch sprint watts. These short climbs, you'll see him, that's his specialty."

"He climbs really well, even in the high mountains, but he's got that little sprint in him that not a lot of people know about - they probably do now," Bewley added. "He's really quick, as you saw on stage two when he came third when he was leading out Corbin Strong.

"The new model of cyclist, a lot of the guys are having a lot of success, are they guys that can climb well and sprint too. Stevie fits right in that mix, and that's where he's heading, he's there now. That will become his bread and butter."

Williams appears to have hit his stride after years of his career where he has struggled with injury and to find a team which backed him. With this Israel-Premier Tech team, its environment, and with a clean bill of health, the Welshman is one to watch at week-long stage races and the Ardennes Classics, which are his next goal.

"At the moment, I'm definitely a puncheur with a fast finish," he said. "Short, sharp climbs. Being able to go into the red, recover, red, recover. That's where I am at the moment, but the longer climbs are something I want to try and improve on. But if this is right for me at the minute, and I'm winning, then why change something.

"The next most important thing will be the Ardennes Classics. I want to go there and get a good block in, and then once we know which Grand Tour I'm going to do, it will be all go for that."

His goal now is a simple one, to replicate this in Europe. It doesn't seem unachievable.

"I want to go to the biggest races in the world and do this," Williams said. "I think this is a stepping stone in the right direction, considering it's a week-long stage race. I'd like to head back now and kick on from here, and make the most of it. Try my best to get some good results."

Stevie Williams was "over the moon" to be in the race lead at the Tour Down Under after stage five, but cautioned that Sunday's final day will be "tough" and "stressful".

The Israel-Premier Tech rider holds the ochre leader's jersey on count-back, with the Welshman tied on time with stage five's winner Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL). With such a thin grasp on the race lead, it will very much be all to play for on stage six, which sees the peloton ascend Mount Lofty thrice.

It is not the 27-year-old's first time in a WorldTour leader's jersey, with Williams taking the lead at the Tour de Suisse two years ago following winning stage one. However, he has never been so close to overall victory on such a level.

"I’m really, really glad, over the moon," Williams said post-stage. "I knew it was going to be close, obviously we’re on the same time, and I got it on count-back. Luckily that sprint on stage two [where he finished third] came in pretty handy there. I’m really pleased to be in this jersey and to give this back to the boys who have done such a good job today."

Beyond Onley, there are two more riders - Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers) and Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) - within five seconds of Williams, and three more within 13. That includes Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) and Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla). Stage six will not be easy.

"It will be a tough stage," Williams said. "It will be hard to control, everybody is still very close there on GC - the top five or six guys are all within a handful of seconds so I expect a pretty stressful day but the guys here have such experience and class that I have no worries that we’ll do our best to fight for it. 

"We’ve got to be aware. Realistically it’s going to be a tough day. The last days are always hard to control whenever you’re in the lead, so we’ll just do our best to give it everything and try to come away with a win."

The climber, a winner of the prestigious U23 race the Ronde de I’Isard in 2018, was plagued by left knee trouble after he turned professional with Bahrain-Merida in 2019. However, he has built steadily since 2021, when he won CRO Race, with stage victory at the Tour de Suisse following in 2022, and the overall at the Arctic Race of Norway in 2023. 

A return to the podium, so early in 2024, harks good things this season, and it is clear that he is backed by his Israel-Premier Tech team; in a strong squad, which includes Simon Clarke, Derek Gee and George Bennett, he has been given his own opportunity.

"I’ve had a good winter, I’ve been healthy," Williams explained. "I knew that this race and the parcours was suited to me, so I was confident, coming here with a good team. It’s nice to be in this jersey now, but it’s not over, we have one more day and we’ll try and do everything."

Progress is not always linear in sport, as in life. Fortune’s wheel turns and shapes a lot of what goes on in professional cycling, and can interrupt what seems what could be exponential growth.

2023 looked like it was going to be Oscar Onley’s year, following his breakthrough performance at CRO Race the previous autumn, where he almost beat Jonas Vingegaard. The young Scot was fast tracked to dsm-firmenich PostNL’s senior squad from its development team, and was also given a programme which befitted his talent, including big WorldTour events, from the Volta a Catalunya to the Vuelta a España.

While he rode well throughout the season - winning the youth classification at the Volta ago Algarve, finishing fifth on a stage of the Tour de Romandie, and 10th overall at the Tour of Poland - a big podium or a win eluded him. He was all set for a great Vuelta a España, part of the winning squad in the opening TTT, only to crash out on the second stage.

Onley made up for that disappointment with victory on Willunga Hill on stage five of the Tour Down Under on Saturday. The 21-year-old looked the strongest on the climb on the final ascent, matching Chris Harper (Jayco-AlUla) as he pushed off the front, before out-sprinting the elite handful of riders who made it to the summit together. He didn’t just beat anyone, either, with Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-Quick Step) and Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla) among those finishing in his wake.

He was so good on Saturday that it was almost a record time up Willunga Hill, just one second behind Richie Porte’s benchmark. If there had been a bit less tactics from the reduced bunch, he might well be in the history books now. Onley now sits second on general classification, on equal time with Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech).

“I wasn't really sure what to do,” he explained post-stage. “I was strong but I wasn't sure, I didn't want to go too early. Alaphilippe went first, I got onto his wheel, and he went a bit early, and I managed to kick off of his wheel.”

While his name might not be as well known as some of those around him on general classification, a performance of this level is not a surprise. A first win, a WorldTour win at that, was coming.

“To be honest, I came here with quite high expectations,” Onley said. “Obviously, you come into every race wanting to win, but I really felt like I had a good shot if I played it right. It was more about making sure that I played it smart and didn't waste energy at the wrong points. 

“I have to credit the team over the winter, who have helped me with this tactical game. In the past, I've had the legs to get better results, but I've not been tactically so smart. It's something I've really focussed on.”

The result was certainly not a surprise to his team. Chris Hamilton, who has been working for him all week, knew Onley was capable of this.

“He's been a massive talent, ever since he came through our development team,” Hamilton said. “I did my first race with him a couple of years ago in Croatia, and it was a big race for him to find his feet, and he ended up going toe-to-toe with a Tour de France winner. From there, he raised a few eyebrows. 

“He has just been chipping away, developing slowly. He's always had a massive engine, but he has just taken a bit of time to find out how and when to use it. He's worked it out.”

If working it out means this kind of performance, then there is a lot to come for Onley. His team said he will be back at a Grand Tour, without revealing which one yet.

“It's a pretty incredible start to the year, and I hope to kick on from here,” Onley said. “I want to be able to show this form throughout the year, not just in January. Hopefully, at some point in the coming months.”

The 21-year-old is still learning, but his early exit from the Vuelta a España gave him the opportunity to reset and focus on 2024, something which he is clearly reaping the rewards of.

“He was a bit nervous in the bunch at the beginning of the week, and just in the last four days, the improvement we've seen in him is massive,” Hamilton said. “It's unbelievable to see him pull it off.”

“There were some struggles last year, and the Vuelta was really unfortunate, he'd prepared well,” dsm directeur sportif Luke Roberts added. “It was just bad luck. It opened the door up to take his break a bit earlier, prepare a  little bit earlier, and come to this race ready. We took that opportunity, and set him up here in top shape.”

For now, the focus is on the final stage of the Tour Down Under on Sunday, which features a triple ascent of Mount Lofty. His team are secretly confident, believing that denouement to suit their young charge better. His start to 2024 has the potential to get even better yet. 

Eleven seconds separate first from 69th at the Tour Down Under after four days of racing. Eleven seconds, the time an elite runner can do 100 metres, or the time it takes to tie a shoelace, or to microwave a pre-made pancake. It is not a lot.

Those 11 seconds cover everyone from a Grand Tour winner, in Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla), to sprinters like Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and puncheurs like Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step). It is safe to say the first four stages of the Tour Down Under have not been particularly selective, with all but one ending in a sprint - the one that didn't, pretty much did anyway. Sam Welsford won three of the four.

As a result, no-one really knows what form riders are in, or who is really in contention for the overall. The final two stages both have the potential to be decisive, with stage five seeing riders race up Willunga Hill twice, and stage six concluding after three ascents of Mount Lofty. They might not be the toughest climbs the peloton will face this year, but if raced hard, they will split things up. That's what everyone is hoping, anyway.

"In some ways it hasn’t been the most aggressive racing so far," Jayco AlUla directeur sportif Mathew Hayman said on Thursday. "Particularly on stage two, I would have expected more fireworks, so maybe everybody’s waiting for tomorrow. It could be a quite exciting stage."

There are a lot of unknowns, principally how good the race leader, Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) will be this weekend. The Mexican took the ochre leader's jersey following stage two, and has the ability to win the whole race - he won the Tour de l'Avenir, the premier under-23 race, last year - but this is his first WorldTour race.

Asked if he had tackled Willunga before, the softly-spoken 20-year-old replied: "I went up it in training, it's a good climb, I hope to do my work really good tomorrow. I need to talk to the team about that [his role on Saturday]." He doesn't give much away. 

"It’s a couple of totally different stages now," Hayman explained. "Tomorrow, being back at Willunga, which is a staple of the Tour Down Under, it’s always an exciting race and you normally have great crowds out there. So we’re looking forward to returning there and and we’ll be seeing how Simon can go up there. 

"[Isaac del Toro] is a bit unknown, he’s a neo-pro. We came into this tour with a few guys on our radar, as a director you’re interested in how these guys are going to make the transition, and he didn’t stay under the radar for very long. It’s a bit unknown to us how well he can climb and how well he’s going, but we’re still looking forward to the weekend."

Jayco AlUla have Yates and Chris Harper here as GC options, with the former ostensibly the leader, but they're not alone. There are a lot of contenders in amongst the 68 riders within 11 seconds of Del Toro - Jack Haig (Bahrain-Victorious), Michael Storer (Australia), Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers), Stevie Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) and Alaphilippe to name just five.

"There’s enough of them [competitors]," Hayman said. "Obviously the leader at the moment, and there’s a number of other climbers. We’ve got to ride our own race. Simon’s in good shape and we’ll do what we can, it just hasn’t been a tour that’s gone our way so far, but hopefully it can turn around."

Jayco have been hampered with the loss of Luke Plapp, who crashed on stage three and retired before the next day, such were his injuries, but the home team will want to put on a show over the next two days. Yates won atop Mount Lofty in 2023, so he has previous.

All eyes will be firstly on Del Toro, but then Jayco as the peloton approaches Willunga twice on Saturday. The stage is set, with the famous climb - 3.4km at 7.4% - once again likely to be decisive. 

Standing at the finish line in Port Elliot on Friday afternoon, listening to Happy Birthday To You sung by Sam Welsford’s family, it was difficult to imagine a better start to 2024 for the Australian.

Bora-Hansgrohe had done it again. Three bunch sprints at WorldTour level this year, three victories for their new signing, who might have paid back the faith shown in him already. If it seems easy for the 28-year-old at his new team, it is because it is at the moment. A lot of training and work has gone into this moment, but Bora’s sprint machine has been able to beat all competition at the Tour Down Under.

The finish in Port Elliot was not completely straightforward, though, after a hot three hours in the saddle for the peloton. Other teams, notably Ineos Grenadiers, were not content to let another day go Bora’s way easily, but Danny van Poppel, the Bora leadout man, and Welsford were a match for them. On the latter's 28th birthday, too.

“It was a super hectic run-in,” the winner said post-stage. “We lost each other into the final corner. I knew I was only one or two wheels behind Danny, and he knew where I was the whole time, he was looking back. We almost had the same idea. He knew I'd be in a good position, my legs felt good for the sprint. 

“I didn't have to think too much leading in, the boys are really good at picking a side and defending it. That's the big difference I've noticed this year.”

Welsford has won just eight races in his short career to date, and three of them have been in 2024; 37.5% of all his victories in just four days. Before this season, he’d won just once at WorldTour level, now he’s a four-time winner. The record is good, and the momentum Welsford has is even better.

“Once we got the first one, you roll that confidence on and the boys are really feeding off how we're going this week, and the momentum keeps on rolling,” he explained

“The earlier you can get it right and get on the right wavelength as the boys, as a unit, it's super important for the rest of the season. When you go to the UAE Tour or the Giro [d’Italia], that's when it's harder to get right, so if you're already hitting those big races with good experience under the belt, it makes a huge difference.”

Any win is obviously important, and impressive, but having comprehensively beaten the field at this race, attention will inevitably be on Welsford when he returns to Europe, or to the Middle East if he ends up at the UAE Tour. He can beat Caleb Ewan coming back from illness, or Phil Bauhaus and Biniam Girmay in January, but how he shapes up against the likes of Jasper Philipsen, Dylan Groenewegen or Arnaud De Lie is another question.

Welsford and his team, though, are understandably confident.

“He's won three stages already,” Bora directeur sportif Shane Archbold said. “If more than three sprinters win more than five WorldTour races this year, I'd be surprised, and he's already got three on the board.”

The fresh 28-year-old has had a perfect 2024 so far, and a dream birthday present to boot. If his sprint train keeps firing this well, his season could get better and better,

It is simple, it turns out, as switching teams. Sam Welsford had the raw power, but not the support to get him to the right place. Move from dsm-firmenich PostNL to Bora-Hansgrohe, give him a leadout train which positions him right, and victory follows. Easy.

Two sprints at the Tour Down Under, and two victories for Welsford and Bora-Hansgrohe. Thursday's stage three win for the Australian followed stage one, but the latest was even more dominant in its manner; the Western Australian even had time to sit up and salute as he crossed the line. Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers) and Dan McLay (Arkéa-Samsic) followed in his wake.

"I thought I went a little bit too early, but I could see the finish," he explained post-race. "It was a bit hard to judge, but we were going so fast and I felt good so I committed. I had to make sure I didn't lose it. With those guys leading me out, it's almost hard not to get it right. Those guys are putting it out there on the front, and fully backing me when it's my first month, let alone year on the team. It's so nice to have that gel."

The Tour Down Under is not the Tour de France, but his power and speed are impressive, as is the fact he has already slotted into his new team. Four race days together, two wins. Welsford's results over the last couple of years seemed like someone who was not quite at the top rung of sprinters, but this week has made it seem like he was just waiting for the right leadout train. 

