| 2026 UCI World Tour, race 1 of 36 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | 20–25 January 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 5 + Prologue | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 713.7 km (443.5 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 16h 44' 54" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2026 Tour Down Under was a road cycling stage race that was held between 20 and 25 January 2026. It took place in and around Adelaide and South Australia. It was the 26th edition of the Tour Down Under and the first race of the 2026 UCI World Tour.
Despite riding with a broken wrist following a collision with a kangaroo on stage 5, the race was won by Australian rider Jay Vine of UAE Team Emirates XRG for the second time.[1][2]
Teams
All eighteen UCI WorldTeams, one UCI ProTeam, and the Australian national team participated in the race.
UCI WorldTeams
- Alpecin–Premier Tech
- Decathlon CMA CGM
- EF Education–EasyPost
- Groupama–FDJ United
- INEOS Grenadiers
- Lidl–Trek
- Lotto–Intermarché
- Movistar Team
- NSN Cycling Team
- Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe
- Soudal–Quick-Step
- Team Bahrain Victorious
- Team Jayco–AlUla
- Team Picnic–PostNL
- Visma–Lease a Bike
- UAE Team Emirates XRG
- Uno-X Mobility
- XDS Astana Team
UCI ProTeams
National Teams
Route
Owing to predicted temperatures of 43 °C (109 °F) and an "Extreme" fire warning, stage 4 to Willunga Hill was shortened from its original distance of 176 km (109 mi) to 130.8 km (81.3 mi).[3]
| Stage | Date | Route | Distance | Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 20 January | Adelaide to Adelaide | 3.6 km (2.2 mi) |  |
Individual time trial |  Samuel Watson (GBR) |
| 1 | 21 January | Tanunda to Tanunda | 120.6 km (74.9 mi) |  |
Hilly stage |  Tobias Lund Andresen (DEN) |
| 2 | 22 January | Norwood to Uraidla | 148.1 km (92.0 mi) | |
Hilly stage |  Jay Vine (AUS) |
| 3 | 23 January | Adelaide to Nairne | 140.8 km (87.5 mi) | |
Hilly stage | Sam Welsford (AUS) |
| 4 | 24 January | Brighton to Willunga Hill | |
Hilly stage | Ethan Vernon (GBR) | |
| 5 | 25 January | Stirling to Stirling | 169.8 km (105.5 mi) | |
Hilly stage | Matthew Brennan (GBR) |
| Total | 713.7 km (443.5 mi) | |||||
Stages
Prologue
Stage 1
- 21 January 2026 — Tanunda to Tanunda, 120.6 km (75 mi)
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Stage 2
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Stage 3
- 23 January 2026 — Adelaide to Nairne, 140.8 km (87.5 mi)
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Stage 4
- 24 January 2026 — Brighton to Willunga Hill, 130.8 km (81.3 mi)
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Stage 5
The fifth and final stage was disrupted by a crash in the peloton caused by a kangaroo hopping into the road, affecting many riders, including eventual overall winner Jay Vine.[11] It was later revealed that Vine had broken his wrist in the crash.[2]
- 25 January 2026 — Stirling to Stirling, 169.8 km (105.5 mi)
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Classification leadership table
| Stage | Winner | General classification |
Sprints classification |
Mountains classification |
Young rider classification |
Most competitive rider(s) |
Team classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Samuel Watson | Samuel Watson | Not awarded | Not awarded | Michael Leonard | Not awarded | Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe |
| 1 | Tobias Lund Andresen | Tobias Lund Andresen | Tobias Lund Andresen | Martin Urianstad | Matthew Brennan | Martin Urianstad | |
| 2 | Jay Vine | Jay Vine | Michael Leonard | Pepijn Reinderink | UAE Team Emirates XRG | ||
| 3 | Sam Welsford | Enzo Paleni | |||||
| 4 | Ethan Vernon | Andrea Raccagni Noviero | Matthew Greenwood | ||||
| 5 | Matthew Brennan | Pascal Eenkhoorn | Team Jayco–AlUla | ||||
| Final | Jay Vine | Tobias Lund Andresen | Martin Urianstad | Andrea Raccagni Noviero | Not awarded | Team Jayco–AlUla | |
Classification standings
| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Denotes the winner of the general classification | |
Denotes the winner of the sprints classification |
|
Denotes the winner of the mountains classification | |
Denotes the winner of the young rider classification |
|
Denotes the winner of the combativity award | ||
General classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jay Vine (AUS) |
UAE Team Emirates XRG | 16h 44' 54" |
| 2 |  Mauro Schmid (SUI) |
Team Jayco–AlUla | + 1' 03" |
| 3 | Harry Sweeny (AUS) |
EF Education–EasyPost | + 1' 12" |
| 4 |  Marco Brenner (GER) |
Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 1' 14" |
| 5 | Andreas Kron (DEN) |
Uno-X Mobility | + 1' 16" |
| 6 |  Andrea Raccagni Noviero (ITA) |
Soudal–Quick-Step | + 1' 19" |
| 7 | Anthon Charmig (DEN) |
