Ladies’s Tour Down Below, 17-19 January, Adelaide, Australia
Males’s Tour Down Below, 21-26 January, Adelaide, Australia
The WorldTour season begins on Friday with the ladies’s Tour Down Below, a three-stage race which goals to set the tone for the season. It will likely be adopted by the boys’s race, a six-stage occasion, which begins on Tuesday, working till subsequent Sunday.
The largest races of the Australian calendar are all the time stuffed with intrigue and attention-grabbing storylines, with Antipodean riders particularly eager to indicate off their kind, whereas riders from the remainder of the world goal to kick off their years with a bang.
If you wish to discover out to observe, wherever you’re on the planet, be sure to take a look at our how one can watch the Tour Down Below information.
Can Williams defend his title?
Final yr’s Tour Down Below represented the beginning of Stevie Williams’ finest yr but, because the Welsh Israel-Premier Tech rider received his first WorldTour stage race, within the hills round Adelaide. The 28-year-old went on to win La Flèche Wallonne and the Tour of Britain Males in a profitable season. This yr’s course which ought to swimsuit him, with its mixture of punchy hills and correct climbs. He definitely is aware of how one can do it, though he’ll need to get previous 2023’s winner Jay Vine, too, who has the additional incentive of being the house favorite.
(Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
FDJ-Suez’s new begin
2025 is an enormous season for FDJ-Suez, with their massive signing of Demi Vollering, a change to Specialised, a cope with Nike, and all the eye that comes with that. They received a stage by the now departed Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig final season, with debutant Ally Wollaston, additionally a winner final yr. Fellow new signing Elise Chabbey can be set to trip in Australia, so the French staff’s grand projet is ready to get off the bottom.
Jayco-AlUla makes an attempt to battle again
It was a disappointing return for the Australian groups Jayco AlUla and Liv-Jayco-AlUla final yr, with no stage wins or place on the GC podium for the house staff. Issues nearly need to go properly for the squads this yr, with expectation heavy from the administration and followers. The ladies might be led by Ruby Roseman-Gannon and Ella Wyllie, whereas the boys will hope for achievement by Luke Plapp and Campbell Stewart.
The newest race content material, interviews, options, critiques and skilled shopping for guides, direct to your inbox!
Geraint’s final season
(Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
After 19 years within the professional peloton, this might be Geraint Thomas’s final. The Welsh Ineos Grenadiers rider kicks off his farewell tour on the Tour Down Below, a race he’ll trip for the fifteenth time. Whereas he’s unlikely to be seeking to win the early season race, together with his season centering on targets later this yr, it’s the starting of the top for the Tour de France winner. Anticipate him to nonetheless be aggressive, regardless of his 38 years.
twenty fifth version of established race
The Tour Down Below occupies a bizarre place within the calendar, properly over a month earlier than the European season correctly kicks off, and whereas many riders not current in Australia are nonetheless firmly in coaching camp mode. Nevertheless, this yr’s race is the twenty fifth version, and it’s a correct WorldTour occasion, one which must be handled with respect. For groups and riders hoping to set the tone, particularly in the event that they’re antipodean, it’s a actually massive deal.
Concentrate on: Willunga Hill
(Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
Each the women and men’s races will deal with the well-known Willunga Hill twice in a single stage, which is all the time decisive within the race. It might sound small compared to the excessive altitude climbs of the Grand Excursions later within the yr, however 3.4km at 7.3% will not be nothing, and all the time types the bunch out on the finish of a tricky race.
Richie Porte dominated the climb for a few years, however there hasn’t been a single determine to comply with the Australian climber in the identical means since. Final yr noticed the ladies’s peloton deal with Willunga for the primary time, so it coming twice in the identical stage ought to add an additional check. Sarah Gigante proved the quickest up the climb final yr, however in her absence in 2025, the race might be broad open. Within the males’s race, Stevie Williams cemented his victory final yr within the closing dash up the hill, and can use that have to compete once more.
Riders to observe
(Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto)
Final yr was the 22-year-old’s breakout season, with Bradbury profitable phases on the Giro d’Italia and Tour de Suisse, in addition to ending on the general podium at each, and second within the under-23 class on the World Championships. The Australian completed third final yr at her dwelling stage race, and might be in fantastic kind having come off the again of the Australian Nationals, and aiming to impress.
Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek)
Having moved from SD Worx-Protime to Lidl-Trek within the low season, it’s a new begin for the New Zealander, who might be anticipating extra basic classification alternatives this yr. The 24-year-old may also be coming off the again of her personal Nationwide Championships, and in addition received a stage on the Giro d’Italia final yr. A tip for the Willunga stage.
Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL)
Onley received the Willunga Hill stage within the males’s race final season, and can look to repeat that once more this time round. That stage win was the start of a blended season for the 22-year-old, the place he usually impressed, with out many victories, and sustained a number of accidents. He’ll be hoping that his 2025 is stuffed with extra fortune, beginning Down Below.
(Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Crew Emirates XRG)
Beginning out at a brand new staff is the Ecuadorean, who moved from Ineos Grenadiers. He completed second general final season, and is the right type of rider for the punchy terrain of the Tour Down Below. Anticipate him to be mixing it up in dash finishes, and in addition on climbs, which ought to put him in a great place for the general win.
Sam Welsford (Crimson Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
Sam Welsford dominated the sprints eventually yr’s Tour Down Below, profitable three phases. It was thought it heralded massive issues, however there was only one extra victory all season. With the distraction of Olympic monitor biking out of the way in which, the 28-year-old might be hoping to get his season off to a flyer once more, and can attempt to make it proceed on this yr.