The most prestigious race in Australia and the kick-off to the Women's WorldTour, the Women's Tour Down Under will be held January 17-19 in Australia, featuring 322.8km from Brighton to Stirling.
Stage 1 - Brighton to Snapper Point, 101.9km
(Image credit: Tour Down Under)
The Women's Tour Down Under will begin with a 101.9km race from Brighton to Snapper Point. The peloton will pass travel along the coast and pass Old Noarlunga before heading toward the first intermediate sprint at Snapper Point at the 35.2km mark.
The peloton will then climb the short but steep Heatherdale Hill - a category 1 with an average gradient of 3.8% but pitches as steep as 14%, located at the 50.6km mark.
They will then descend into the second intermediate sprint at Yankalilla at the 71.7km mark. And then do a short loop and backtrack toward the finish line at Snapper Point.
Stage 2 - Unley to Willunga Hill, 115km
(Image credit: Tour Down Under)
The second day of the race will be the most decisive of the three days as the peloton tackles 115km from Unley to the top of Willunga Hill. The race starts with a climb over Windy Point, a 6% average grade with maximum pitchers of 20%.
The peloton then heads through Clarendon and into McLaren Flat for the first intermediate sprint at the 56km mark, where they complete a short circuit. They then head out toward the final climb of the day, the decisive Willunga Hill. The climb averages 7.4% with pitches as steep as 15.6%.
The peloton will tackle the climb twice at the 92.3km mark and the 114.9km mark at the end of the race.
Stage 3 - Stirling to Stirling, 105.9km
(Image credit: Tour Down Under)
The stage race will conclude with a 105.9km race in Stirling. The peloton will race across larger circuits where there are mountain classification points on offer at Stirling Climb: 20.8km, 84.6km and sprint points available at Heathfield: 45.1km and 66.4km, before finishing the final loops into Stirling.
Schwalbe Women’s One-Day Classic
The all-new Schwalbe Women’s One-Day Classic will feature a 90km race held on January 26, giving riders a valuable extra chance to secure crucial UCI points as they begin the season.
The route will be 20 laps of a 4.5km circuit around King William Street, War Memorial Drive and Montefiore Hill. The city skyline is set to provide a sparkling backdrop for this fast-paced women's classic.
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Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