"It's pretty special to come to the race with a team, the first one of the season, and pick up two stages," he said. "It's a product of how committed and motivated we are to make sure we win together in a good way. We have our eyes set on some really big goals this year, so this is a really good stepping stone to getting that right, so when we come to those Grand Tours or big one-day races we have it dialled."

Welsford's train is not huge, but there are three men in front of him at this race - Filip Maciejuk, then Ryan Mullen, and finally Danny van Poppel. Mullen provides the power, Van Poppel the tactical acumen to know where Welsford should be dropped, before the sprint finally opens. It also helps to have the likes of Bernie Eisel and Shane Archbold in the car.

"Everyone is so fast and so well drilled in these leadouts," Welsford explained. "I think that's why we've been able to get two wins here because all of the leadout has been really good, we've really nailed it. Not every day can be perfect, tomorrow maybe we lose a wheel or get chopped out. When we get it right, we've got to capitalise. "

"The good old days with a whole sprint train, you can't afford to do that anymore," Bora-Hansgrohe directeur sportif Archbold added. "You've got to get the points on the GC, you've got to do this and that, and leadout trains are smaller. We have our core group of Sam, Danny, Ryan and Filip working super well together. Filip will come and go at some races when there's space for him, but they're dialled. 

"They're getting it right, and it means bigger race starts for those boys if they keep on winning. As sports directors, deciding who goes to which race, you can't deny that they're winning."

Bora switched out one Sam in Sam Bennett for another in Welsford, and they are reaping the rewards. One race does not make a season, but it seems like a perfect fit, with the squad already on the same wavelength.

"I was giving some calls about when to move and when to not, but with guys like Danny and Ryan in front of you, you can literally turn your brain off and they'll do the whole thing for you," Welsford said. "They're so smart and we're all on the same wavelength with everything we do. Danny knows exactly when to go, he sees things before they happen. It's just having belief in them, and they have the belief in me that wherever they put me I should be OK."

His victorious performances have not surprised the team, but it is a little ahead of schedule, not that that's a bad thing.

"The team signed him for his potential, but he has the power to be the fastest in the world," Archbold said. "He's proving that here, but it's not always on the power profile, you've got to prove it. Coming off the wheel of Danny, makes it a damn sight easier to win bike races, because he know where to be at the right time."

There is one more sprint opportunity at this Tour Down Under, on Friday, and with the team this dialled, it could be a hat-trick for Welsford. All he needs to do is switch his brain off.

The issue of brake lever angles is all the rage. The levers are one of the hot topics the paddock at this year’s Tour Down Under, as UCI commissaires take a close interest in the hoods of the top riders. After the women were their first to have their handlebars examined by last week, the men’s WorldTour peloton are currently enjoying the same rigmarole.

The people in blue shirts inspect bikes with a 3D-printed tool, which clamps onto the hoods and drops of bikes. It allows for up to 10 degrees of inward rotation for the brake levers, and also checks how flared the drops of the handlebar are.

In recent years, many riders have tilted their hoods inwards, allowing them to narrow their body’s frontal area and creating a supposedly more aerodynamic position. However, it's been argued that when taken to the extreme the adjustments can make it more difficult to grip the hoods, and also pushes the brake levers beyond their capability.

In a statement shared last month, the UCI wrote: "Positioning the levers with an extreme inclination limits the braking capacity of the riders and constitutes a modification of the product beyond its intended use."

As a result, the checks have commenced, but it does not appear to be a perfect science yet, with both teams, riders and commissaires coming up against the regulations and the tool for the first time.

Intermarché-Wanty mechanic Aloïs Gevaert told Cycling Weekly that one commissaire had passed one bike, before the other official had failed it, due to their differing use of the tool. Naturally, there are teething issues.

Before the team's bikes were tested, five of seven failed, but adjustments were made in order to comply. 

"After the test, they all passed," Lidl-Trek's mechanic, Rasmus Stigaard, said. "Before, I think we could only get two bikes through, but every bike is set out to the maximum. 

"Right now, it's difficult to say how the UCI measures, but now that we've used the tool, we have an idea of how it is. We need to get the tool ourselves at some point."

Stigaard's omission that his bikes were now set with the maximum width is an interesting one, with some staff and riders that Cycling Weekly spoke to adamant that not only is having extreme brake lever angles a safety issue, but perhaps not a particular aero gain. Stigaard said that there was one rider at his team who has bristled at the new rule.

For Guido Scheeren, a Soudal Quick-Step mechanic, the fact that the UCI is effectively soft-launching the regulations on angles is a good thing, allowing for teams to adjust over the season

"[We had] no problems with brake levers," he said. "We had only one, and so we changed it how it had to be.

"The UCI will come with the rule, but they understand that it has to be tested with the teams and riders one year in advance, and then they will decide what happens if it's not [compliant]. I think it's good that they come with rules and try them in advance, just to see what happens, and what the teams say."

Teams are waiting for the tool to be available so they can perfect the position away from the glare of a race. CW witnessed dsm-firmenich PostNL setting their bars to the maximum allowed position - using the 3D printed tool - so that they could then measure it, in order to use this as a future benchmark.

"I don't think it's been a problem for us," Bora-Hansgrohe mechanic Marek Bajfus said. "We had one guy who had to change his position, we were not really sure if it was still legal. The question was how they were going to measure it. You have a different angle on the drops from the handlebar, so it's weird. 

"It seems to be ok, no problem at all. [In reality] there's only about 10 riders in the WorldTour who are actually using extreme angles."

There's a fair deal of pressure on Jayco AlUla at the Tour Down Under. It's the home stage race for the only Australian WorldTour team, they have brought a strong squad which includes a Grand Tour winner and the Australian champion, and they haven't won the race since 2019. So, naturally, they are aiming to win every stage and the overall.

Simon Yates, Caleb Ewan and Luke Plapp, with Chris Harper too, are the key members of the seven-man team seeking to conquer the Tour Down Under. Yates finished second overall last year, winning a stage en route; Ewan is a nine-time stage winner, although his last win came in 2020; meanwhile Plapp is the newly crowned Australian champion, winning it for a third time in a row just over a week before the TDU begins.

The team are in good form, with Plapp's victory in the Australian nationals road race coming ahead of two other teammates in Harper and Kelland O'Brien; Plapp's victory in the time trial also came ahead of two Jayco teammates, while Ewan won the criterium to boot.

However, Plapp was keen to play down his role before the race, talking up Ewan and Yates instead.

"Yates is the team leader and he's here for a reason," he said in the pre-race press conference. "And we've also got Caleb who is in some really red hot form. I think we saw that at Nationals as well. He's really motivated and wants to start his season off really strong. 

"To be honest, we're looking to win every single stage and the GC. I think that's a good team target, and I really feel confident that we've got a great group of riders here."

The first four stages of the race are likely to be days for sprinters, unless the breakaway spoils the day, with multiple teams interested in bunch finishes. However, they are not easy days, with stage two to Lobethal in particular looking tough.

It is the weekend where the race will be decided, though, with stage five concluding with two ascents of Willunga Hill, and stage six seeing the riders take on Mount Lofty three times.

"Yatesy is here for a reason," Plapp said. "He got second here last year and I think this course suits him even better, having Willunga. I'd love to play a part in helping him succeed and win the race. And then see how I can fare in that as well. 

"I'd love to be up there too. But at the end of the day, we are here to win. So as long as one of us is we're in that ochre jersey at the end of the week, that'd be the goal."

Plapp will also have the advantage of being in reasonably top form for the race, while some of his European peers are still working towards their shape; he also is used to the heats, and the roads.

"It does sort of feel like a bit of a home race," he explained. "I don't really need to do recons or check the courses out because I used to train on them so often. So now I'm really looking forward to it. I've got some fond memories of racing here with Richie [Porte] a couple years ago and then also to have been a part of Ineos last year racing."

Jayco are not the only team with riders in contention for victory, however. For the overall, Bahrain-Victorious are here with Jack Haig, and Soudal Quick-Step have Julian Alaphilippe, while for the sprints, there are the likes of Sam Welsford (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty).

Alaphilippe, however, was clear that while he was aiming to do well, his form is uncertain.

"I have no idea," the Frenchman explained. "I don't know but for sure I'm motivated to do my best. You never know how you will feel during the first race of the season. It will be the first big effort and also like I said with the heat, you have to be careful.

"I think it's an important year for me to try to come back to my best level and I will give my best. I have no stress. I just want to enjoy."

Willunga Hill might not be the toughest climb in the world, but as an arena of sport, it has outgrown itself, becoming an iconic place for Australia cycling. This is mainly thanks to Richie Porte's endeavours, due to the former Sky, BMC and Trek-Segrafredo winning six times in a row up the hill. He turned a stage finish into a legend.

Next weekend, he will return to the scene of so many of his triumphs to compete against the public in a hill climb time trial. However, he will have stiff competition in the form of Sarah Gigante, who will aim to not only beat her QOM time of 8:13, but Porte's time of 6:34, which he set in his last appearance at the Tour Down Under in 2020.

The Strava segment, Old Willunga Hill, has been raced 18,000 times. Gigante hoped to set a competitive time when the women's Tour Down Under went up it on Sunday, but thanks to a block headwind, she merely won the stage and the overall, rather than setting a best Strava time. She did set her second best time, however - 9:02 - which is still faster than any other woman up it.

"When we drove to Adelaide, I said sorry but we've got to do a detour to Willunga, because I need to get a photo with the sign," Gigante said post-race, revealing that she was worried about whether her record would stand once the Women's WorldTour raced up it.

"I don't think anyone took it because we had a massive block headwind," she continued. "Even though I did better power, and power to weight than last time. So I'm coming back on Saturday, for a new attempt. There's a Willunga time trial, against Richie. He's retired but I'm not, so look out."

The hill climb will see amateur riders setting off from the start ramp every minute until Porte and Gigante try their efforts. They might even race each other up it.

"The only time I talked to Richie was in the elevator after we both won up Willunga a few years ago. He said ‘well done’ and I said ‘thanks, but I’m a bit sad I didn’t beat your time’ and he  just looked at me like I was a bit crazy," Gigante told GCN earlier in the week.

Gigante is in perhaps the form of her life, with the 23-year-old beating all at the women's Tour Down Under. She has bounced back from illness, heart problems, and a plethora of broken bones and a lack of racing over the past couple of years, to be back to her best. She has now won on Willunga Hill twice, so victory there is clearly natural to her. 

"It means everything to me," she said after her TDU victory. "I was really hoping to come out and show I was back at nationals, but with my bad luck in the time trial, to come here and have such amazing support. My team believed in me even when I was struggling. It means so much to me, to come back full circle after winning here three years ago, and since then, so many things went wrong. Now I'm back and I'm so happy."

Watch out, Richie Porte.

Sarah Gigante has been through a lifetime’s share of difficulties, it would not be hyperbolic to say. The 23-year-old from Melbourne (Australia, not Derbyshire) has suffered illness, heart problems, and a plethora of broken bones in her short career to date, along with having to contend with a lack of racing over the past couple of years.

In fact, Gigante only took part in one race on the Women’s WorldTour in 2023, the Tour of Scandinavia last August. Despite her early promise, it looked like she could be a talent lost, thanks to misfortune and a lack of opportunities.

However, it didn’t end like that. Gigante left her old team, Movistar, by mutual consent back in December, moving to AG Insurance-Soudal, breaking her contract early in the process. It turned out there was no chance she’d be a talent lost, she had too much of it for that; the first Women’s WorldTour race of the season wasn’t just a race ticked off, but a triumph, potentially the biggest of her career. It is unlikely to be the last.

“It means everything to me [to win],” she said. “I was really hoping to come out and show I was back at nationals, but with my bad luck in the time trial… My team believed in me even when I was struggling. 

“It means so much to me to come back full circle after winning here three years ago, and since then, so many things went wrong. Now I'm back and I'm so happy.”

“I've been proud of all my achievements, and sometimes just believing in myself was the best part,” Gigante continued. “Last year, I only had one race the whole year. Just keeping going, going out there every single day, I didn't miss a training session. I always believed in myself and I listened to the people that did. That's what I'm most proud of.”

The stage was set: Willunga Hill, where she made her mark at the 2021 Santos Festival of Cycling, the scene of all those Richie Porte victories, the most famous cycling climb in Australia. 

After a career of misfortune, even the day of her comeback was almost a difficult one, with the Victorian battling through crosswinds and narrowly missing a loose dog on the road, to get to the bottom of Willunga, where she was simply the fastest up the hill, to win the stage, and the overall general classification. 

“As soon as I had a gap and I knew no one was on my wheel I didn't think I'd get caught,” Gigangte said. “I believed I could do it from that moment, although from the bottom I felt quite confident. I knew it was going to be tough to get to the bottom of Willunga without wasting too much energy and with the leaders, but as soon as I got to the bottom I thought I could do that.”

Willunga Hill isn’t the toughest climb in the world, 3.4km at 7.4%, but Gigante rode one of the best riders in the world, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Suez), the race leader, off her wheel, and the other favourite for the race, Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek). She made it look easy. She beat second-placed Nienke Vinke (dsm-firmenich PostNL) by 20 seconds, and third-placed Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) by 33.

“Originally, the team was saying go later, go where Richie goes, but I said no, I wanted to go from the bottom and I believed I could do it,” the winner explained post-race. “I knew that, even though I haven't had any results for years and hardly any races, I knew I was in great form.”

“Yesterday afternoon I watched a replay of when I won last time, at the Festival of Cycling for a bit of a confidence boost, and I thought I’dl just do that again,” she continued. “It was harder this time. I looked behind after maybe a minute and I couldn't see how many girls were behind me because I was going full gas, but there were quite a few, and I thought uh oh, what if it's a sprint.

“I knew I had to keep drilling it, despite the headwind, despite everyone sitting on and slowly one by one they dropped off. I could hear all my teammates and my DS screaming 'go Sarah, go Sarah', and I knew I had to just do it for them.”

Gigante is not done yet, but she made it clear she planned to spend her time celebrating this win before moving onto bigger goals, but it does feel like she is bound for big things, now she is on a team where she feels comfortable, and able to show her best. At the very least, she will race more than one WorldTour event this season, and she has won it.

