Preview Tour Down Under 2025 | WorldTour riders like kangaroos: read to jump-start!

The time when the Tour Down Under was merely a glorified vacation trip is long gone. Nowadays, the teams and riders, most of whom reside in Europe, still travel to Oceania with much luggage and ambition. Just try to win a WorldTour race (and the points that go with it) in today's cycling, which is what the smaller teams tend to think.

Last year's ochre jersey went to Stephen Williams of Israel-Premier Tech, who managed to hold off Jhonatan Narvaez and Isaac del Toro. Further in the top ten, we saw, among others, Oscar Onley of dsm-firmenich PostNL, Bart Lemmen debuting for Visma | Lease a Bike at the time, and top riders like Julian Alaphilippe and Simon Yates.

Jay Vine won the course in 2023, while Richie Porte and Daryl Impey split the editions before the coronavirus.

2024 Stephen Williams
2023 Jay Vine
2022 Not ridden
2021 Not ridden
2020 Richie Porte
2019 Daryl Impey
2018 Daryl Impey
2017 Richie Porte
2016 Simon Gerrans
2015 Rohan Dennis

The first WorldTour race of 2025 will start in Prospect, a neighborhood just north of the center of South Australian Adelaide. The riders are headed relatively smoothly into the Adelaide Hills, eventually arriving in Gumeracha for the first time in Tour Down Under history. Two more big local rounds are planned, with the Berry Hill Climb (1.5 kilometers at 6.9 percent) as the main obstacle. From the final summit of that hill, it's about 30 kilometers to the finish, where the sprinters' teams can get things going.

Times
Start: 11:10 AM (07:40 PM EST)
Finish: 3:21 PM (11:51 PM EST)

Favorites
Sam Welsford (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious)
Tobias Lund Andresen (dsm-firmenich PostNL)

Day two focuses on Tanunda, a place we have featured in the Tour Down Under. In the 2025 edition, it is the start and finish site of a 128.8-kilometer stage, in which Menglers Hill has to be conquered three times from the more difficult side. This 2.8-kilometer climb at 6.6 percent average looms right from the start and is subsequently dealt with two more times, with a final one 20 kilometers from the finish. Then it's downhill back to Tanunda, where Sam Welsford and Phil Bauhaus won the last two seasons.

Times
Start: 11:10 AM (07:40 PM EST)
Finish: 2:27 PM (10:57 PM EST)

Favorites
Bryan Coquard (Cofidis)
Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech)

On day three, the Tour Down Under continues to explore entirely new territory. Mount Lofty has disappeared compared to recent years, but a worthy replacement has been found with the climb to Knots Hill (2.7 kilometers at 7.7 percent) in the finale. It must be climbed twice in the last 50 kilometers, with a final one in the last 10 kilometers. Also, the legs must be on tension right from the start of the stage, as the first fifteen kilometers from Norwood are viciously uphill.

Times
Start: 11:10 AM (07:40 PM EST)
Finish: 3:01 PM (11:31 PM EST)

Favorites
Jhonatan Narváez (UAE-Emirates XRG)
Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech)
Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana)

On day four, the Tour Down Under organizers plotted a stage that could open many opportunities. From the start in Glenelg, 157 kilometers must be covered to the coast, where the finish is in Victor Harbor. Twenty kilometers from the finish, Nettle Hill (1.8 kilometers at 8.4 percent) is the main obstacle to off-loading the (better climbing) sprinters, as Rohan Dennis succeeded in 2023 on behalf of Jumbo-Visma.

Times
Start: 11:10 AM (07:40 PM EST)
Finish: 3:21 PM (11:51 PM EST)

Favorites
Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla)
Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R)
Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek)

Willunga Hill, Willunga Hill! If there is one climb intricately associated with the Australian season opener, it is, of course, this one. The 3.3-kilometer climb, which climbs at an average of 7.4 percent, brings spectacle every year. The better climbers can use the first passage, at 25 kilometers from the finish, to hurt the punchers, after which everything comes down to the final climb.

Times
Start: 11:10 AM (07:40 PM EST)
Finish: 2:53 PM (11:23 PM EST)

Favorites
Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL)
Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla)

For the first time since 2018, the Tour Down Under ends again with a 'criterium' through the big city of Adelaide. For the GC, not much is likely to happen anymore, but the sprinters will certainly still be able to charge for the 90-kilometer ordeal on a 4.5-kilometer circuit.

