Adelaide > Adelaide 90km The race ends with a crit around the streets of Adelaide. It’s 20 laps of a circuit that does contain a small hill, but this should be another day for the sprinters, but there will be lots of attacks. If you watched the pre-race crit, you’ll know that attackers can be hard to brought back. In terms of the ochre jersey, only a crash will stop Narváez, hopefully everyone stays on their bike, and we get a fair ending to the race.

Castellón > Onda 173km This race was created last year, Michael Matthews winning the uphill sprint in Onda. The route is very similar to 2024, and I expect another sprint finish. Matthews is back to defend his title and Jayco are joined by UAE, Movistar and Bahrain as the “big” teams in the race. The race has managed to attract a decent start list, I’m looking forward to a good fight. I’m not sure if it’s on TV, last year I think it was on Facebook. 

McLaren Vale > Willunga Hill 148km It’s Willunga Hill and the big day on GC. Javier Romo goes into the stage with a 4 second lead over Jhonatan Narváez, Fisher-Black and Konrad are 10 seconds down with the rest of the GC contenders 15 seconds behind the ochre jersey. With 10 bonus seconds on the line for the winner, it’s still all to play for.

Glenelg > Victor Harbor 165km This is the stage Rohan Dennis won in 2023, winning from a small group of GC favourites. The year before, a group of 11 riders escaped the bunch, but were chased down and Nizzolo won the sprint. It’s one of those that could go either way.

Norwood > Uraidla 153km After two wins for Sam Welsford, the focus will shift to the GC riders. A lot of riders have said that this is the big stage, the day where gaps can be created. It’s all about the final ascent of Knott’s Hill, a climb that Chris Harper told me was harder than Willunga. This is a huge day in the fight for the ochre jersey.

Tanunda > Tanunda 131km The second stage is a lap circuit, starting and finishing in Tanunda, get ready to see lots of the wine of the Barossa Valley. It’s another day where a sprint finish is likely, but which of the sprinters will find Menglers Hill too hard?

Prospect > Gumeracha 163km The opening stage of the TDU is one for the fast men, it’s almost certain to end in a big, bunch sprint. All eyes will be on Bora and Sam Welsford, expect to see that team do most of the controlling throughout the stage.

On paper, it’s one of the hardest editions in recent years. A new climb, Knott’s Hill, has been brought into the race, which means there should be two GC days, not just one. There looks like two nailed-on sprints, but then two days where the outcome isn’t as certain. It’s a nice mix and I can’t wait for it to get started.

Stirling > Stirling 106km It’s the final stage of the race and the lap circuit in Stirling. The GC looks safe for Rüegg, we’ll see if she can win consecutive stages.

Unley > Willunga Hill 115km It’s day 2 and the Queen stage finishing on Willunga Hill. Last year, Gigante absolutely smoked everyone else, winning by a country mile. Unfortunately, she’s out injured and can’t defend her crown, so it’s going to pass to another. The organisers have made it harder this year, the women will now do two ascents of the hill, just like the men do. The gaps were big with just one climb, they’ll be enormous this year.