Favorites stage 2 Tour Down Under 2026 | UAE and Narváez will want to hurt Visma and Brennan
CyclingWednesday, 21 January 2026 at 11:48
The Tour Down Under has now truly begun. After a winning prologue from Samuel Watson, it was Tobias Lund Andresen who surprisingly took Stage 1 on Day 2. The Dane could well play a role in Thursday’s finale if the route climbs just enough and the punchy sprinters with climbing legs can make a move. IDLProCycling.com offers you a detailed preview.
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Route stage 2 Tour Down Under 2026 (148.1 km)
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The second stage of the Tour Down Under leads the riders on Day 3 of this stage race from Norwood to Uraidla, over just more than 148 kilometers. It’s a route we also saw on Day 3 last year, when Javier Romo won solo from a strong group. This year’s profile is similar to 2025’s, with one key difference.
From the start in Norwood, the road climbs immediately with about 10 km at a 4.3 % average gradient. This is an excellent opportunity for strong attackers to make their move. After the top, the road undulates toward the base of the second categorized climb of the day. The so-called Corkscrew is 3.6 kilometers long, with an average grade of 6.7%.
That’s the difference: where last year the route included two ascents of Pound Reserve (2.7 km at 7.7 %), this year riders tackle Corkscrew twice. The finish comes 13 km after the final climb — a bit farther than in 2025.
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Times
Start: 11:10 AM
Finish: around 3:02 PM
Weather stage 2 Tour Down Under 2026
Expect a feels-like temperature of up to 24 °C at the start, with some cloud cover but dry conditions and very little wind. Towards the finish in Uraidla, the wind picks up from the southeast and temperatures oddly won’t rise above 20 °C. It’s good timing, because in the days that follow temperatures in the finish area will climb above 40 °C.
Favorites stage 2 Tour Down Under 2026
Looking at the results from Stage 3 in 2025, we can expect a good battle among potential general classification riders. Romo won solo then, but in the group behind it was a mix of punchers and climbers who survived two hard climbs. That scenario is realistic for Thursday, with plenty of riders with ambitions.
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From UAE Team Emirates-XRG, we have the defending champion Jhonatan Narváez, who already picked up three bonus seconds on Wednesday and has made his ambitions clear. Jay Vine is always dangerous as backup, and you should also note Adam Yates. If UAE really turns up the heat, riders like Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), Jefferson Cepeda (EF), and Andrea Bagioli and Matteo Sobrero (Lidl-Trek) will thrive.
Continue reading below the photo!
Jay Vine
There are even more punchers and climbers on the start list. Luke Lamperti (EF) is interesting, and how strong are the legs of the home-race riders from Jayco AlUla, like Ben O’Connor, Luke Plapp and Mauro Schmid? Movistar knows Romo can handle it in form, and Lotto-Intermarché will hope for aggressive racing from Lennert Van Eetvelt, while Filippo Zana makes his mark for Soudal-Quick-Step.
From Australia and New Zealand, keep an eye on riders such as George Bennett (NSN) and especially Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe). Uno-X Mobility brings Andreas Kron, and at XDS Astana Simone Velasco should be strong. Among climbers, mention Marco Brenner and Florian Stork (Tudor) and the Australian duo Patrick Eddy and Chris Harper.
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Continue reading below the photo
Ben O'Connor
BUT, say it with emphasis — because the climb on paper is slightly less hard, because the finish is farther from the last climb, and because some top sprinters with climbing legs are at the start, we must also consider the possibility that the race comes back together for a selective group. Visma | Lease a Bike will hope for that scenario with Matthew Brennan.
But he’s not the only one — as said, Lund Andresen can climb too and the leader’s jersey will give him wings. Lamperti and Narváez were already mentioned, and they are quick, as are Sam Watson (INEOS Grenadiers), Corbin Strong and Jake Stewart (both NSN), and Laurence Pithie (Red Bull). If they’re still in the group or come back, it’ll be a tough story for the pure climbers.
Favorites stage 2 Tour Down Under 2026, according to In the Leader's Jersey
Top favorites: Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike).
Outsiders: Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Mauro Schmid, Luke Plapp (both Jayco AlUla), Corbin Strong (NSN), Florian Stork (Tudor) and Luke Lamperti (EF Education-EasyPost)
Long shots:Jay Vine, Adam Yates (both UAE), Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), Jefferson Cepeda (EF), Andrea Bagioli, Matteo Sobrero(both Lidl-Trek), Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla), Javier Romo (Movistar), Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché), Filippo Zana (Soudal-Quick Step), George Bennett (NSN), Andreas Kron (Uno-X Mobility), Simone Velasco (XDS Astana), Marco Brenner (Tudor) and Chris Harper (Australia).
Long shots:Jay Vine, Adam Yates (both UAE), Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), Jefferson Cepeda (EF), Andrea Bagioli, Matteo Sobrero(both Lidl-Trek), Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla), Javier Romo (Movistar), Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché), Filippo Zana (Soudal-Quick Step), George Bennett (NSN), Andreas Kron (Uno-X Mobility), Simone Velasco (XDS Astana), Marco Brenner (Tudor) and Chris Harper (Australia).
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Latest Comments
- Those events are mental rest for him. Fun, without expectations. *Sagan lost his abilities because he gained weight and got lazy. Pogi will likely retire before that has a chance at happening.Veganpotter14-12-2025
- Ah, the consequences of riding for Israel.Veganpotter11-12-2025
- Pidcock could follow everyone but Pogi while finishing 3rd. No second place rider this season😃Veganpotter16-11-2025
- Now the Palestinian protestors can stop their whining. Trump came to the rescue. So they can now STFU and go back to waving the rainbow flags.raufus15-10-2025
- Cracked the code lol. If it was that easy to 'crack the code' jonny Vegas would be charging up the Kwaremont giving Pog a dose of his medicine. Evenepoel can't match pog on a climb and neither can mvdp. Anything with a half difficult climb and Pog smashes the field. Even on flat(ish)parcours like Roubaix it came down to a mistake and crash by pog to definitively crown mvdp. MSR is the only one that Pog probably won't win.kevpt10-10-2025
- We've seen this movie before. I think Pogacar is doping.DeadBlow10-10-2025
- 👍Bea08-10-2025
- 👌🏻Bea08-10-2025
- What the data doesn't show is how much of an effect drafting had for evenepoel. Pogacar went with del toro at 100km whilst Evenepoel was still in the bunch. Despite the bike changes he still had a lot of assistance getting back to the bunch. Pogacar then rode 60km solo whilst evenepoel rode with Healy/Skjelmose until going solo in thd last 10-15km. Thats ~20% less power / energy requirements for 45-50km. Apples and oranges...kevpt30-09-2025
- 👏👏Bea24-09-2025
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