Startlist Tour Down Under 2026

The 2026 Tour Down Under, the season’s first WorldTour race, will start on January 20th in Adelaide and finish on the 25th of January, with a start list that blends established stars, new signings, and a strong home contingent. The race organisation has released the preliminary entry list, confirming a total of 141 riders for a week that will once again mark the top-tier season opener over 759 kilometres.Defending champion Jhonatan Narváez will headline a particularly powerful UAE Team Emirates – XRG, joined by Adam Yates and Jay Vine, in a line-up that mirrors the Emirati squad’s dominance across 2025. The team will look to carry that momentum into Australia, relying on a balanced block with overall ambitions, options on demanding stages, and firepower for fast finishes. Below is the provisional start list via Cycling Startlists.
You can download and print the list in A4 here.INEOS Grenadiers will arrive at the Tour Down Under with several points of interest, notably the debuts of Jack Haig and Sam Welsford with their new team. By contrast, Oscar Onley, a headline signing for 2026, is not on the roster despite spending much of the winter in Australia and his former team, Picnic PostNL, having earmarked this race as his season opener. The British squad will also lean on the experience of Michal Kwiatkowski and Ben Swift, with Welsford as their finisher in the sprints.

Another focal point will be Matthew Brennan, the main reference for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, returning to Australia aiming for a stage win after coming close on the opening day last year. It will also be a special edition for Guillaume Martin, making his Tour Down Under debut with Groupama – FDJ United, and for Ben O’Connor, who will race on home roads as leader of Team Jayco AlUla alongside Luke Plapp and Mauro Schmid.

Willunga Hill is always the key to winning the Tour Down Under

At Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, Haimar Etxeberria’s debut brings optimism to the German outfit. Riders like Danny Van Poppel, Laurence Pithie, and Finn Fisher-Black should shoulder leadership responsibilities, while the Basque rider, arriving from Kern Pharma, gets his first chance to shine.

The provisional list also confirms the presence of riders such as Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain – Victorious), George Bennett (NSN Cycling Team), Laurence Pithie and Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe), as well as Matthew Dinham with Picnic PostNL. Among notable first-timers, Alberto Dainese will make his Tour Down Under debut in Soudal – Quick-Step colours, further raising the interest in a race that once again will serve as an early-season benchmark from day one.The Tour Down Under will once more provide the year’s first major testing ground, mixing opportunities for climbers, classics specialists, and sprinters, while also showcasing young talents and local riders thanks to the Australian national team’s presence.Tour Down Under 2026 start list