Times
Start: 01:30 PM (10:00 PM EST)
Finish: 3:30 PM (midnight EST)

Favorites
Sam Welsford (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious)
Arne Marit (Intermarché-Wanty)

The Tour Down Under 2025 is again a mouth-watering spectacle for the punchers, and that is reflected in the field of participants. Stephen Williams of Israel-Premier Tech, the defending champion, is present and, if possible, has an even stronger team around him than last year. Corbin Strong is there as a fast man who can get over a hill, and Michael Woods can help pressure the heavy punch arrivals, while the formation also brings along experienced men like George Bennett, Nick Schultz, and Simon Clarke. Impressive!

Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) and Jhonatan Narváez (then INEOS Grenadiers, now UAE-Emirates XRG) were already chasing Williams' ochre jersey last year and will pursue it again this edition. The man from Ecuador will be joined in it by former winner Jay Vine and the always attractive racing Marc Soler, so they have several contenders to shine in the south of Australia. The team will also start with top talent Pablo Torres.

Next up is the home formation, Jayco AlUla. They are doing it without the mystery of Caleb Ewan and thus aim for a full-on overall GC, for which Luke Plapp and Mauro Schmid are the appointed guys. Plapp, a very proud Aussie, has not had a happy relationship with the Tour Down Under and hopes to turn the tide therein. At the same time, Schmid may be a man who can take away the necessary bonification seconds with his sprint and thus make his mark on the race.

At Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, they divide their ambitions between two camps: on the one hand, there is the sprint train of sprinter Sam Welsford, including Danny van Poppel, and on the other hand, the team is aiming for a GC with Finn Fisher-Black and possibly Laurence Pithie. Fisher-Black is the perfect type for the two tough arrivals, while Pithie can do his thing on the flatter arrivals - which are too tough for Welsford - and towards Willunga Hill should be able to show himself.

Are there any others? Oh yes, there are! For XDS, Astana is off to a crucial start in terms of WorldTour points, and they will be hoping for a good start with Alberto Bettiol, Sergio Higuita, and Ide Scheling. Cofidis aims for the experienced Spaniards Ion Izagirre and Jésus Herrada, where INEOS Grenadiers can count on the seasoned Pole Michal Kwiatkowski and the young, resilient American Magnus Sheffield. At Lidl-Trek, they opt for the same combination, with the experience of Bauke Mollema and Patrick Konrad and the talent of Andrea Bagioli and even Albert Withen Philipsen. Groupama-FDJ is hoping for a good version of Quentin Pacher.

Young talents always show themselves in the Tour Down Under. Bastien Tronchon (Decathlon AG2R, alongside Dorian Godon, Paul Lapeira, and Andrea Vendrame), Robert Stannard (Bahrain Victorious), William Junior Lecerf (at Soudal Quick-Step with Pascal Eenkhoorn, among others), Francisco Bussato (Intermarché-Wanty), Javier Romo (Movistar), and Lukas Nerurkar (EF Education-EasyPost) could show themselves.

Visma | Lease a Bike saw potential GC contender Ben Tulett drop out and is, therefore, mainly counting on young men such as Menno Huising, Tijmen Graat, Loe van Belle, the unlucky Thomas Gloag, and the fast Matthew Brennan. Dylan van Baarle and Julien Vermote are along for the experience in the team.

Top favorites: Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) and Jhonatan Narváez (UAE-Emirates XRG)
Outsiders: Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), Luke Plapp, Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla), Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana)
Long shots: Michael Woods, Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech), Jay Vine (UAE-Emirates XRG), William Junior Lecerf (Soudal Quick-Step), Michal Kwiatkowski (INEOS Grenadiers), Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek), Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) and Lukas Neruraker (EF Education-EasyPost)

Eurosport (aka HBO Max) owns the broadcasting rights to the Tour Down Under, which will be watched mostly online. Indeed, on TV channels, the sports channel usually prefers the other major Australian sporting event in January: the Australian Open tennis tournament. The Tour Down Under stages finish between 10:30 PM and midnight EST.