“I'm looking forward to keeping improving, hopefully, and this does help my confidence,” she said. “I know I'm just going to be so happy with AG Insurance-Soudal. The belief they had in me from the very start, it's hard to come into a new team and take a leadership position straight away, but everyone was so lovely. I don't even feel like a new rider, I just feel at home.”

With misfortune behind her, Gigante can be one of the stars of the women’s peloton. Her comeback is only just beginning.

You will likely have never heard of the Down Under Classic. Unless you're in Adelaide, or you've somehow found a stream, it's unlikely you've ever watched the Down Under Classic either. 

The city-centre criterium is a bolt-on to the men's Tour Down Under (the women's equivalent follows their race), which begins on Tuesday. It could be a procession, a simple warm-out, treated as a bit of a distraction by the 140 riders of the men's peloton before their season really begins, and understandably too, but it wasn't.

It has the makings of a good race, sure: 19 of the top professional teams, plus one representing Australia, racing a 1.35km city centre circuit around Adelaide for just over an hour. It's a classic crit. But one could forgive the riders to take it a bit easy, at least that's what I expected anyway.

And yet. The race was electric, with the tempo high from the gun, barely letting up for the 61 minutes of action. You might be thinking 'well, isn't this just any crit?', but the Otley GP doesn't normally have some of cycling's biggest stars taking part.

As it was, it felt just as hectic as the finalé of the Tour de France on the Champs Elysées, with the peloton strung out from the beginning, with a break taking 34 minutes to form. That might not sound like much, but in such a short race, the pressure was on.

It is a race so minor that it doesn't even feature on ProCyclingStats, one with no UCI points on offer, and yet it seemed to be just as serious as ever race I've ever seen. A post-Tour de France kermesse this was not.

Pre-race, it seemed apparent to some that it would just be a ride past followed by a Caleb Ewan victory, but in the absence of the Australian, it appeared that it was all up for grabs; perhaps this explained the chaotic nature of the whole event.

You couldn't afford to pause, or look away, with each lap taking just over 90 seconds. Repeated surges, accelerations out of corners, and attempts to go clear seemed almost constant, but they were all rebuffed until finally one move was allowed to go clear. 

Those seven in the break - Isaac del Torro (UAE Team Emirates), Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers), Jack Rootkin-Gray (EF Education-EasyPost), Gil Gelders (Soudal Quick-Step), and Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL), and then Natnael Tetsfazion (Trek-Segafredo) and Harry Sweeny (EF Education-EasyPost) - ended up dictating the race, a ridiculous thought when it first happened.

The only team seemingly interested in bringing them back was Bora-Hansgrohe, working in the service of Sam Welsford. The gap was 16 seconds at 55 minutes, and while that narrowed to such a fine gap on the last lap, there was no stopping the break. Narváez won ahead of Tetsfazion and Del Torro, an odd but successful start to the season for them all completed.

The gust of wind created every time the bunch rode past proved just how fast the event was raced, as did the fact that riders took on gels during just an hour of racing, in an attempt to fuel up for a final effort. Even the lackadaisical Elia Viviani, who remained at the back for the majority of the race, moved forward with enough time to try and make an impact, even if it didn't happen.

Post-race, Bora were frustrated, with their DS Bernie Eisel complaining about other teams refusing to help. It was clear that it actually mattered, which might not be strange, but somehow does. 

The pure entertainment, the fun of a crit bolted onto a bigger race was a reminder of the excitement of cycling, even for your cynical, tired correspondent. Narváez's celebration said a lot too. A win is a win, a race is actually a race, and this was one that I won't forget in a hurry.

It was, as Ally Wollaston so succinctly put it, "pretty damn hot" in South Australia on Friday. The mercury reached as high as 40 on the opening day of the Women's Tour Down Under, 93.9km from Hahndorf to Campbelltown, which took the peloton just over two and a half hours to complete.

It might have been hot - almost too hot - but Wollaston (AG Insurance-Soudal) was able to keep her cool on the long run into the finish in east Adelaide on Friday afternoon, keeping her powder dry on her sprint until just the right moment, and duly beating Georgia Baker (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Sofia Bertizzolo (UAE Team ADQ), in the process.

The first Women's WorldTour race day of the season, and a first Women's WorldTour win for Wollaston, the New Zealand champion, who made it look easy in the end. Despite the apparent strength of Liv AlUla Jayco, the home team was beaten by someone from the other side of the Tasman Sea.

"There was a plan today, I backed myself in the sprint," Wollaston said after she'd been awarded the first ochre leader's jersey of the race. "I've been doing quite a lot of track work with the New Zealand girls, so I knew I had a bit of fire in the legs, I just had to make it to the finish. The team did a great job of looking after me today as well.

"It was a really long run in to the finish after we turned left, and it was a really technical run in too. We just had to be patient. Previously, I have got a little bit too excited and taken on the sprint too early, so I'm really proud today of just being patient and backing myself, and going at the right time."

The 23-year-old said that she knew the win was on the cards just 10 metres from the line: "Once I'd committed to the sprint I thought I could actually win this, but it wasn't until the final few metres that I knew."

The eventual sprint followed a hard day of racing in the Adelaide Hills; this was not the pan-flat bunch finish day that some had expected.

Ruby Roseman-Gannon and her Liv AlUla Jayco team made an early statement of intent, winning the first intermediate sprint and its bonus seconds, before a strong trio went up the road, made up of Matilda Raynolds (BridgeLane), Katia Ragusa (Human Powered Health), and India Grangier (Coop-Repsol). The three were later joined by Kate Richardson (Lifeplus-Wahoo), and briefly threatened to stay away.

Raynolds was the last one standing, attacking over the top of the last classified climb. The 36-year-old, in just her second race at WorldTour level, wasn't even on her proper bike, having suffered a mechanical early in the stage, which meant she was racing on a smaller bike, without her bike computer. After her heroics, she was caught by the peloton with under 10km to go, but was awarded most aggressive rider.

Wollaston won the day and the first leader's jersey, and will be looking to keep hold of it on a hard Saturday, which might be the hardest stage of the race, despite the presence of Willunga Hill on Sunday.

"I'll have to go home and think about tomorrow now, but I'll try and hold onto the jersey as long as I can," she said. "I'll race attentively, and just not be a passenger in the race. I'll really fight for it. I race my best when I'm enjoying my racing."

The peloton will simply be hoping it's a bit cooler.

The men's Tour Down Under concluded on Sunday with Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) hanging onto his overall lead to claim the first WorldTour stage race of the year, narrowly ahead of Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla).

A few days earlier, the Women's WorldTour had kicked off with another Australian taking their first general classification victory, on home soil, with Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez) beating a refreshed Amanda Spratt (Trek-Segafredo) to the win.

Both races had exciting conclusions, and have set up the season well, as it moves to Europe via the Middle East. Next stop, the UAE in a few weeks time. Here are five things we learned from the racing in the Antipodes.

Jay Vine is the real deal and UAE have a leadership problem on their hands

After winning his first two stages of the Vuelta a España last year, big things were expected of Jay Vine. The Australian, who owed his place as a professional thanks to the 2020 Zwift Academy, impressed on the climbs of Spain last year, as twice in three days he powered off the front to take his first pro victories.

His talent earned him a big move to UAE Team Emirates from Alpecin-Deceuninck, which led some to fear he'd be lost in the big talent pile at the Tadej Pogačar-led team. However, at the first opportunity he was given, the 27-year-old won overall at the Tour Down Under, his first ever stage race win.

It shows that UAE were right to sign the promising climber, but the concern will be that this will prove a rare opportunity for Vine to lead the team. With Pogačar there, along with João Almeida, Adam Yates, Marc Soler, Juan Ayuso and Brandon McNulty, it will be interesting to see how the team dynamic shapes up. There are riders in there, like Yates, who excel at week-long stage races, and others, like Almeida and Ayuso who are thought of as Grand Tour challengers.

It will be a tricky balancing act for the UAE management to satisfy all the egos and expectations, but if Vine keeps winning, the team will have no choice but to keep picking him, and allowing him free reign or a leadership role.

Bryan Coquard wins first WorldTour race while Caleb Ewan misses out

Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), 11 years a professional cyclist, perennial Tour de France stage maybe man, and French sprint hope, won his first WorldTour race ever in Australia. On a ramp finish that was practically designed for the likes of Michael Matthews, the 30-year-old triumphed, batting away a challenge from Albert Bettiol.

For a man who has won 48 races before the TDU, it is remarkable that he had never won at the highest level, but now here he is, winning against some of the best. It seems fanciful to suggest that he will keep winning when he competes against a full complement of sprinters - Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe), Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) were all absent - but this could be the filip that the Frenchman needed.

Meanwhile, Caleb Ewan, racing for the UniSA-Australia squad, without his usual Lotto-Dstny teammates, failed to capitalise on opportunities, his second place on stage one being the closest he got. 

The Australian could have done with an early-season confidence boost, but will likely head back to Europe still in search of that first win.

No Willunga Hill? No problem

The first Tour Down Under without the newly-retired Richie Porte, the first Tour Down Under in years without Willunga Hill, and a different race was created.

The race was the first one organised by Stuart O'Grady, who was supposed to start in 2021, but the Covid pandemic put those plans on hold. The Australian wanted to shake things up a bit at the WorldTour opener, and did so with a dynamic course.

Mount Lofty was in instead of Willunga, and gave some of the punchier riders in the peloton the perfect canvas to work their magic on, including Jay Vine and Simon Yates. 

It proved that tradition can be changed, and a more exciting race can be created if norms are shifted slightly.

Women's Tour Down Under suffers from absence of WWT stars

What do SD-Worx, Jumbo-Visma, DSM, Canyon-SRAM, Fenix-Deceuninck, Uno-X, Movistar and UAE Team ADQ all have in common? 

They are all Women's WorldTour teams who skipped the WorldTour opener in Australia last week, weakening the spectacle as a result, and meaning the 'real' start of the season probably won't happen until the end of February, when the Classics begin.

That's eight of the 15 WWT teams who didn't fly to Australia, more than half, which meant while riders like Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez) and Amanda Spratt (Trek-Segafredo) did their best to liven the race, it was a bad impression of the top of women's racing.

It's understandable that so many did not head out there, considering the smaller budgets of some of the women's squads, plus logistical nightmares and smaller squads, but it does leave a bit of a sour taste in the mouth. The Women's WorldTour was partly designed to give the top women's races meaning, so when so many top teams and athletes are absent, it feels devalued a bit.

Either the UCI should force or pay for teams to attend these races, or the schedule needs to be tinkered with, really.

Grace Brown and Amanda Spratt show the value in leaving Aussie bubble

Despite the lack of some of the biggest names, Amanda Spratt and Grace Brown battled it out to take the title at the Tour Down Under, proving it really mattered to the Aussie pair.

The pair are just five years apart, but are at opposite ends of their careers, with Brown only a pro since 2019, while Spratt has been around for over a decade, and has seen the sport grow from an amateur level to the professionalised entity we see today.

Both also started out at the Aussie team which is now Jayco AlUla on its various guises, Spratt when it was Orica-AIS, Brown when the squad was Mitchelton-Scott, but both have now flown the coop.

Brown has been at FDJ for a season now, and has proved that she can thrive away from the Aussie bubble, performing across 2022, notably at the Women's Tour and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Meanwhile, Spratt has left the Jayco squad for Trek-Segafredo after being with the former for 11 years, and it will be fascinating to see how she helps Trek, and whether she is given GC opportunities, or used as an invaluable road captain.

Michael Matthews lost the battle at the Tour Down Under on Wednesday, but he increased his odds of winning the overall war in a stage one that brought down several riders. 

German sprinter Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) recovered from an earlier fall to pip Caleb Ewan (UniSA-Australia) and Matthews (Jayco Alula) in a bunch sprint in Tanunda, which he timed perfectly, having waited too long in the prelude criterium on the weekend. 

Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) retained the ochre leader’s jersey. 

“I was a bit unsure because in the start I crashed actually with a big impact, had to change bike, it took a time for me to recover from that, but in the end the team again did really well,” Bauhaus said. 

“And also, Nikias [Arndt], in the last kilometres, he was super calm, looking where I am, making space for me and this time I was thinking with 250-300m [remaining], I just go this time. 

“The last 50-80m I was just full in pain, I was like don’t sit down, just keep going. I knew they were coming in the last metres but I’m super happy I was still in front then.” 

Bauhaus sported a small, light red mark on the side of his forehead from the impact of the crash he was grateful to be wearing a helmet in.

“Jasha [Sutterlin] he waited for me, bring me back,” Bauhaus explained. 

“For me it felt like a classic day because it was windy, everyone wanted to be in front, super nervous. It was a tough day.

“For myself I’m super happy I win but in the end the health of everyone is more important than my stage win.” 

Robert Gesink (Jumbo-Visma) was involved in a crash with about 26km remaining and abandoned the race. He was set to go to hospital for further assessment. 

Briton James Knox (Soudal Quick-Step) appeared frustrated after he lost skin and clothing in a stack, riding to the teams’ paddock alone.

Magnus Sheffield, who is one of three protected young riders at Ineos Grenadiers, also sought medical treatment post-race. 

Patrick Bevin (Team DSM) retired citing injuries from the Schwalbe Classic.

Matthews was forced to employ some expert maneuvering during the 149.9km stage but otherwise avoided the crashes some will surely wake up sore from. 

The Australian was active all day, contesting intermediate primes with the support of his team to shorten the deficit to Bettiol from 14 to six seconds on general classification. Matthews now sits second overall.  Sheffield moved from second to third on general classification, eight seconds adrift of the Italian. 

“It’s pretty obvious what our goal was today, was to try and get as many time bonuses as we could, whether it was through the stage or in the final sprint,” Matthews said.

“Last night [in the prologue] we gave away a bit of time, which we could have made a lot in a TT like that. 

“I think we made up for yesterday today in one stage, so full credit to the team, they were amazing today.” 

Ewan, who is racing for a comparatively inexperienced Australian national composite team after Lotto Dstny decided not to send a squad to Adelaide, also got through the stage unscathed but said he was too far back in the finale. 