Team  Rider UAE Team Emirates XRG 1 Narváez, Jhonatan 2 Bjerg, Mikkel 3 Laengen, Vegard Stake 4 Molano, Sebastián 5 Oliveira, Ivo 6 Vine, Jay 7 Yates, Adam Alpecin – Premier Tech 11 Plowright, Jensen 12 Ballerstedt, Maurice 13 Glivar, Gal 14 Sentjens, Sente 15 Marsman, Tim 16 Busatto, Francesco 17 Gogl, Michael Bahrain Victorious 21 Buitrago, Santiago 22 Eržen, Zak 23 Miholjević, Fran 24 Stannard, Robert 25 Stockwell, Oliver 26 Meulen, Max van der 27 Zambanini, Edoardo Decathlon CMA CGM Team 31 Andresen, Tobias Lund 32 Chamberlain, Oscar 33 Gautherat, Pierre 34 Gudmestad, Tord 35 L’Hote, Antoine 36 Prodhomme, Nicolas 37 Scotson, Callum EF Education – EasyPost 41 Cepeda, Jefferson Alexander 42 Lee, Jardi van der 43 Sweeny, Harry 44 Walker, Max 45 Mackellar, Alastair 46 Lamperti, Luke 47 Leonard, Michael Groupama – FDJ United 51 Bower, Lewis 52 Cavagna, Rémi 53 Donnenwirth, Tom 54 Fontaine, Titouan 55 Geniets, Kévin 56 Martin-Guyonnet, Guillaume 57 Paleni, Enzo INEOS Grenadiers 61 Haig, Jack 62 Hamilton, Lucas 63 Kwiatkowski, Michal 64 Svestad-Bårdseng, Embret 65 Swift, Ben 66 Watson, Sam 67 Welsford, Sam Lidl – Trek 71 Bagioli, Andrea 72 Ghebreigzabhier, Amanuel 73 Konrad, Patrick 74 Mosca, Jacopo 75 Oomen, Sam 76 Sobrero, Matteo 77 Teutenberg, Tim Torn Lotto – Intermarché 81 Fox, Matthew 82 Rutsch, Jonas 83 Taminiaux, Lionel 84 Thompson, Reuben 85 Hoorn, Taco van der 86 Eetvelt, Lennert Van 87 Zimmermann, Georg Movistar Team 91 Cepeda, Jefferson Alveiro 92 Moro, Manlio 93 Novák, Pavel 94 Romo, Javier 95 Serrano, Gonzalo 96 Tesfatsion, Natnael 97 Torres, Albert NSN Cycling Team 101 Bennett, George 102 Clarke, Simon 103 Gilmore, Brady 104 Schultz, Nick 105 Stewart, Jake 106 Strong, Corbin 107 Vernon, Ethan Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe 111 Drizners, Jarrad 112 Etxeberria, Haimar 113 Fisher-Black, Finn 114 Pithie, Laurence 115 Thornley, Callum 116 Tuckwell, Luke 117 Poppel, Danny van Soudal – Quick-Step 121 Dainese, Alberto 122 Eenkhoorn, Pascal 123 Raccagni, Andrea 124 Reinderink, Pepijn 125 Pedersen, Casper 126 Bossche, Fabio Van den 127 Zana, Filippo Team Jayco AlUla 131 O’Connor, Ben 132 Durbridge, Luke 133 Porter, Rudy 134 McKenzie, Hamish 135 O’Brien, Kelland 136 Plapp, Luke 137 Schmid, Mauro Team Picnic PostNL 141 Dinham, Matthew 142 Hamilton, Chris 143 Knox, James 144 Märkl, Niklas 145 Peace, Oliver 146 Haquin, Henri-François 147 Uden, Casper van Team Visma – Lease a Bike 151 Brennan, Matthew 152 Fiorelli, Filippo 153 Hagenes, Per Strand 154 Schiffer, Anton 155 Huising, Menno 156 Mattio, Pietro 157 Rex, Tim Uno-X Mobility 161 Kron, Andreas 162 Charmig, Anthon 163 Skaarseth, Anders 164 Blikra, Erlend 165 Resell, Erik 166 Ingebrigtsen, Storm 167 Bugge, Martin Urianstad XDS Astana Team 171 Kajamini, Florian 172 Romele, Alessandro 173 Schrettl, Marco 174 Bekkum, Darren van 175 Velasco, Simone 176 Toneatti, Davide 177 Gate, Aaron Tudor Pro Cycling Team 181 Brenner, Marco 182 Mayrhofer, Marius 183 Suter, Joel 184 Stork, Florian 185 Kelemen, Petr 186 Wirtgen, Luc 187 Zijlaard, Maikel ARA Australian Cycling Team 191 Howson, Damien 192 Harper, Chris 193 Eddy, Patrick 194 Walsh, Liam 195 Bleddyn, Oliver 196 Greenwood, Matthew 197 Stevenson, Lucas

The keys to the 2026 Tour Down UnderIn 2026, the Santos Tour Down Under will again open the WorldTour season, with the new edition running in Australia from 17.01.2026 to 25.01.2026. The women’s race will be held from 17.01 to 21.01, while the men’s race will open with a prologue on 20.01 and finish on 25.01.

Jonathan Narváez won the Tour Down Under in 2025

Although the favourites are not yet confirmed — Tadej Pogacar has been mentioned — this edition promises plenty of excitement. The route brings changes, with decisive climbs such as Willunga Hill, tackled three times, and the famous Corkscrew Road, climbed twice, plus a big final circuit in Stirling.

Beyond the race, the 2026 Tour Down Under will deliver a 10-day cycling festival. Fans can enjoy various venues, participatory activities such as the Adelaide Epic or the Carpark Climb, a Bike Expo, and the team presentation in Victoria Square on 16.01.