Willunga > Willunga 137km The race kicks off in Willunga, but crucially avoiding Willunga Hill. Instead, we have a stage which should end in a sprint, but you can never be 100% sure of how things will play out in a women’s race. Sometimes tactics can be hard to work out, take last year for example. FDJ had the huge favourite in Ally Wollaston, but they tried to play poker with the rest of the peloton in the hope other teams would help to chase, and they lost. If you have the big favourite, you have to do the vast...

The first world tour stage race of 2026 is upon us. The Aussie road nats scratched an itch, but now it’s time for the season to properly kick off. The women’s peloton has rolled into town and are about to start the TDU, which looks quite different to previous editions. It’s still just the 3 stages, but Willunga Hill has been removed, however, the route looks very interesting to me. Last year, Noemi Rüegg took a sensational win, and she’s back to see if she can double up, but that’s not going to be easy.

Perth > Perth 177km After missing out on the ITT crown, Jayco will take to the start line determined to make amends, but the pressure (as always) is on. Last year, Luke Durbridge managed to get up the road with Conor Leahy, eventually riding him off the wheel. The peloton struggled to close the gap, but in the closing stages Luke Plapp did manage to bridge across to his teammate. With the chasers losing ground, Plapp did the right thing and allowed Turbo Durbo to take the home in his hometown. The team would love something similar, but as ever,...

Perth > Perth 38.8km ITT The 2026 season begins with the Australian national ITT championship, it feels like it’s been a long off-season. Luke Plapp is back to defend his title; he’s won this race three times in recent years. Looking to stop him is Jay Vine, winner back in 2023, he was only 8 seconds behind Plapp in 2025, I’m expecting another tight one between two of the best TT riders in the world. 

Chartres > Tours 213km Welcome to my 305th preview of the season. Paris-Tours will be the final one of the year, I’m off on holiday on Sunday and will sit out Tour of Holland, Guangxi and Veneto. This year, 900 of you good people have paid the money to subscribe to my previews, those types of numbers fill me with a lot of pride. As most of you are already aware, the early bird sign up offer for 2026 will close after this race, if you sign up now the cost is £50 for the whole of the year, rather than...

Como > Bergamo 241km The fifth and final monument of the season, a long winter lies ahead. I’ve been growing tired of the Pogačar dominance, but with the end of the season fast approaching, I’m going to try my best to simply sit back and enjoy greatness. 

Dogliani > Acqui Terme 179km The 109th edition of this old race, it was won by Neilson Powless in 2024, I still haven’t worked out how he managed to hold off the chasing peloton. The route is different, but it’s still one for the climbers.

Busto Arsizio > Varese 198km In terms of length and elevation gain, it’s a relatively hard race, but in reality, it’s a very demanding race. Constantly up and down, there’s hardly any rest periods and that’s why it’s usually very selective.

Binche > Binche 204km One final chance to get your fix of cobbles before a long, dark winter. This is the 38th edition of the race, one that is usually won by a sprinter, even though it’s not always a sprint.