Uno-X Mobility | + 1' 23" |
| 8 | Filippo Zana (ITA) |
Soudal–Quick-Step | + 1' 23" |
| 9 | Matteo Sobrero (ITA) |
Lidl–Trek | + 1' 27" |
| 10 | Ben O'Connor (AUS) |
Team Jayco–AlUla | + 1' 28" |
Sprints classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tobias Lund Andresen (DEN) |
Decathlon CMA CGM | 94 |
| 2 | Matthew Brennan (GBR) |
Visma–Lease a Bike | 59 |
| 3 | Sam Welsford (AUS) |
INEOS Grenadiers | 52 |
| 4 |  Finn Fisher-Black (NZL) |
Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe | 41 |
| 5 | Ethan Vernon (GBR) |
NSN Cycling Team | 37 |
| 6 | Brady Gilmore (AUS) |
NSN Cycling Team | 32 |
| 7 | Aaron Gate (NZL) |
XDS Astana Team | 29 |
| 8 | Anthon Charmig (DEN) |
Uno-X Mobility | 22 |
| 9 | Samuel Watson (GBR) |
INEOS Grenadiers | 22 |
| 10 | Lewis Bower (NZL) |
Groupama–FDJ United | 22 |
Mountains classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Martin Urianstad (NOR) |
Uno-X Mobility | 44 |
| 2 |  Pepijn Reinderink (NED) |
Soudal–Quick-Step | 24 |
| 3 | Luke Plapp (AUS) |
Team Jayco–AlUla | 23 |
| 4 | Matthew Greenwood (AUS) |
ARA Australian Cycling Team | 16 |
| 5 |  Enzo Paleni (FRA) |
Groupama–FDJ United | 14 |
| 6 | Robert Stannard (AUS) |
Team Bahrain Victorious | 13 |
| 7 | Pascal Eenkhoorn (NED) |
Soudal–Quick-Step | 11 |
| 8 | Jay Vine (AUS) |
UAE Team Emirates XRG | 10 |
| 9 | Baptiste Veistroffer (FRA) |
Lotto–Intermarché | 9 |
| 10 |  Santiago Buitrago (COL) |
Team Bahrain Victorious | 7 |
Young rider classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrea Raccagni Noviero (ITA) |
Soudal–Quick-Step | 16h 46' 13" |
| 2 |  Michael Leonard (CAN) |
EF Education–EasyPost | + 2' 14" |
| 3 | Oliver Peace (GBR) |
Team Picnic–PostNL | + 4' 39" |
| 4 | Luke Tuckwell (AUS) |
Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe | + 7' 45" |
| 5 |  Pavel Novák (CZE) |
Movistar Team | + 9' 05" |
| 6 | Matthew Brennan (GBR) |
Visma–Lease a Bike | + 10' 07" |
| 7 | Oscar Chamberlain (AUS) |
Decathlon CMA CGM | + 11' 09" |
| 8 | Pietro Mattio (ITA) |
Visma–Lease a Bike | + 15' 50" |
| 9 | Hamish McKenzie (AUS) |
Team Jayco–AlUla | + 17' 27" |
| 10 | Storm Ingebrigtsen (NOR) |
Uno-X Mobility | + 19' 10" |
Teams classification
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Jayco–AlUla |
50h 19' 11" |
| 2 |  Movistar Team |
+ 12" |
| 3 | Lidl–Trek |
+ 29" |
| 4 |  UAE Team Emirates XRG |
+ 54" |
| 5 | ARA Australian Cycling Team |
+ 1' 10" |
| 6 |  Soudal–Quick-Step |
+ 1' 20" |
| 7 |  EF Education–EasyPost |
+ 2' 11" |
| 8 | Uno-X Mobility |
+ 3' 43" |
| 9 |  XDS Astana Team |
+ 3' 46" |
| 10 | Visma–Lease a Bike |
+ 4' 04" |
References
- "Jay Vine recovers from kangaroo crash to win Tour Down Under for second time". The Guardian. 2026-01-25. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
- Davidson, Tom (2026-01-27). "Jay Vine broke wrist in mid-race kangaroo collision, still won Tour Down Under". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- Giuliani, Simone (2026-01-23). "Willunga Hill removed, stage 4 shortened as Tour Down Under hit by extreme fire danger rating and scorching temperatures". Cyclingnews. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
- Weislo, Laura (2025-12-15). "Tour Down Under 2026 route". Cyclingnews. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
- "Your Guide To The 2026 Santos Tour Down Under Men's Stages". Santos Tour Down Under. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- Bonville-Ginn, Tim (20 January 2026). "Tour Down Under: Samuel Watson edges out Ethan Vernon for prologue victory". CyclingNews. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- Bonville-Ginn, Tim (21 January 2026). "Tour Down Under: Tobias Lund Andresen holds off speeding Matthew Brennan to win tight stage 1 sprint". CyclingNews. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
- Bonville-Ginn, Tim (22 January 2026). "Tour Down Under: Jay Vine and Jhonatan Narváez go 1-2 after powerful attack on Corkscrew climb on stage 2". CyclingNews. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
- Bonville-Ginn, Tim (23 January 2026). "Tour Down Under: Sam Welsford sprints to seventh Tour Down Under victory and first for Ineos Grenadiers in chaotic stage 3 finale". CyclingNews. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
- Bonville-Ginn, Tim (24 January 2026). "Tour Down Under: Ethan Vernon wins wind-buffeted shortened stage 4 as second overall Jhonatan Narváez crashes out". CyclingNews. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
- Warwick, Matt (25 January 2026). "Vine wins Tour Down Under despite kangaroo crash". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
- Bonville-Ginn, Tim (25 January 2026). "Tour Down Under: Jay Vine overcomes crash to claim overall win as Matthew Brennan sprints to stage victory". CyclingNews. Retrieved 25 January 2026.