“I wasn’t in a position to win, and I’m surprised I got so close,” Ewan said. 

“It’s disappointing but I can’t ask for too much from the team.

“I was in a good position coming down the descent coming into the crosswind section, but I just got stuck,” he continued. 

“When you have no one to sit in the wind for you and you’re fighting for wheels it’s tough. That’s why I ended up where I was, a bit back.”

The tour continues with stage two on Thursday - a 154.8km run from Brighton to Victor Harbor. Matthews is hopeful it'll settle the nerves of the bunch. 

"Obviously first race everyone is a bit nervous, no one knew how strong the wind was going to be out there today," Matthews said. 

"Because it was also an easy race I think everyone was quite fresh and maybe not paying enough attention sometimes and that’s where you overlap the wheel or something and those things [crashes] can happen.

"Hopefully the next stage is a bit harder, a bit hotter and we can actually race and everyone be maybe a bit more focused." 

Tour Down Under stage one results: Tanunda to Tanunda (149.9km)

1. Phil Bauhaus (Deu) Bahrain-Victorious, in 3-37-35
2. Caleb Ewan (Aus) UniSA-Australia, at same time
3. Michael Matthews (Aus) Jayco AlUla
4. Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
5. Paul Penhoët (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
6. Emīls Liepinš (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
7. Hugo Page (Fra) Intermarché-Circus-Wanty
8. Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
9. Taj Jones (Aus) Israel-Premier Tech
10. Gerben Thijssen (Bel) Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, all at same time

General classification after stage one

1. Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost), in 3-43-53
2. Michael Matthews (Aus) Jayco AlUla, at 6s
3. Magnus Sheffield (USA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 8s
4. Julius Johansen (Den) Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, at 10s
5. Kaden Groves (Aus) Alpecin-Deceuninck, at 11s
6. Samuel Gaze (Aus) Alpecin-Deceuninck, at same time
7. Hugo Page (Fra) Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, at 12s
8. Marius Mayrhofer (Deu) DSM, at 13s
9. Corbin Strong (Aus) Israel-Premier Tech
10. Jannik Steimle (Deu) Soudal Quick-Step, both at same time

Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-Easypost) has claimed the first leader’s jersey of the men’s Tour Down Under after winning the prologue on Tuesday. 

Bettiol was modest after what was his first victory in almost two years, having avoided rain that later caused many riders to crash or exercise caution on the 5.5km circuit alongside the River Torrens. 

The Italian was the fourth rider to power down the start ramp – out of 139 starters – and avoided the wet conditions and slippery roads, besting Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) by eight seconds and Julius Johansen (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty) by 10 seconds. 

“There are plenty of better riders especially in such a short prologue like this,” Bettiol said post-race.

“But the weather of Australia helped me. So, in the end, I really appreciate the effort that all my team put in to give me the best product, material and support. I just have to pedal full gas for six-and-a-half-minutes. 

“You have to learn the corners and sometimes you need to be lucky.” 

Bettiol powered through the course in 6:19.73. His eight second advantage on his rivals is a decent margin considering out of the 22 editions of the race eight have been decided by three seconds or less However, he was measured in his estimation of the week ahead.  

“For the moment I enjoy this jersey because I like this race. I’ll be really proud to wear the jersey tomorrow morning and then we will see. It’s a long week and we just started,” he said. 

“It’s a prologue, the real race starts tomorrow.” 

Earlier, Grace Brown beat Amanda Spratt in a two-up sprint to claim stage three of the women’s tour and with it the race title in much hotter temperatures.

Australian national champion Brodie Chapman set the pace at the front of the reduced peloton on the feature Corkscrew climb, with Trek-Segafredo teammate Spratt on her wheel. 

Brown and overnight leader Alex Manly (Jayco Alula) were part of the front group, which began to split after Spratt attacked off the front inside the final 9km of the 93.2km trek from Adelaide to Campbelltown. 

Spratt distanced Brown (FDJ-Suez) on the ascent but the time trial world silver medallist made up ground on the descent and the flat run to the finish line. 

“At first, I couldn’t see her because of all the corners but then I could see a moto, I was like, she must be ahead of that. In the last 3km I saw Spratty and I thought I can catch her now,” Brown said post-race. 

“I was thinking maybe I should back off a little bit so I can catch her by surprise at the finish but in the end, I caught her in the last k, sat on and trusted I could outsprint her.” 

Brown credited lessons she learned at last year’s Women’s Tour, where she finished second to Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) by one second, partly to her success in Australia. 

“I was really disappointed in the Women’s Tour of Britain, especially losing by one second there, but I learnt lessons from that tour and those lessons helped me win this week by going on the first stage for sprint bonuses and everything like that,” Brown said. 

“I could put myself a bit forward because we don’t know what’s going to happen on the last stage and I think that was wise.” 

Brown finished 10 seconds clear of Spratt on general classification. Georgie Howe (Jayco Alula) was third on the stage, 13 seconds in arrears of the pair, and third on the overall standings, 19 seconds in arrears of Brown. 

For Spratt, who transferred to Trek-Segafredo this season following an 11-year stint with incarnations of Jayco Alula, the minor place was as good as a win after a couple of lean years. 

“The whole of last season felt like I was rebuilding; I never really got my form back,” said Spratt. 

“I had a few obstacles with COVID and crashing out of the Tour. 

“Signing with Trek-Segafredo was a huge boost in motivation that I’m joining one of the best teams in the world. It’s been nice to be home for a long period of time and get a long, solid preparation in.” 

The Trek-Segafredo team appeared to be a unified unit on and off the road at the race, frequently chatting and laughing at the team vans.

Brown hopes that her win and the elevation of the women’s Tour Down Under to the WorldTour will act as inspiration to girls coming through the ranks. 

“This is amping up the level of cycling in Australia and I hope it has an impact on the development for young female cyclists in Australia as well, that they can see how cool it is to race at this level and aspire to do it themselves. It’s all about gathering momentum,” Brown said. 

Good morning and welcome to today's live blog. Apparently it's Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year, so make sure you look out for yourself and do something you enjoy (*cough* ride your bike *cough*), if you can. 

I'll be here all day rounding up the latest cycling news, especially for you. If you'd like to have your say, feel free to drop me a line on Twitter. My handle is @t_davidson. 

Latest updates:

9:09 - Alex Manly sprints into the lead at Santos Tour Down Under 

9:43 - Topless climate protesters arrested at Tour Down Under

11:03 - Tributes paid to Lieuwe Westra, who died aged 40 on Saturday

11:24 - Strava offers price hike rationale

12:02 - Chris Froome targets 'top level', dismisses retirement

12:48 - The new cyclo-cross national champions

14:20 - Scott recall road and gravel models due to 'cracking' hazard

14:46 - Toon Aerts takes on part-time PE teacher role

15:05 - EF Education-EasyPost partners with junior cycling program

15:34 - Bradley Wiggins eyes future after punditry

16:31 - UCI issues update to individual time trial rules

17:01 - Chad Haga pens Sound of Music inspired song

Alex Manly storms into Tour Down Under lead after stage two

In the early hours of this morning, when the Australian sun was shining, Jayco AlUla's Alex Manly sprinted to victory in stage two of the Santos Tour Down Under, claiming the race's orange leader's jersey. 

The 26-year-old Australian beat her compatriot Georgia Baker (EF Education-Tibco-SVB) to the line, where she took 12 bonus seconds to move into the overall lead. 

The race played out over a lumpy 90km course between Birdwood and Uraidla in the Adelaide hills. 

Baker currently trails Manly by eight seconds in the GC, with FDJ-Suez's Grace Brown also at eight seconds in third. 

Climate protesters arrested after baring breasts at Tour Down Under

Three women, who uncovered their breasts to the passing peloton at the Women's Santos Tour Down Under, have been arrested in South Adelaide, Australia, charged with indecent exposure. 

The women, aged between 69 and 74, were allegedly part of a climate protest against the race's title sponsor, Santos, a leading oil and gas producer. 

"We are baring our ageing breasts and our wobbly bums in the hope of shocking," one protester said at the race. "We want people to see that this company is not benevolent. It is prepared to destroy future life on earth in order to make profits." 

Last week, Tour Down Under director Stuart O'Grady said he hoped environmental protesters would act peacefully, and not impede on the safety of the riders. 

"Everyone has got their right to their own opinion, to protest, do what they may, but I don’t think blocking the cycling tracks and getting on course would be very wise," he said. "And if that starts becoming a liability or a danger to the riders then that’s going to escalate it to a whole other level and that wouldn’t be good for anybody."

The three women have been released on bail and will appear at a later date before Christies Beach Magistrates court.

Retired pro Lieuwe Westra dies, aged 40

Tributes have been paid to retired Dutch rider Lieuwe Westra, who died aged 40 on Saturday. 

The former Astana rider, who took 13 victories throughout his 11-year career, was found unresponsive at work in Zwaagdijk, Netherlands. His biographer, Thomas Sijtsma, later confirmed that he had passed away, despite CPR attempts to resuscitate him.

"The former cyclist fought with himself in recent years and lost," Sijtsma wrote on Twitter. "Rest in peace, beast."

Westra suffered with depression after finishing his career in 2017. "Lieuwe Westra had a very hard time in recent months," Sijtsma said. "But as far as is known, there is no suggestion of suicide." 

Westra's former team-mate Johnny Hoogerland, who he rode alongside at Vacansoleil, wrote: "Lieuwe my friend. What happened to you the last years? We are so terribly sad that your life ended already today. I'm very sorry that we could not help you more. Will never forget what you did for me when we were teammates. Find your rest above us."

His former team, Astana Qazaqstan, also tweeted: "We are shocked by the dreadful news about the untimely death of Lieuwe Westra... we express our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones…"

Strava responds to price hike criticism

Exercise tracking app Strava has responded to criticism of its recent subscription price hikes, announced earlier this month. 

First reported by BikeRadar, the company looks set to increase the price of its monthly subscription from £6.99 to £8.99 and its annual membership from £47.99 to £54.99.

In a statement shared last week, Strava said: "As we continue to invest in your experience, our prices may change to better reflect new features and market conditions. The decision to change our price was not taken lightly.

The company gave its rationale for the price hikes, citing new features, product updates and local market conditions. Price changes, it added, will vary depending on region and preferred platform.

The full statement can be accessed on Strava's website. 

Chris Froome sets sights on return to 'top level'

Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome has said he's "looking to get to the top level" as he readies himself for his season debut at the Santos Tour Down Under. 

The Israel Premier Tech rider was was taken into intensive care in 2019 after crashing into a wall in a course recon at the Critérium du Dauphiné. He suffered fractures to his sternum, neck, femur, elbow and ribs, and also lost four pints of blood. He returned to WorldTour racing eight months later, but has since struggled to regain his form.

Speaking in a pre-race press conference on Sunday, Froome said: "I feel I've been given a second chance. I've been given an opportunity to come back to bike racing and the sport I love. Had the crash marked the end of my career, I'd have felt I still had more to give.

The 37-year-old added that he still gets a lot of pleasure from cycling and is enjoying his time at Israel-Premier Tech. "It's as if I've rewound 15 years," he said, "I'm looking to get to the top level. It's a fresh approach for me and hoping to do it for a few more years."

Froome also revealed that he will travel to Africa for next month's Tour de Rwanda, scheduled for 19-26 February.

The Tour Down Under will start tomorrow at 7:30 GMT (8:30 CET) with a 5.5km time trial prologue in Adelaide, Australia.  

Cyclo-cross national champions crowned

In case you missed it, a number of country's held their national cyclo-cross championships over the weekend. Here's a list of the winners to look out for in the season's remaining races: 

UK 

Men's elite: Cameron Mason 

Women's elite: Zoe Bäckstedt

Cycling Weekly reporter Tom Thewlis spent the day in the mud in Cumbria on Sunday. You can catch his race report here.  

Netherlands 

Men's elite: Lars van der Haar

Women's elite: Puck Pieterse 

Belgium 

Men's elite: Michael Vanthourenhout

Women's elite: Sanne Cant

France

Men's elite: Clément Venturini 

Women's elite: Hélène Clauzel

Italy

Men's elite: Filippo Fontana

Women's elite: Silvia Persico

Spain

Men's elite: Felipe Orts

Women's elite: Lucía Gónzalez Blanco

Scott recalls road and gravel models due to 'cracking' hazard

Scott bikes has issued a voluntary recall of certain models from its 2022 Speedster and Gravel line-up due to a potential issue with the forks.

In-house testing found that the steerer tube/fork bridge can break without warning, with the recall notice describing “cracking within the fork steerer”. Naturally, such a failure presents a serious crash hazard for users.

However, despite the recall, done in cooperation with national recall authorities, Scott has stated that there have been no cases or reports of fork failure or related accidents to date and as such the recall is a pre-emptive move.

For more information, check out the full story written by Cycling Weekly Tech reporter Luke Friend. 

Toon Aerts working as a PE teacher while he faces two-year ban 

Suspended cyclo-cross racer Toon Aerts has reportedly taken up a new job as a PE teacher in his native Belgium. 

The 29-year-old returned a positive test result for the banned substance letrozole earlier this year and is currently facing a two-year ban from competition. 

Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad about his new role, Aerts said: “I was looking for a job and heard through the grapevine that they were looking for someone there.

"There were students who recognised me immediately, others didn’t know who I am at all. I assume that the first group will inform the second about my story. That will go around quickly. I didn’t get any comments about it and I think that’s good. I like to keep those things separate.”

The Belgian has not raced since February 2022 and denies all allegations of doping. He has said he will do everything to prove his innocence, arguing that letrozole must have entered his body through contamination. 

“I am convinced that I will take my place in cyclocross again," he said last month. "I have a lot of uncertainties, but one thing is certain: my second career will start on February 16, 2024 at the latest.”

EF Education-EasyPost partners with junior squad

WorldTour team EF Education-EasyPost has joined forces with ONTO, one of North America's most promising junior cycling programs. 

The partnership, which will see the junior squad compete as EF Education-ONTO, seeks to develop the next generation of cycling talent in the US, and prepare them for careers as professionals. 

In a press release shared this afternoon, EF team manager Jonathan Vaughters said: "I hope that this project shows that talented kid in Ohio, or Québec, or Los Angeles, who might have seen the Tour de France on Instagram and decided that they want to be a bike racer, that they can get there if they work hard and commit to it.

