Marratxi > Felanitx 129km The first couple of editions of this race ended in a sprint, that won’t be happening this year as the organisers have decided to end the race on a climb. It’s the first race of the year for all of the riders, making my job of predicting the outcome quite tricky, but I’ll give it a bash.

Estivella > Estivella 164km Come on then, who’s idea was it to put three ascents of Alto del Garbí into a race in January? Hands up, no hiding now. Whoever it was won’t be flavour of the month with most of the peloton, but I’d like to give them a kiss. You could call it the perfect way to blow away the winter cobwebs or possibly an act of sadomasochism, but whether they like it or not, the riders are going to have to deal with. Apart from the extra ascent, the race is pretty similar to last year, when...

Henley Beach > Nairne 141km 2472m of climbing, which is more than the Willunga stage, this isn’t as straightforward as you might think. The good news for the sprinters is that the first half of the day is much harder than the second, it would actually be a much better stage if done in reverse. Most of the sprinters will hope to be fighting for the win, but it all depends on how hard the peloton make the climbs.

Norwood > Uraidla 148km Not just the hardest stage of the race, but the hardest stage I’ve ever seen in the Tour Down Under. It’s not the amount of elevation gain, although, 3221m is significant, it’s the new ascent of Corkscrew Road, which is done on two occasions. I can see the winner of this stage winning the ochre jersey on Sunday, it’s that important.

Tanunda > Tanunda 120km After Sam Watson took the win in the opening prologue, the race proper starts with a sprint stage in Tanunda. It looks like the only flat sprint, so an important one for the heavier sprinters who don’t climb too well. After dominating last year, Sam Welsford will be dreaming of a flying start to his Ineos career.

Tanunda > Tanunda 95km After the fun of the TDU, the women’s peloton has this one-day race to get their teeth sunk into. On paper, a rather boring sprint, but things aren’t always as they seem.

Adelaide > Adelaide 3.6km The race kicks off with a nighttime prologue in Adelaide city centre. Just 3.6km in length, it will be over in the blink of an eye. Such a short distance means the stage shouldn’t have a significant impact on the fight for GC, but any time gained in a race like this is very important. Sprinters and track specialists will be eying up the win, beating those types of riders will be incredibly difficult over a 4-minute effort.

Norwood > Campbelltown 127km The final stage of the women’s Tour Down Under, Corkscrew Road is going to decide who wins the ochre jersey. After picking up 7 bonus seconds in the first two stages, Noemi Rüegg comes in as the woman to beat, we’ll have to see if she can survive the attacks which are certain to come her way.

The men’s 2026 season kicks off with the 26th Tour Down Under. After trying it back in 2023, the organisers have decided to kick off the race with a prologue in Adelaide, hopefully it doesn’t rain this time round. The organisers have pushed up the difficulty this year, the Corkscrew stage is back, but it’s harder than in previous years. This will have a huge impact on the GC, with Willunga to come on the penultimate day. Narváez is back to try and defend his title, UAE also bring Vine and Adam Yates, no doubt they want to start the year...

Magill > Paracombe 131km Day 2 of the Tour Down Under and it’s going to be a demanding day in the saddle. Ally Wollaston got the win in the opening stage, delivering a hugely powerful sprint to win by quite some distance. With FDJ in the race lead, they’ll be expected to control the peloton, but that’s not going to be easy looking at the profile.