Former winners and rising talents headline Tour Down Under start lists for 2026 WorldTour opener

The start lists for the 2026 men's and women's Santos Tour Down Under have been revealed, with several former winners and rising stars of the peloton set to light up the racing in Australia and kick off WorldTour racing in the new season.

Defending champions Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Noemi Ruëgg (EF Education-Oatly) are both returning to try and retain the ochre jersey from January 20 and January 17, respectively.

Narváez makes up part of a star-studded UAE squad, who will be looking to pick up where they left off in 2025 as the highest-ranked and best squad in men's cycling, with another former winner, Jay Vine, and Adam Yates joining him for the six days of racing.

Looking to upset the title holders will be the likes of Ben O'Connor, Mauro Schmid and Luke Plapp – all from home team Jayco AlUla – with all of their previous best finishes Down Under being inside the top six overall.

Podium finisher from last season, Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), will also be looking to challenge on the punchy roads from Adelaide to Stirling. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious) and Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché) will also be looking to find their best legs on the key climbing day to Willunga Hill on stage 4.

As is typical with the Australian start to WorldTour racing, several sprinters will arrive in pursuit of early wins at the highest level, with Sam Welsford perhaps the most notable, having won six stages in the past two editions.

He'll line up with his new team, Ineos Grenadiers, but will be faced with the difficult challenge of beating Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike), who showed signs of what he could do with second place on the opening stage of last year's TDU, before bursting onto the scene fully as the 2025 season went on.

In what was described as the 'strongest ever women’s field for the Tour Down Under' in the press release, Ruëgg has serious reinforcements for her title defence in the form of world champion Magdeleine Vallieres, as she kicks off her 2026 season in Australia.

With changes to the UCI's participation rules coming into action in 2026, all 14 Women's WorldTour teams will be on the start line for the three days of racing for the first time, alongside a strong Australian national team.

Ruëgg starred with victory up Willunga Hill in 2025, but will face more stiff competition on the opening stage of the 2026 race, with rising talents and experienced climbers alike set to challenge for the Ochre Jersey.

SD Worx-Protime have traditionally opted out of the WorldTour opener in Australia, but with the change of rules, they will be challenging immediately for victory, led by a former runner-up, Nienke Vinke, after she left Picnic PostNL early to join the Dutch team.

Other top climbers include Marion Bunel, Sarah Van Dam (both Visma-Lease a Bike), Barbara Malcotti (Human Powered Health), Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ), Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), Ella Wyllie (Liv AlUla Jayco) and three-time TDU winner Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) – who has never finished outside of the top seven on GC.

Overall will be played out until the final moment of the last stage to Campbelltown, with two laps of the notorious Corkscrew Road expected to split up the GC field. The women's stage race runs from January 17 to 19.

"We are thrilled with the quality of the field for both men’s and women’s races at this year’s Santos Tour Down Under," said race director Stuart O’Grady.

"It’s an honour to once again have world champions, Grand Tour stage winners and Monument winners on the start line who are choosing to open their season in South Australia.

"To have the likes of Ben O’Connor, who won the highest summit finish of last year’s Tour de France, and world champion Magdeleine Vallieres racing here is a huge boost for the event and we are equally delighted that Jhonatan Narváez and Noemi Rüegg are both returning to defend their titles."

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