"We’re going to be keeping a close eye on North American junior races. Prove yourself there, and EF Education-ONTO could be your shot to learn what it takes to race as a pro and show what you can do against the best in the world.”

Is Bradley Wiggins's punditry career coming to a close? 

Former Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins has hinted that he might soon draw the curtain on his punditry career, adding that he is currently out of contract with Eurosport. 

In an interview with Mail on Sunday, the Brit said there is "no longevity" in punditry.

"I’ve actually not extended my contract with Eurosport," he said, "so I don’t know if I’m going to be doing that this year.

"I really don’t want to be on Eurosport in 10 years’ time, doing cycling from the back of a motorbike. I’m just going with the flow at the moment."

Wiggins has been part of Eurosport's cycling team since 2019, and has his own podcast with the channel, which was last updated in July last year. Asked what he hopes to do in the future, the former cyclist said: "I do the punditry, but that all comes easy, and there's no longevity in it." 

He added that he would like to work with grass-roots social campaigns, such as the NSPCC's recently launched Listen Up, Speak Up, which he is backing.

"The social worker idea was just the start of a process moving towards something completely different, something fulfilling," he said. 

UCI tightens time trial rules

The UCI has today updated its rules surrounding individual time trials, writing that vehicles must now remain at least 25 metres behind the rider. 

The rule, which was previously updated from 10 metres to 15 metres in November last year, aims to prevent riders from gaining an unfair aerodynamic advantage. 

A study by the Eindhoven University of Technology found that a car driving 10 metres behind the athlete offers an advantage of 0.05 of a second per kilometre at 46.8km/h. This is equivalent to one second in a 20km time trial.  

At 15 metres, there is no advantage. 

The UCI said: "After consultation with the parties concerned, the decision was taken to increase the minimum distance between the rider and the following vehicle to 25 m. This distance, which is greater than the stated 15 m, ensures that the presence of vehicles does not have an effect on the performance of the cyclist.

"Furthermore, the 25 m distance aims to increase rider safety by providing the driver of the vehicle with longer reaction times in the case of an unexpected mishap or incident."

The rule does not apply to vehicles in the race convoy, which are allowed to go within closer proximity to the riders. Anyone who drives dangerously in the convoy may be suspended for up to seven days and dealt a fine.  

Chad Haga pens Sound of Music inspired song

Human Powered Health's Chad Haga has written a song to pass the time on his team training camp.

The lyrics, written to the tune of 'My Favourite Things' from The Sound of Music, are inspired by his ongoing struggle with patience in between training efforts. 

So here it goes. Warm up those vocal cords, dig out a karaoke version of the original song and sing along.

"Standing by roadsides
The time keeps on slippin'
We should get moving
But we just don't clip in 

We did our efforts
Now let's move along
This is my "can we please get moving" song"

Now we're heading into chorus...

"There's no reason
To just stand here
We've been here long enough 

I don't like this down time, there's still far to go
and standing around is slowwwww"

That's all for today's live blog. If you want some entertaining evening reading, check out my colleague Adam Becket's exposé on Tadej Pogacar's hair tufts. 

Do they form naturally, or might the Slovenian be pulling them through his helmet deliberately?  

After a two-year Covid inflicted absence, the Tour Down Under makes its return to the men's WorldTour calendar this season. The women's Tour Down Under is also back on and for the first time ever will be included in the women's WorldTour.

Some of the biggest names in the sport will be beginning their 2023 campaigns in the coming days in Australia.

The week of racing in Adelaide will begin with a short criterium on Saturday 14 January. While it may not count towards the general classification in either race, it's bound to be a thrilling affair. The women's race then begins on Sunday and the men's will kick off on Tuesday 17 January with a short 5.5 kilometre prologue.

Here are seven riders we think could look to start their seasons as they mean to go on next week.

LUKE PLAPP 

The newly crowned Australian national road champion will certainly be one to watch. As one of Australia’s biggest up and coming names, Plapp may well materialise as being Ineos’ elected leader for the Tour down Under, particularly if Ethan Hayter and Geraint Thomas are still some way off form. 

Plapp is a respectable climber, and strong on the other types of terrain. He will be able to rely upon the experience of the likes of Ben Swift, as well as the youthful effervescence provided by the likes of Hayter and Magnus Sheffield if he gets the nod to go for the win from the Ineos management.

BEN O'CONNOR

O’Connor is another homegrown hope for the Australian fans, and has slightly more experience and GC know-how compared to his fellow Aussie Plapp. 

On his day, the AG2R man is undoubtedly one of the best climbers on the men’s WorldTour and has stage wins at both the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia to his name. O’Connor comes into the race as his French team's leader and possesses all the talents to make a difference on the hillier stages this year. 

Keep an eye out for the 27-year-old in the sharp end of the action on stage five to Mount Lofty where he will almost certainly be in contention for a win. 

GRACE BROWN

Home favourite Grace Brown will be looking to start the 2023 season as she means to go on when racing gets underway on Sunday. 

Brown recently finished second to Brodie Chapman in the women’s road race at the Australian national championships, putting her in good stead for when the Tour down Under gets going. The 30-year-old had a highly respectable 2022 which saw her secure second overall at the Women’s Tour as well as a stage win at the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta. 

In 2022, she was millimetres away from a major stage race victory. Where better to go one step further than on the roads of the women’s Tour down Under?

JAY VINE

A new signing for UAE Team Emirates ahead of the 2023 season, Jay Vine arrives at his home race as a solid favourite for the victory. 

Last season Vine exploded into the limelight in dramatic style, grabbing two stage wins at the Vuelta a España. Both coming on mountain top finishes, Vine made a name for himself as one of the best climbers at the race alongside the likes of then of Ineos Grenadiers, Richard Carapaz.

Possessing a fast turn of speed when the road goes uphill, Vine will be a huge favourite to go on the attack on the hilly stages three and five as he looks to go all in for the victory. 

ALBERTO BETTIOL

The former Tour of Flanders winner, Alberto Bettiol, arrives in Australia as one of the bigger names in his EF Education-EasyPost team. 

Bettiol will be able to call on more than capable allies in the shape of new EF signing Mikkel Honore, and German Jonas Rutsch as he looks to ride well and place highly on the general classification. The Italian is a powerful and explosive puncheur who will favour the short, sharp climbs on offer in Australia. 

Given the Tour down Under’s place in the calendar, many of the more prestigious names may be taking a back seat as they look to build form for later in the year. If that turns out to be the case, Bettiol may well use his explosiveness to capitalise and secure the victory.  

GEORGE BENNETT

Kiwi Bennett is one of two riders on UAE Team Emirates that could threaten the top half of the GC in Australia. 

After a lengthy spell with Dutch powerhouse Team Jumbo-Visma earlier in his career, the 32-year-old Bennett possesses all the attributes and experience needed to launch a bid at victory in any week-long stage race scenario. 

The Kiwi is aggressive and can climb well and also has the advantage of already passing the off-season in the southern hemisphere, removing the need to acclimatise to the action. Not only that, Bennett can also benefit from freedom from racing with home nation expectations this month. 

GEORGIA BAKER

The women’s 2022 Commonwealth Games road race champion, Georgia Baker will be out to impress as another home favourite for Australia. Particularly in the colours of home-based team Jayco-AIUla. 

A formidable rider on both the road and track, Baker is a powerful athlete capable of stamping her authority on any race from day one. While she may not possess the same climbing ability as her fellow Australian Brown, the shorter, punchier climbs on offer at the Tour down Under shouldn’t provide Baker with too many problems. 

If out and out favourite Brown slips up, Baker will certainly be a rider capable of capitalising.

HOW TO WATCH THE TOUR DOWN UNDER

We've put together a full guide to all the stages to both the men's and women's Tour Down Under.

If you're planning on tuning in to the action then take a look at our how to watch the race guide to ensure you don't miss a single pedal stroke. 

The Tour Down Under marks the beginning of the new WorldTour season for both the men’s and women’s peloton. 

Returning to the calendar after a two-year absence due to the global pandemic, the race will see multiple big name riders get their campaigns underway as they look to build form ahead of the coming months. Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroen) and Luke Plapp (Ineos Grenadiers) are three homegrown heroes who will be due to race in Adelaide. 

Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez) will also be one to watch. 

Both the men’s and women’s action will begin with the Schwalbe Classic, an evening criterium on Saturday 14 January. However the criterium will have no say in the overall general classification battle. The men’s race will get underway on Tuesday 17 January with a 5.5 kilometre prologue, whereas the women’s race will begin the day after the criterium on Sunday 15 January with a flat 110.4 kilometre stage between Glenelg and Aldinga.

According to Hindley, the short and explosive stages will make for what he believes will be “fun and aggressive racing”.

Check out the full start list here. 

HOW TO WATCH THE TOUR DOWN UNDER 2023 IN THE UK

If you're planning on tuning into all the action down under from the UK, then you'll be pleased to know that there are a couple of options so you won't need to miss a single pedal stroke.

One option is via Eurosport/discovery+

You can buy a month long pass to get access to the action via the Eurosport player or discovery+ website. At just £6.99, the pass is certainly money well spent but be aware that it will then auto renew at the same price each month unless you cancel prior to the renewal date.

If you know you want access to all of the action from the WorldTour season all year long, you may want to go for a year long pass instead. The year long pass costs £59.99 and represents a saving of £23.89.

Another option is subscribing to GCN+ at a cost of £39.99 for the year or £6.99 per month. Setting up a GCN account will also give you access to live or on demand race footage as well as long or short highlights and analysis.

If you're based in the USA, Flobikes will also show both the men's and women's races. You can subscribe for a year for $150 in the USA or $209.99 in Canada.

TOUR DOWN UNDER TV TIMES

Television coverage of all stages of the Santos Tour Down Under is set to begin at 01:30am GMT (20:30 EST).

You can also access the coverage across Europe on GCN+ and Eurosport - discovery+

HOW TO LIVESTREAM THE TOUR DOWN UNDER WHEN YOU'RE NOT IN YOUR COUNTRY

If you’re abroad during all of the action, you may discover that you’re unable to stream the action and that your home broadcaster is restricted due to your location.

If you discover that to be the case, you may want to consider installing a VPN on your computer. That way you’ll be able to access your favourite broadcaster without having to resort to illegal live streams as long as you follow the broadcasters terms and conditions.

Check out ExpressVPN for its speed, security and ease of use. It’s compatible with a variety of devices, so what’s not to like? Download an ExpressVPN now and reap all of the benefits.  

HOW TO LIVE STREAM THE ACTION IN AUSTRALIA

If you're lucky enough to be down in Australia right now, you'll be able to tune into most of the action via a multitude of Australian TV channels.

The race is live in the seven network, but we advise you to check out the full television schedule here in order to find all the information you need depending on where you are in the country.

Don't forget, you can also download an ExpressVPN if you're over in Oz and want to access your favourite broadcasters from back home. 

HOW TO LIVE STREAM THE ACTION FROM THE USA

If you're over in the USA, you'll be able to tune into the race via Flobikes.

You can subscribe for a year for $150 in the USA or $209.99 in Canada.

Don't forget there is also the ExpressVPN option if you're wanting to access your home broadcaster from elsewhere. 

Key Information

Where: Adelaide, South Australia

When: 14 January (Schwalbe Classic men's and women's)

Women's TDU, 15-17 January
Men's TDU, 17-22 January

Rank: UCI WorldTour (men's and women's)

Distance: 672 kilometres (men's) 293 kilometres (women's)

Returning to the WorldTour after a two-year absence, the Tour Down Under lifts the curtain on the WorldTour season once more. Multiple big name riders in both the men’s and women’s peloton will be heading to Australia for the stage-race including the recently crowned Australian national road champion Luke Plapp (Ineos Grenadiers) and Grace Brown (FDJ Suez). 

Both the men’s and women’s action will begin with the Schwalbe Classic, an evening criterium on Saturday 14 January. However the criterium will have no say in the overall general classification battle. 

The men’s race will get underway on Tuesday 17 January with a 5.5 kilometre prologue, whereas the women’s race will begin the day after the criterium on Sunday 15 January with a flat 110.4 kilometre stage between Glenelg and Aldinga. 

Men's Tour Down Under: Stages, 17-22 January

The route for the 2023 men's Tour Down Under has something for everyone. There will be plenty of action in the depths of the Adelaide hills as well as other fast and furious sprint stages which should make for an excellent opener to the WorldTour season.

Bringing the race back without its famous Willunga Hill climb was always going to be a brave decision, although race director Stuart O'Grady explained when presenting the 2023 route that he believes it was important to bring some "fresh faces" into the Australian stage race. 

"I think it's important to bring some new, fresh places into the Tour Down Under,” O'Grady said.

"I was brought in to bring in some new innovations, some new exciting parcours and also didn't want just the same old kind of stages where everybody knows exactly what's going to happen. The new final stage brings in a lot of excitement. It's a short stage, it's aggressive, it's more central to Adelaide, so I'm guessing more and more people will get there.”

Prologue: Adelaide - Adelaide, 5.5 km

The evening prologue on Tuesday 17 January follows a 5.5 kilometre course through the Adelaide Parks and past the Adelaide Oval cricket ground in what promises to be a fast and furious affair.

Unusually, the riders will have to use their road race bikes due to logistical issues with bringing all of their equipment over to Australia for the race.

It's also the first time a prologue has been incorporated into the race, with race organisers clearly hoping that Rohan Dennis (Jumbo-Visma), home favourite and time trial expert, can pull off the win and the early race lead.

Stage One: Tanunda - Tanunda, 149.9 km, Hilly

The first road stage of the 2023 men's race covers a 149.9 kilometre circuit around the city of Tanunda and and the Barossa wine area.

It also features four smaller circuits which involve the Menglers Hill climb, making for a total of 2,050 metres of elevation gain. Menglers Hill isn't so challenging that the best sprinters in the world won't get over it, meaning that the likes of Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Dstny) could still be in contention towards the stage finale. 

Otherwise, a rider of the likes of Plapp could look to use the final climb with just 10 kilometres to go as a launch pad for a solo move to the finish. 

