Road racing is back! The new season draws closer with the return of the Tour Down Under, the 2024 WorldTour opener, which runs from January 16-21.
The 2024 Women's WorldTour also gets underway this month, with the Women's Tour Down Under running from January 12-14.
Cyclingnews will have all the race reports, analysis and news in the lead-up, during, and after the races as a host of big names head to Australia to kick off the new season.
The Tour Down Under will be broadcast live around Europe and the rest of the world – you can find out how to watch the race wherever you are with our handy guide and with ExpressVPN.
In the men's six-day race which features the famous Willunga Hill finish on stage 5, look out for top riders including Filippo Ganna and Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers), Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla), Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates), Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-QuickStep), and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty).
Home favourites in the men's race include Caleb Ewan (Jayco-AlUla), Sam Welsford (Bora-Hansgrohe), and Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious).
Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez) is back to defend her title in the women's three-day race. She'll be joined at the French team by Evita Muzic and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig.
Other big names at the start line include Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek), Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Human Powered Health), Tiffany Cromwell (Canyon-SRAM), and Liv-Jayco-AlUla pairing Alexandra Manly, Ruby Roseman-Gannon.
Check out our full guide to all the racing in Australia here, and read on for all the information on how to watch the action.
How to watch the Tour Down Under in the USA & Canada
The men's and women's Tour Down Under will be aired by FloBikes across North America. A subscription will set you back US$149.99 / CAN$150 for the year or US$29.99 / CAN$29.99 on a monthly basis.
NBC and its streaming service PeacockTV will also be airing both races in the USA.
How to watch the Tour Down Under in the UK
In the UK, live coverage of both races will continue to be broadcast via Eurosport and Discovery+ – with the same commentators that featured on GCN+.
A 'standard' subscription to Discovery+ which includes Eurosport's cycling coverage will set you back £6.99 per month or £59.99 per year. The package includes year-round cycling streams as well as other live sports including snooker, tennis, motorsports, the Paris Olympic Games, and more.
A premium subscription, which includes all that plus TNT Sports (Premier League, Champions League and Europa League football plus rugby, wrestling, UFC, and MotoGP) costs an additional £29.99 per month.
How to watch the Tour Down Under around the world
Australian live coverage will be available via the Seven Network.
Eurosport hold the coverage rights for various countries around Europe and Asia. If you're in France, Denmark and Spain then you can look to L'Equipe, TV2, and RTVE respectively.
Best VPN for streaming live cycling
If you are outside of your home region and need to access your live streaming services to watch the Tour Down Under, you may find your access to be geo-restricted.
In this case, a VPN service will come in handy, allowing your computer to pretend it's home and let you log into your streaming accounts to catch all of the racing action.
Our colleagues at TechRadar thoroughly tested several VPN services and came up with a few great recommendations below.
There are a couple other very good options that are safe, reliable and offer good bandwidth for streaming sports. Check out the best two options below - NordVPN and the best budget option, Surfshark.
Tour Down Under schedule
| Date | Race | Location | Length | Time (ACDT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 12 | Women's stage 1 | Hahndorf - Campbelltown | 93.9km | 11:00 - 14:30 |
| January 13 | Women's stage 2 | Glenelg - Stirling | 104.2km | 11:00 - 15:00 |
| January 13 | Men's Down Under Classic | Adelaide - Adelaide | An hour + 3 laps | 19:10 - 20:15 |
| January 14 | Women's stage 3 | Adelaide - Willunga | 93.4km | 11:00 - 15:00 |
| January 16 | Men's stage 1 | Tanunda - Tanunda | 144km | 11:00 - 15:30 |
| January 17 | Men's stage 2 | Norwood - Lobethal | 141.6km | 11:00 - 15:30 |
| January 18 | Men's stage 3 | Tea Tree Gully - Campbelltown | 145.3km | 11:00 - 15:30 |
| January 18 | Women's Down Under Criterium | Adelaide - Adelaide | 50mins + 2 laps | 19:15 - 20:05 |
| January 19 | Men's stage 4 | Murray Bridge - Port Elliot | 136.2km | 11:00 - 15:30 |
| January 20 | Men's stage 5 | Christies Beach - Willunga Hill | 129.3km | 11:00 - 15:00 |
| January 21 | Men's stage 6 | Unley - Mount Lofty | 128.2km | 11:00 - 15:00 |
