Santos Tour Down Under Stage by Stage
1/17
Stage 1
Route: Willunga – Willunga
Distance: 137.4 km
Parcours: Hilly
Look out for: 600-meter finishing drag at 3.2%
What matters: Positioning leading into the final climb
Stage 1 races around the town of Willunga and the beautiful vista of Aldinga Beach before a finishing ramp in the town. It might not be up to the peak of the famed Willunga Hill, but the finishing drag sure packs a punch. If it splits at the finish, every second will count towards the destination of the final ochre leaders jersey.
1/18
Stage 2
Route: Magill – Paracombe
Distance: 130.7 km
Parcours: Rolling
Look out for: 9.9 km at 4.3% Ashton climb right from the start
What matters: Energy conservation will be key if it is to finish in a bunch sprint
With 1,896 meters, stage 2 has the most vertical gain of the three stages and begins with a steep climb. After that, it’s a day of rolling racing followed by three laps of a twelve-kilometer circuit with a finishing ramp.
1/19
Stage 3
Route: Norwood – Cambelltown
Distance: 126.5 km
Parcours: Hilly
Look out for: Two ascents of the 2.5 km at 8.3% Corkscrew Road climb
What matters: Staying on guard in the valley between the climbs
Stage 3 promises an exciting showdown. After a rolling start, the peloton faces two ascents of Corkscrew Road in the final 30 kilometers. Frontrunners will likely create an elite group the first time up Corkscrew, before heading into the second. The climb and its seven-kilometer descent will be where the race is won and lost, but watch out for opportunistic moves in the valley between the ascents.
How to watch
USA
FloBikes 1/16 – 1/18 from 7:30 pm – 11:30 pm EST / 6:30 pm – 10:30 pm CST / 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm MST / 4:30 pm – 8:30 pm PST
Europe
Eurosport/Discovery+/Max with via the B/R Sports Add-On (territory dependent)
17/1 – 19/1 from 01:30 – 05:00 CET
UK
Discovery+/TNT Sports 17/1 – 19/1 from 00:30 – 04:00 GMT
Australia
Channel 7
What our athletes think
Nina Buijsman
“I'm really excited. I’m always excited about the first race after the winter, but now with coming back, and all the nice memories I have back in the days with this team, I'm really looking forward to this one. Especially here in Australia, where I have really good memories with the team, especially the WorldTour win of Daria in 2023, so I'm motivated for this race. I think the parcours this year is nice, there is no big uphill finish, but all the stages are difficult and a lot of up and down. Every stage has a hard finish, also with all the altitude meters in the legs. So I'm curious to see how the races go and how my legs are.”
Katia Ragusa
“I’m excited to start my third season with the team. It’s a privilege for me, as I have seen the improvements and efforts of the team to provide us with the best conditions to race. It’s going to be a tougher race with all the WorldTour teams, but we are ready to compete, and I hope we can take a step forward, so although it will be hectic, we don’t have to be afraid and can give our best. I got a new tattoo over winter. It is a message on my arm to help my mindset. A reminder that we are there to race and to put it ‘all in’. It’s the idea to go full gas; otherwise, there is no point.”
Three other race days – the WorldTour Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, and UCI 1.Pro Santos Tour Down Under - Women’s One Day Race and Surf Coast Classic means it will be an action-packed month of racing in the Southern Hemisphere.