Stage Two: Brighton - Victor Harbour, 154.8 km, Hilly

The longest stage of this year's edition, stage two from Brighton to Victor Harbour is all about the coast. Riders will get to enjoy the spectacular coastline for the first portion of the route before things ramp up in the stage climax. 

The final 60 kilometres involve two challenging, categorised ascents although the flat run in could also mean a day for the sprinters once more.

In 2020, Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech) grabbed the victory. Ewan will be another name to watch or a rider like EF Education-EasyPost's Alberto Bettiol. The Italian can more than hold his own on short, punchy climbs and packs a devilish fast finish.

Stage Three: Norwood - Campbell Town, 116.8 km, Hilly

Stage three to Campbelltown is short but will pack a mean punch with three of Adelaide's toughest hills roped into the equation.

Norton Summit, Checkers Hill and Corkscrew Road are all on the menu, providing plenty of staging posts for the high profile overall contenders to make their moves. Corkscrew Road features challenging pitches of 6.8% average gradient, with one section ramping up to more than 9%.

Perhaps homegrown hero and Giro d'Italia winner Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) will look to test his early season form on the hills of Adelaide.  

Stage Four: Port Willunga - Willunga Township, 133.2 km, Flat

Normally on a stage in and around Willunga, you would expect the infamous Willunga Hill to feature somewhere in the route but this year's race misses out the legendary climb.

Stage four gets underway overlooking the beach and ends in Willunga Township after 133 kilometres of mainly rolling, undulating roads. Stage four is definitely a day for the sprinters once more before the race reaches its finale on Mount Lofty the day after. 

Stage Five: Unley - Mount Lofty, 122.5 km, Hilly

Stage five to Mount Lofty will make for a spectacular finish to the 2023 edition of the race.

The stage is just 112.5 kilometres long but features five ascents of Mount Lofty, which is almost certainly going to provide drama on the races final day in the heart of the Adelaide Hills.

All four ascents of the devilish climb will make for more than 3,000 metres of climbing. The whole climb is 2.6 kilometres long with an average gradient of 7%. At two and then one kilometre to go there are two much more severe, steeper sections which is where the GC favourites will be expected to attack.

Many talented climbers feature on the expected start list which should make for a thrilling and aggressive stage five to end the race. 

WOMEN'S TOUR DOWN UNDER: STAGES, 15-17 JANUARY

Stage One: Glenelg - Aldinga, 110.4 km, Flat

The opening day of the women's race is a relatively flat affair along the South Australian coastline. 

With just one categorised climb on the menu, the category four Chaffey's climb, it promises to be a fast run into the finish which could provide an opportunity for the likes of Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez) to start as they mean to go on, with an opening day stage victory. 

Stage Two: Birdwood to Uraidla, 90 km, Hilly 

Stage two will be a punchy affair through the Adelaide hills, a reverse of the route taken in stage five of the men's race.

The women will ascend the back of the Mount Lofty climb which is certainly set to cause some major splits in the bunch. 

If after day one Brown has taken an early lead in the GC, she will have to be well on her guard to prevent climbing experts like Brodie Chapman (Trek-Segafredo) from wrestling the overall lead from her grasp. 

Stage Three: Adelaide - Campbelltown, 93.2 km, Hilly

The grand finale for this year's women's Tour Down Under will be one for the climbers with more than 1,500 metres of elevation on offer. 

Corkscrew Road - one of the toughest climbs in the Adelaide hills - will play a starring role on the races final day and will more than likely cause some major splits. 

With sections of up to 24.4% gradients, the Corkscrew will provide a menacing test and potentially the perfect setting for the overall leader to launch an attack, and claim a final day stage win to cement their advantage. 

MEN'S START LIST

 Jayco-AIUla

Michael Matthews  (AUS)
Simon Yates (GBR)
Luke Durbridge (AUS)
Lucas Hamilton (AUS)
Michael Hepburn (AUS)
Chris Harper (AUS)
Campbell Stewart (NZA)

AG2R-Citroën

Ben O'Connor (AUS)
Alex Baudin (FRA)
Dorian Godon (FRA)
Paul Lapeira (FRA)
Nans Peters (FRA)
Michael Schar (SWI)
Damian Touze (FRA)

Arkéa-Samsic

Ewen Costiou (FRA)
Mathis Le Berre (FRA)
Elie Gesbert (FRA)
Hugo Hofstetter (FRA)
Kevin Ledanois (FRA)
Łukasz Owsian (POL)
Alessandro Verre (ITA

Astana Qazaqstan

Luis Leon Sanchez (SPA)
Manuele Boaro (ITA)
Leonardo Basso (ITA)
Fabio Felline (ITA)
Dmitriy Gruzdev (KAZ)
Martin Laas (EST)
Gianni Moscon (ITA)

Bahrain-Victorious

Pello Bilbao (SPA)
Nikias Arndt (GER)
Kamil Gradek (POL)
Hermann Pernsteiner (AU)
Cameron Scott (AUS)
Jasha Sutterlin (GER)

Trek-Segafredo

Tony Gallopin (FRA)
Filippo Baroncini (ITA)
Marc Brustenga (SPA)
Asbjorn Hellemose (DEN)
Emils Liepins (LAT)
Natnael Tesfazion (ERI)
Antonio Tiberi (ITA)

Cofidis

Bryan Coquard (FRA)
Francois Bidard (FRA)
Davide Cimolai (ITA)
Wesley Kreder (NED)
Victor Lafay (FRA)
Alexis Renard (FRA)
Harrison Wood (FRA)

Soudal Quick-Step

Mattia Cattaneo (ITA)
Josef Cerny (CZA)
Dries Devenyns (BEL)
James Knox (GBR)
Mauro Schmid (SWI)
Jannik Steimle (GER)
Martin Svrcek (CZA)

Alpecin-Deceuninck

Kaden Groves (AUS)
Jenson Plowright (AUS)
Robert Stannard (AUS)
Samuel Gayze (NZA)
Senne Leysen (BEL)
Oscar Riesebeek (NED)
Michael Gogl (AUS)

Groupama-FDJ

Michael Storer (AUS)
Miles Scotson (AUS)
Lorenzo Germani (ITA)
Reuben Thompson (NZA)
Laurence Pithie (NZA)
Paul Penhoet (FRA)
Rudy Molard (FRA)

Ineos Grenadiers

Geraint Thomas (GBR)
Ethan Hayter (GBR)
Kim Heiduk (GER)
Luke Plapp (AUS)
Magnus Sheffield (USA)
Ben Swift (GBR)

Intermarche-Circus-Wanty

Sven Erik Bystøom (NOR)
Julius Johansen (DEN)
Hugo Page (FRA)
Gerben Thijssen (BEL)
Taco van der Hoorn (NED)
Boy Van Poppel (NED)
Dion Smith (NZA)

Jumbo-Visma

Rohan Dennis (AUS)
Robert Gesink (NED)
Lennard Hofstede (NED)
Timo Roosen (NED)
Milan Vader (NED)
Timo van Dijke (NED)
Jos van Emden (NED)

Movistar

Gorka Izaguirre (SPA)
Imanol Erviti (SPA)
Johan Jacobs (SWI)
Oscar Rodriguez (SPA)
Ivan Romeo (SPA)
Sergio Samitier (SPA)
Luis Guillermo Mas (SPA)

DSM

Chris Hamilton (AUS)
Matt Dinham (AUS)
Patrick Bevin (NZA)
Romain Combaud (FRA)
Tim Naberman (NED)
Marius Mayrhofer (GER)
Martijn Tusveld (NED)

UAE Team Emirates

Jay Vine (AUS)
George Bennett (NZA)
Marc Hirschi (SWI)
Sjoerd Bax (NED)
Alessandro Covi (ITA)
Michael Vink (NZA)
Finn Fisher-Black (NZA)

EF Education-EasyPost

Alberto Bettiol (ITA)
Mikkel Honoré (DEN)
Jens Keukeleire (BEL)
Sean Quinn (USA)
Jonas Rutsch (GER)
Thomas Scully (NZA)
Lukasz Wisniowski (POL)

Bora-Hansgrohe

Jai Hindley (AUS)
Marco Haller (AUS)
Shane Archbold (NZA)
Luis-Joe Luhrs (GER)
Jordi Meeus (BEL)
Max Schachmann (GER)
Giovanni Aleotti (ITA)

Israel Premier-Tech

Chris Froome (GBR)
Daryl Impey (RZA)
Simon Clarke (AUS)
Corbin Strong (NZA)
Taj Jones (AUS)
Sebastian Berwick (AUS)
Derek Gee (CAN)

Australian National Team

Caleb Ewan (AUS)
Jarrad Drizners (AUS)
Graeme Frislie (AUS)
Connor Leahy (AUS)
Zac Marriage (AUS)
James Moriarty (AUS)
Liam Walsh (AUS)

WOMEN'S START LIST

Jayco- AIUla
Ruby Roseman-Gannon (AUS)
Alex Manly (AUS)
Amber Pate (AUS)
Georgia Baker (AUS)
Georgia Howe (AUS)
Jessica Allen (AUS)

Trek-Segafredo

Amanda Spratt (AUS)
Lauretta Hanson (AUS)
Brodie Chapman (AUS)
Tayler Wiles (USA)
Lisa Klein (GER)
Ilaria Sanguineti (ITA)

FDJ-Suez

Grace Brown (AUS)
Loes Adegeest (NED)
Clara Copponi (FRA)
Eugenie Duval (FRA)
Victorie Guilman (FRA)
Gladys Verhulst (FRA)

Human Powered Health

Lily Williams (USA)
Daria Pikulik (POL)
Antri Christoforou (GRE)
Kaia Schmid (USA)
Henrietta Christie (NZA)
Nina Buijsman (NED)

Israel Premier Tech Roland

Caroline Baur (SWI)
Silvia Magri (ITA)
Mia Griffin (IRE)
Thi That N'Guyen (VIE)
Claire Steels (GBR)
Elena Pirrone (ITA)

EF Education-Tibco-SVB

Lauren Stephens (USA)
Emma Langley (USA)
Krista Doebel-Hickok (USA)
Abigail Smith (GBR)
Georgia Williams (NZA)

COOP-Hitec Products

Mari Mohr (NOR)
Josie Nelson (GBR)
Tiril Jorgenson (NOR)
Sylvia Swinkels (NED)
Kerry Jonker (RZA)
Georgia Danford (NZA)

ZAAF Cycling

Danielle De Francesco (AUS)
Elizabeth Stannard (AUS)
Nikola Noskova (CZA)
Michaela Drummond (NZA)
Debora Silvestri (ITA)
Maggie Coles-Lyster (CAN)

ARA Skip Capital

Sophie Edwards (AUS)
Chloe Moran (AUS)
Isabelle Carnes (AUS)
Alex Martin-Wallace (AUS)
Georgia Whitehouse (AUS)
Rachael Wales (AUS)

Bridgelane

Emily Watts (AUS)
Gina Ricardo (AUS)
Jessica Pratt (AUS)
Keely Bennett (AUS)
Lillee Pollock (AUS)
Mia Hayden (AUS)

Australian National Team

Nicole Frain (AUS)
Rachel Neylan (AUS)
Josie Talbot (AUS)
Anya Louw (AUS)
Haylee Fuller (AUS)
Alli Anderson (AUS)

New Zealand National Team

Ally Wollaston (NZA)
Bryony Botha (NZA)
Ella Wyllie (NZA)
Prudence Fowler (NZA)
Rylee McMullen (NZA)
Annamarie Lipp (NZA)

St Michel - Mavic

Roxane Fournier (FRA)
Coralie Demay (FRA)
Simone Boilard (CAN)
Dilyxine Miermont (FRA)
Sandrine Bideau (FRA)
Camille Fahy (FRA)

HOW TO WATCH

We've produced a full guide detailing how to watch all of the action from the first WorldTour races of the season.

Depending on where you are in the world, you may want to consider downloading an ExpressVPN to ensure you can gain access to your home broadcaster. 

Jai Hindley can’t wait to zip up his new season Bora-Hansgrohe jersey and clip into his pedals once more to begin a new WorldTour season this weekend. 

After a long off-season at home in Australia, last year’s Giro d’Italia champion is getting set to travel to Adelaide ready for the WorldTour season curtain raiser, the Town Down Under, in the coming days. 

Speaking to Cycling Weekly, Hindley explained that after studying the key stages, he’s predicting full-gas, aggressive racing as the new season gets underway in the height of the Australian summer.

“It's going to be a great month for Australian racing. We’ve had the nationals, then we’ve got Down Under, the Cadel [Evans] race and a couple of races in between them. Normally we’d have had the Sun Tour but that’s not on this year unfortunately,” Hindley said. 

“So there’s a really good month there and it’s good times for the scene.” 

The five stages of the Tour Down Under feature two fearsome looking days in the Adelaide Hills, something which on paper is right up Hindley’s street. Although the Bora-Hansgrohe man looked to play down his chances of a result racing on home roads as he looked ahead to bigger goals in the coming months. 

“We’ll see. I mean I’m not going to say no but it’s obviously quite early in the season,” he said. 

“I’ve got some really big goals lined up this year, so we’ll see how next week plays out. I think the course looks good, they’ve changed it up a fair bit and it's going to be a good race.”

“With the way cycling is going now I think it’ll be quite aggressive racing. I’ve looked at all the stages, they’re quite short so I think we’ll see some fun, aggressive racing which will be really nice actually,” Hindley added.

Opportunities to race back at home are few and far between for Hindley. The Australian told Cycling Weekly that he was looking forward to racing on home roads in front of Aussie fans. 

However, he explained that it was “not the end of the world” if the race doesn’t go to plan. 

“There’s not so many races here in Oz, so getting to do Down Under is really cool. I know a lot of the guys in Europe always look forward to doing this race, and especially the Aussie pros,” Hindley said. “It’s probably one of the best weeks in the calendar for us Aussie guys, just being in that atmosphere and environment.”

“As a rider it’s a great event but I can imagine it’s great for the spectators too. All the race is in one area and it’s super accessible for the fans. I don’t think you get that in too many other sports actually,” he added.  

“There will be guys here ready to perform at a super high level, then others who are just looking to get some early season racing K’s in the legs. The level will be really high though that's for sure.” 

Good morning and welcome to another Cycling Weekly live blog. The year's only just begun and already we're less than two weeks from the start of the road season, which opens at the Tour Down Under in Australia.

Join me, Tom Davidson, as I gather all the latest news in the world of cycling. I'll also bring you coverage of today's X20 Trofee cyclo-cross races in Koksijde, which starts at 12:45 (GMT). 

Latest updates:

9:29 - Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas to kick off 2023 at Tour Down Under

9:54 - Race website appears to leak new EF Education-EasyPost kit

10:32 - Police yet to track down two suspects in Mark Cavendish home robbery trial

11:12 - Paris-Nice route unveiled

11:58 - Rayner Foundation reveals list of 24 supported riders for 2023

12:45 - Live coverage of the X20 cyclo-cross racing in Koksijde

13:30 - Shirin van Anrooij wins women's elite cyclo-cross race in Koksijde

15:00 - Wout van Aert takes sixth cyclo-cross victory of the season

15:20 - Rapha release official images of new EF Education kits

Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas to open seasons at Tour Down Under

British Tour de France winners Chris Froome (Israel Premier-Tech) and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) will begin their road calendar at the Tour Down Under in Australia, which starts on 17 January. 

The five-stage race marks the first WorldTour event of the season and will open in Adelaide with a short time trial prologue. 

Other notable names on the start list, which was released last night, include Giro d'Italia winner Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), two-time world time trial champion Rohan Dennis (Jumbo-Visma) and current British time trial champion Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers).

The full start list can be found on the race's website. 

EF Education-EasyPost kit leaked? 

A jersey design, thought to be EF Education-EasyPost's kit for 2023, has been shared on the Tour Down Under's website. 

The three-tone pink design bears a blank Rapha armband and was attached to the Australian race's start list, alongside the names of the team's seven riders expected to participate in the event.  

EF Education-EasyPost are yet to officially unveil their new jersey, which they tend to do later than other teams. 

The design looks almost identical to one worn by the team's new signing Andrey Amador in a now deleted photo on social media. 

Two men at large in Mark Cavendish home robbery

Police are still searching for two men suspected to have been involved in an armed robbery at the home of British national road champion Mark Cavendish in November 2021. 

In an ongoing trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, the jury heard how Cavendish and his wife, Peta, were threatened at knifepoint by intruders, who stole items including two Richard Mille watches, worth £400,000 and £300,000. 

Two of the suspects have denied two counts of robbery, while a further two are yet to be tracked down by the police. 

In September last year, a 28-year-old man from East London admitted his involvement and pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery. 

ASO release 2023 Paris-Nice route

Race organisers ASO have today unveiled the route for this year's edition of Paris-Nice, one of the key precursor stage races to the Grand Tours. 

The eight-day race will begin in La Verrière on the outskirts of Paris on 5 March, before making it's way south to the Mediterranean city of Nice. The riders will tackle a 32.2km team time trial on stage three and will face a mountaintop finish on the Col de la Couillole (15.7km at 7.1%) on the penultimate day. 

All 18 WorldTour teams will be present, including riders such as Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), Romain Bardet (DSM) and David Gaudu (Groupama FDJ). ProTeams Lotto Dstny, TotalEnergies, Israel-Premier Tech and Uno-X, the latter two receiving wildcard invitations. 

Last year, the race was won by three-time Vuelta a España winner Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) ahead of Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla).

Full details of the route, as well as the map, can be found below: 

Sunday, March 5th, stage 1: La Verrière > La Verrière, 169,4 km
Monday, March 6th, stage 2: Bazainville > Fontainebleau, 163,7 km
Tuesday, March 7th, stage 3: Dampierre-en-Burly > Dampierre-en-Burly (T.T.T), 32,2 km
Wednesday, March 8th, stage 4: Saint-Amand-Montrond > La Loge des Gardes, 164,7 km
Thursday, March 9th, stage 5: Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise > Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, 212,4 km
Friday, March 10th, stage 6: Tourves > La-Colle-sur-Loup, 197,4  km
Saturday, March 11st, stage 7: Nice > Col de la Couillole, 142,9 km
Sunday, March 12nd, stage 8: Nice > Nice, 118,4 km

Rayner Foundation announces supported riders for 2023

The Rayner Foundation, a UK cycling charity, has shared its list of supported riders for the 2023 season. 

A total of 24 male riders will receive funds and other assistance from the charity as they pursue cycling careers abroad. The full list can be found on the website. 

The Rayner Foundation will also continue to run its 'Gateway' scheme next year, supporting women's teams and junior riders overseas. 

The charity enjoyed its most successful year in 2022, with six riders signing professional contracts. Of the six, four stepped up to the men’s WorldTour, with Leo Hayter joining Ineos Grenadiers, Sam Watson graduating into Groupama FDJ’s elite squad, Sean Flynn signing with Team DSM and Harrison Wood swapping AVC Aix for Cofidis. 

Josie Nelson and Millie Couzens also both joined women’s Continental outfits for the upcoming road season, signing for Team Coop-Hitec Products and Plantur-Pura respectively.  

Originally launched in 1995, the Rayner Foundation supports young British riders who opt to travel abroad to cut their teeth in road racing. To date, the charity has provided financial support to hundreds of riders, including the recently retired Dan Martin, 2020 Giro d’Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart, as well as his former Ineos Grenadiers teammate Adam Yates. 

X20 Trofee Duinencross Koksijde gets underway!

Today's cyclo-cross racing from the Koksijde airbase in Flanders is now underway. 

In the opening moments, a crash brought down a few riders as they sprinted for the first corner. The race favourites - Fem van Empel, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Shirin van Anrooij - are all upright and near the front on the first lap. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: Van Anrooij has started excellently, pulling away from her competitors. The 20-year-old won three of her six races last months and has clearly kept her fine form into 2023. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: After the first lap, Van Anrooij leads by 11 seconds, ahead of former world champions Lucinda Brand and Alvarado. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: European champion Van Empel moves through into second. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: Van Anrooij still has a healthy lead at the front of this race. Brand is trying to close the gap to second-placed Van Empel, which is getting drawn out in the sand sections. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: Let's not forget, Van Anrooij is a master of the sand ruts. The Dutchwoman won by almost a minute last month at the Exact Cross in Mol, a course almost entirely covered in sand. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: This will be a five-lap race. Van Empel trails Van Anrooij by 13 seconds after the second lap. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: Van Empel is closing the gap on Van Anrooij. The European champion has been able to ride more of the sand than her compatriot, and is managing to claw back the metres. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: Van Anrooij has a few lapped riders to deal with here as she continues to lead in Koksijde. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: We're into the final lap! Van Anrooij's advantage has been cut to 11 seconds. This is going to be a two-up battle for the win. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: The third-placed rider, Brand, is over a minute down on Van Anrooij here. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: Van Empel gets into a bit of trouble on the course's long sand section. She loses a few seconds, which might well hand victory to Van Anrooij. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: Van Anrooij secures the win! After taking the lead just moments into the race, the 20-year-old looked assured around the sandy course. Van Empel put the pressure on, but couldn't close the gap on her compatriot. 

That's five victories this season for Van Anrooij, who wins by 14 seconds in Koksijde. Van Empel finishes second, with Brand crossing the line in third at 1-09. 

Brand remains the top of the X20 Badkamers Trofee classifcation, but her lead over Van Empel has been reduced considerably.

Join us for coverage of the men's race at 2pm. 

Mathieu Van der Poel and Wout van Aert set to face off in Koksijde cyclo-cross

We're moment's away from the start of the men's elite race in Koksijde. 

This will be the eighth meeting between Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel this season. So far, the advantage is with the Belgian, who has four victories to his long-term rival's three. 

World champion Tom Pidcock is not on the start list for this event. 

We're off in Koksijde!

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Laurens Sweeck gets a good start in the men's elite race. As does Toon Vandebosh, who leads the race. 

Van der Poel is currently third wheel, waiting for his chance to pounce. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Sweeck is drawing out an advantage. Van der Poel and Van Aert are in hot pursuit behind.  

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van der Poel powers into the lead. As Sweeck puts a foot down on a sandy incline, the Dutchman stays on his bike and kicks ahead. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van der Poel leads by five seconds ahead of Sweeck and Van Aert as they cross the line for the first time. Van Aert then makes his way into second wheel. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: The rain is starting to fall in Koksijde. This race is about to get a lot more dramatic. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van der Poel and Van Aert are together at the front of the race. How many times have you read that sentence before? 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van Aert and Van der Poel are trading places at the front of the race. Sweeck is holding their wheel, for the moment at least. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: The three leading riders take the same time over the line at the end of lap two. Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is the next best rider, 18 seconds behind in fourth. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van Aert pits for a bike change. He slips slightly on the mud, but stays upright and intact with the front group.  

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: The trio are all still together as they head into lap four of eight. It'd be hard to pick a winner between them at this point.

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Sweeck is losing contact with Van der Poel and Van Aert. He's battling to close the gap, but as he runs through the sand, Van Aert attacks off the front. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van Aert has opened up a big gap here. At the midway point, the Belgian champion leads Van der Poel by 18 seconds and is showing no signs of relenting. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van der Poel is struggling in the deep sand ruts. The gap is now around 40 seconds to race leader Van Aert, who is running away with it in Koksijde. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Three laps remain. Van der Poel stands up on the pedals and stretches out his back. 

The Dutchman withdrew from cyclo-cross racing last season due to an ongoing back injury. He's currently 52 seconds behind Van Aert.  

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van Aert picks up a clean bike in the pits. He looks determined and dominant, as he has for most of this cyclo-cross season. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: At the end of lap six, Van Aert's advantage sits at well over a minute. 1-15, to be exact. 

Barring accident or injury, the Belgian will take his sixth victory of the season in Koksijde. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van Aert heads, alone, into the final lap. He's showing no signs of letting up, though.

The Belgian knows that on such an attritional course as this one, mistakes can happen at any moment. He's making sure he doesn't make any. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van Aert deals a thumbs up to his crew as he passes the pits for the last time. Victory is all but certain for the Belgian. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van Aert wins in Koksijde! The Belgian punches the air twice as he crosses the line, before stepping off his bike and kissing his partner. 

Van der Poel finishes in second, 1-38 later. Sweeck takes a solid third, at 2-06. 

I'll have a full race report up on the site in due course. 

Rapha officially unveil EF Education kits for 2023

After a few social media leaks, cycling clothing company Rapha have now officially unveiled the kit to be worn by WorldTour teams EF Education-EasyPost and EF Education-Tibco-SVB next season. 

Commenting on the design in a press release, EF Pro Cycling wrote: "Our classic pink remains present in our updated kit, but with each panel of the jersey incorporating a different shade, a nod to the past, present and future of the team."

The men's team will return to wearing black bib shorts next season, having gone green in 2022, with sponsor names in white text. 

This design marks five years of Rapha's partnership with the EF's men's team, and two years with its women's team. The company have said the kits will be available commercially in the spring. 

For details of all the 2023 team kits, visit our round-up page. 

That ties up today's live blog. You can read the full report from today's cyclo-cross races over on our website. You'll also find news of cycling brand VeloVixen's liquidation and a feature on gravel riding in Patagonia. 

We'll be back tomorrow with more updates from the world of cycling. 

The Tour Down Under is set to return to the WorldTour from 2023 after a two-year absence, but Willunga Hill, synonymous for being dominated by Richie Porte, won't feature in the race. 

Porte won the Tour Down Under stage finishing atop Willunga Hill for six successive years between 2013 and 2019, with Matthew Holmes ending his streak in 2020. The Australian immediately bounced back at the 2021 Santos Festival of Cycling, though, resuming normality with another victory on the iconic climb.

However, it seems Willunga Hill simply cannot continue to be included on the Tour Down Under without Richie Porte, who is set to retire at the end of 2022. Race organisers announced a final-stage visit to Mount Lofty in the Adelaide Hills will instead replace Willunga Hill. 

Set to feature as the first event on both the men's and women's WorldTour calendars in 2023, the Tour Down Under will be preceded by a criterium race on Saturday 14 January. 

The women's race, formerly ranked 2.Pro, has achieved WorldTour status for next year, and includes three stages on the days after the criterium, finishing on Tuesday 17 January.

Meanwhile, the men's race begins with a prologue time trial on the day the women's race concludes, featuring a 5.5km route around the South Australian city. Riders will complete five road stages thereafter, finishing with the climb up Mount Lofty, rather than Willunga Hill.

Organisers also announced both the men's and women's races are set to feature as a WorldTour event until 2025, at least. 

Two-time Tour Down Under winner and now race director, Stuart O'Grady, said: “The 2023 race routes have been designed to test our cyclists like never before whilst taking fans to the heart of the action.

“The Santos Tour Down Under will open with an exciting new time trial: the EFEX Prologue around Adelaide’s Riverbank is an event first, taking place on a loop around the Torrens with each rider beginning on the Riverbank bridge and tackling the course individually – it’s man versus clock in this all-out effort.

“More event firsts include a formidable Mount Lofty finisher and a stunning beachside stage start at Brighton – all the race routes showcase South Australia at its very best and we can’t wait welcome the international cycling community back to our state.”

Extinction Rebellion in South Australia has announced on Twitter that activists will blockade routes at the Santos Festival of Cycling in protest against the event's sponsor. 

Held as a replacement for the Tour Down Under, which was cancelled from the UCI WorldTour due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions in Australia, the Santos Festival of Cycling starts on Friday 21 January and ends on Saturday 28 January. 

However, Extinction Rebellion plans to disrupt the week-long event in protest against Santos, Australia's second largest oil and gas producer and sponsor of the Tour Down Under since 2010.

Announcing their protest, Extinction Rebellion tweeted: “Rebels from XRSA [Extinction Rebellion South Australia] are today announcing they will perform road blocks to stop the Santos Festival of Cycling race and challenge the social license of festival sponsor. We are demanding they find a new naming rights sponsor for the Tour Down Under.

"One of the world's worst carbon polluters, Santos continues to pursue massive oil and gas expansion in Australia and around the globe. Their actions will drive global emissions to tipping points from which there is no return. They must be stopped.”

As one of Australia's largest greenhouse gas emitting companies, Santos' relationship with the Tour Down Under has often been challenged, with its sponsorship perceived by some as 'greenwashing'. 

Adelaide regularly experiences bushfires and extreme heat and The Australian Conservation Foundation calculated in 2020 that the South Australian city will see a significant increase in the number of extreme heat days over the next 40 to 60 years.

The Tour Down Under has no set figures or targets for reduction of its carbon emissions, simply stating “continuous improvement on environmental impact” is part of its management plan.

Speaking to Procycling (issue 288), Executive Director of event owner Events South Australia, Hitaf Rasheed, did not recognise the sport's environmental impact, instead commenting on Santos as a sponsor that helps the race's status develop.

Rasheed said: "While none of our sponsors have any direct involvement in the organisation or running of this event, we value these partnerships as they allow the race to continue to grow and elevate the event to a world-class offering.”

Extinction Rebellion member Anna Slynn said: "We understand that people will be frustrated by this action, but we cannot continue to give Santos our social consent. We intend to stop the race safely. We are declaring our intention today so that race organisers are prepared for when this happens.

"A company that pursues the most polluting oil and gas projects in the world, does not fulfil its tax obligations and continually ignores the wishes of Traditional Owners does not deserve our community support.”

The race organisers haven't officially responded to Extinction Rebellion's pre-warning of intended disruption at the race yet. 

Richie Porte and Rohan Dennis are among the WorldTour professionals who will line up to take part in the Santos Festival of Cycling in January 2022. The event, which replaces the Tour Down Under for a second year in a row, sees a men's race between 23-25 January, and a women's race 27-29 January.

The pair have three overall wins of the Tour Down Under between them, with Porte triumphing in 2017 and 2020, while Dennis won in 2015. The former has also won eight stages in the WorldTour event.

Porte will line up for Team Garmin Australia rather than Ineos Grenadiers, while it will be the first race for Dennis in the colours of Jumbo-Visma. Joining Porte on the Australian team will be fellow Ineos professional Luke Plapp, and the women's team will include Grace Brown, who has moved from BikeExchange to FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope in the off-season.

Plapp will be in his first season at Ineos Grenadiers, joining the team after he caught the eye during the Australian racing season last winter.

Chris Harper will race alongside Dennis for Jumbo-Visma. Team BikeExchange Jayco will also be fielding teams at the Festival of Cycling, with new signings Ruby Roseman-Gannon, Georgia Baker and Alexandra Manly lining up for the women’s race, while Luke Durbridge and Australian champion Cameron Meyer will be lining up in the men’s edition.

Veteran road captain Simon Clarke is also down to ride the event. While he is still contracted to Team Qhubeka NextHash for 2022, there are doubts surrounding the future of the team. Last week the UCI revealed it had refused its WorldTour licence for 2022.

The Festival of Cycling's men's race director, Simon Clarke, said: "South Australians and visiting cycling fans alike will this year have the opportunity to not only watch Australia’s best domestic cyclists but also a great selection of WorldTeam riders bringing together a strong peloton for the 2022 Santos Festival of Cycling.

"The inclusion of Grace, Richie and Luke in Australia’s national team will provide a wonderful opportunity for Australia’s next generation of champions – predominantly under 19 and first year under 23 riders – to mix with and learn from Australia’s current stars."

The race is running in place of the WorldTour Tour Down Under for a second year in a row due to the pandemic and related border restrictions in place in Australia.

Here is the confirmed start list of teams and their squads so far.

Santos Festival of Cycling startlist

Team Garmin Australia

PORTE Richie (Aus)

PLAPP Luke (Aus)

BROWN Grace (Aus)

Jumbo-Visma

DENNIS Rohan (Aus)

HARPER Chris (Aus)

Team BikeExchange Jayco

DURBRIDGE Luke (Aus)

MEYER Cameron (Aus)

ROSEMAN-GANNON Ruby (Aus)

BAKER Georgia (Aus)

MANLY Alexandra (Aus)

The Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans races could be held in September of 2022, just before the UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, according to a Belgian race organiser.

In a report by CyclingNews it was said that neither the Tour Down Under nor the Cadel Evans Sun Race - both of which usually take place early in the year but have been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic - would confirm or deny the news reported. 

The rumour began when one-day race Eurométropole Tour organiser Louis Cousaert told La DH Les Sports that he does not know where his race will be held, with the possibility of the Benelux Tour overlapping with his race as well as the "noises" coming from down under.

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"We were happy to have been moved in 2022 to Saturday, September 3, that is to say the old date of the Brussels Cycling Classic, which is rescheduled in June," he said.

"But there is currently a plan to organize the Benelux Tour from September 29 to 4. If it is confirmed, then we could not organize our race on September 3rd."

August and September are exceptionally busy months in the cycling season, with various races including the final Grand Tour of the season the Vuelta a España taking place.

Cousaert wonders if he could have his race on September 3 but with races like the Vuelta as well as the Tour of Britain, the Canadian Classics as well as the Tour of Slovakia, which Cousaert points out Quick-Step AlphaVinyl will be attending, it's tricky to reschedule.

"Not to mention the noises we hear about the postponement of the Australian races at the start of the season in September, just before the World Championships," he added. 

The Tour Down Under and the Cadel Evans Sun Tour, as well as the Herald Sun Tour have all suffered from cancellations over the past two years. The races are being postponed again in 2022, meaning that a move to September would make sense.

With the World Championships taking place between September 18 and 25, riders will need to head over earlier than normal to the Worlds, meaning that warm up races could be ideal for preparation.

The South Australian Tourism Commission told CyclingNews: "Australia’s cycling community meets in South Australia each January and the Santos Tour Down Under is committed to return as the first race on the UCI road cycling calendar in 2023,

"We look forward to seeing everyone here." - So time will tell whether the rumour is true or not."

The Tour Down Under will, once again, not be taking place in 2022 as Australia's border closure and quarantine rules continue to be enforced.

It will be instead replaced by the Santos Festival of Cycling, as happened at the start of this year, which saw cyclists who live in Australia compete in a short stage race that took on some of the usual Tour Down Under routes including Willunga Hill.

The last time the WorldTour Australian stage race took place was in 2020, a month before the Covid-19 pandemic began forcing national lockdowns, with then Trek-Segafredo riders Richie Porte winning the men's race and Ruth Winder taking the women's edition.

The one-day WorldTour race, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, is also cancelled because of the national restrictions in Australia.

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Premier of South Australia, Steven Marshall said: "Adelaide in January is all about cycling and our cycling friends from all around Australia gathering here. Although international major events continue to be challenging, we will celebrate cycling in January 2022 in the best way we know how and welcome visitors to Adelaide once again to kick off the new year.

"South Australia’s ability to host Covid-Safe major events, including the Santos Festival of Cycling, brings substantial economic benefit and employment opportunities to the state, as well as showcasing stunning views of South Australia to the world."

The Australian border is currently closed to anyone from outside of the nation with strict enforcement. People are only able to travel to Australia if they have been given a special exemption to do so or they are an Australian citizen. 

Australia's quarantine rules state that people must isolate to stop the potential spread of Covid-19 for 14 days. Over 45,000 Australians are still unable to get home including Ineos Grenadiers' new signing, Lucas Plapp.

The 20-year-old recently said: "I can't find a flight, so at the moment I might be here [Europes] for the winter, but I would love to be able to get back to Australia, race the nationals and Tour Down Under again, which will just be a local event.

"With the Olympic build-up, it's been a while since I saw my family and friends, so it would be really nice to get home and see them over the Christmas period."

The Santos Festival of Cycling 2022 will be a nine day event likely over similar terrain as at the start of 2021 but it is unclear as to whether some of the riders racing in Europe will be joining the race. 

While the world is unrecognisable compared to this time last year, some semblance of normality has returned as Richie Porte won atop Willunga Hill on the third stage of the Santos Festival of Cycling.

The re-imagined, scaled-down Tour Down Under, saw the peloton set off from McLaren Vale for an 88.2km route, taking in two laps around Willunga before the summit finish climb.

Riding for Garmin-Australia during the four-day race, Porte accelerated up Willunga Hill after the breakaway had been pulled back, and looked to be riding away from the rest until his 20-year-old team-mate, Luke Plapp, rode onto his wheel.

Porte eventually crossed the line first, Plapp applauding him, with Luke Durbridge (BikeExchange) third on the stage and cementing his overall lead.

"The rider of the day was easily Plappy," Porte said after the finish, "he could have easily come around me but he didn't".

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Meanwhile, Sarah Gigante attacked twice on Willunga Hill in the women's race, finishing a minute ahead of Lucy Kennedy, extending her lead over her in the general classification to 3-11.

Gigante's effort was enough to see her smash the Strava QOM by 1-10, setting a new best time of 8-13 with an average speed of 21.9km/h up the climb, while Porte's 6-34 from last year's Tour Down Under still holds the KOM.

This was Porte's seventh victory up Willunga Hill, with Lotto-Soudal's Matthew Holmes having beaten the Tasmanian on the final stage six of the 2020 Tour Down Under, with Porte going on to claim only his second overall victory at his home stage race.

The fourth and final stage of the Santos Festival of Cycling will be an hour-long criterium in Adelaide's Victoria Park, with both Durbridge and Gigante expected to hold their leads in the general classification and claim the overall victory.

The Santos Festival of Cycling 2021 is a unique opportunity for Australian pros to compete in a domestic stage race - here’s how you can live stream this year’s event. 

While the 2021 Tour Down Under, the traditional start of the WorldTour calendar, is cancelled there is still an opportunity for Australians to compete in a four-stage race this January, with both men’s and women’s editions being held.

Running from January 21-24, the Santos Festival of Cycling will not be held as a UCI event but will still attract some of the biggest Australian cycling talent.

Due to coronavirus restrictions, the race is only open to local teams and riders. 

This year, Team BikeExchange will be fielding strong contenders from their line-up of home riders, including Lucy Kennedy and Sarah Roy in the women’s team, and the likes of Cameron Meyer, Luke Durbridge and Lucas Hamilton in the men’s.

But by far the biggest star competing in this one-off edition of the race is Ineos Grenadiers rider Richie Porte, who will temporarily be joining Team Garmin-Australia to compete at home. 

The race, centred around the city of Adelaide in South Australia, will feature the famous Willunga Hill climb on stage three and a criterium around Victoria Park on the final day of racing.  

How to live stream the Santos Festival of Cycling in the UK, Europe or the US

Unfortunately the Santos Festival of Cycling is not being aired on TV outside of Australia, so cycling fans in the UK and Europe won’t be able to watch the racing from their favourite home broadcasters like Eurosport, GCN or ITV, or FloBikes in the US.  

If you live outside of Australia and will want to watch the racing, a VPN will let you access coverage from outside your broadcast area. 

Downloading and installing a VPN allows you to trick your computer into thinking it’s elsewhere in the world. This allows you to watch your chosen broadcaster coverage without having to resort to an illegal steam, as long as you stick to the terms and conditions set out by the broadcaster.

Setting up a VPN is simple – just download, install, open the app and select your location.

Try out ExpressVPN  for its speed, security and simplicity to use. We also like that it’s compatible with so many devices and streaming services (e.g. Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox, PS4, etc).

There are other great options out there of course, but Express VPN gives you the added benefit of a 30-day money back guarantee and three months free with a yearly plan. 

How to watch the Santos Festival of Cycling in Australia

The Santos Festival of Cycling will be broadcast on Australian streaming service 7Plus, with Anna Meares, Matt Keenan and Robbie McEwan joining the coverage.  

The women’s race will be broadcast first, followed by the men’s event shortly after each day.

Coverage will start at around 9am each day, aside from the final stage criterium which will take place in the evening. 

Full Santos Festival of Cycling TV guide on 7Plus (Adelaide Central Standard Time)

Thursday, January 21

Stage one - Sepplesfield to Tanunda 

Women’s: 8.50am to midday 

Men’s: 1.05pm to 5pm 

Friday, January 22

Stage two - Birdwood to Lobethal 

Women’s: 8.50am to 12.15pm 

Men’s: 1.05pm - 5pm 

Saturday, January 23

Stage three - McLaren Vale to Willunga 

Women’s 9.50am - 11.50am 

Men’s: 12.50pm - 4pm 

Sunday, January 24

Stage four - Victoria Park 

Paracycling: 3.10pm-3.40pm 

Women’s: 6.45pm - 8.30pm 

Men’s: 1.05pm - 5pm  

The 2021 Tour Down Under has been cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Australian stage race was set to be the first race of the 2021 season, and with the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race also called off, WorldTour racing now won't get underway again until February at the earliest.

"Despite best efforts, it is with regret we announce that the Santos Tour Down Under will not go ahead in 2021. Cycling will however still be ever-present in the streets of Adelaide and regional South Australia, with a smaller domestic cycling festival to take its place in January 2021," read the statement from race organisers.

With Australia having recovered from a second coronavirus spike in August, the number of cases now remain low. Inviting hundreds of riders and teams from all over the globe when Europe is currently entering its second wave meant holding the race with WorldTour teams in attendance was always going to be difficult.

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"We have done all we can to consider how we can deliver it, but unfortunately, in the end, it was the international component, with over 400 people that make up the international teams, that proved to be the most difficult to overcome,” organiser Hitaf Rasheed said.

Retired Australian pro rider Stuart O'Grady was all set for his first year as race director and says he is "devastated" to have to postpone the race.

"Of course I am disappointed, but given the challenges, our priority needs to be the health and safety of South Australians, our communities, and the international cycling fraternity," the 2007 Paris-Roubaix winner said. "I believe that for one year we can put delivering an international event aside, and keep our South Australian heart beating by delivering a new, re-imagined event for cyclists and for communities across the nation."

The Tour Down Under will therefore next be held in 2022 as the WorldTour season opener. For 2021, the season should now begin on February 21 at the UAE Tour, which was the scene of the first coronavirus outbreak in the peloton earlier this year.

The cancelled Australian races will be good news for pros, who will now get a longer off-season. With the Vuelta a España finishing on November 9, there were only 71 days between the end of the Spanish Grand Tour and the start of the Tour Down Under.

Now, riders will have at least 104 days off if they take part in both the Vuelta and the UAE Tour.