The most important facts about the women's Tour Down Under in a nutshell
- Kick-off of the Women's World Tour 2024
- 3 stages
- From 12.01. to 14.01.
Over the years, the Tour Down Under has developed into the largest regular cycling event in the southern hemisphere. After the race was initially reserved for men, several criteria were added for women from 2011 onwards, which eventually developed into the women's stage race. It went through all UCI categories in terms of value until it finally became part of the Women's World Tour last year.
Women's Tour Down Under 2024: SD Worx forgoes, favourites from Australia
In 2024, the Tour Down Under will be the first ever race for women in the Calendar. And for many, it obviously comes too soon. Or is it too far away. Only nine of the 15 WWT teams are competing in Australia - six continental teams and one Australian national team will fill out the field. However, these teams will have nothing to do with the battle for the overall standings, as the performance gap in women's cycling is still very large.
However, it will be a little smaller, as last season's top team is once again shying away from travelling to Australia. As in 2023, SD Worx will not be sending a team to the start, which suddenly improves the competition's prospects. This also increases the likelihood of a local heroine winning in the end. Last year it was Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez). It is quite possible that the 31-year-old will even defend her title from the previous year. She proved that she is already in form at the Australian Championships at the beginning of January. Brown is the country's new and old time trial champion.
In the road race, only the new champion Ruby Roseman-Gannon, Lauretta Hanson and Alexandra Manly finished ahead of her. All three are also competing in the Tour Down Under. Roseman-Gannon and Manly from the newly formed Liv AlUla Jayco fusion team, which is racing with an Australian licence, can also count themselves in with podium chances. At Lidl-Trek, Hanson will probably have to work for three-time Tour Down Under winner Amanda Spratt. The 36-year-old won three times in a row between 2017 and 2019 and finished second overall last year.
Chloe Dygert has to miss out at short notice
These three teams, FDJ-Suez, Lidl-Trek and Live AlUla Jayco, are likely to dominate the three stages. Canyon//SRAM should have been included in this list, but the German team will start with one less rider. Chloe Dygert, who was supposed to start the race in the captain's role, will have to withdraw at short notice to recover from minor injuries. However, with the two Australians Neve Bradbury, Tiffany Cromwell and Soraya Paladin from Italy, the team can still achieve top placings.
Linda Riedmann will be doing the same for Visma | Lease a Bike. The 20-year-old Bavarian from near Würzburg is the captain of the Dutch team and the only German on the start line alongside Franziska Koch (dsm-firmenich PostNL)
Tour Down Under 2024 - this is the route
The Tour Down Under 2024 course consists of three stages of around 100 kilometres, and while the first stage could well be a bunch sprint, the other two will be really uphill in the finale.
Stage 1 | Friday, 12 January 2024 | Hahndorf - Campbeltown | 93.9 kilometres
The Tour Down Under 2024 begins in Hahndorf, south-east of Adelaide, with two category 4 climbs of 1,700 and 2,900 metres in length, up to ten per cent steep, but less than four per cent on average, forming the two biggest hurdles of the day and roughly dividing the route into three. Shortly before the finale, however, there is another short wave that could break up the field if not everyone is wide awake. Basically, however, there should be a bunch sprint.
Stage 2 | Saturday, 13 January 2024 | Glenelg - Stirling | 104.2 kilometres
The second and longest stage of the tour begins in Glenelg on the Pacific. The first half is the easier - despite the category 1 climb, which begins after less than ten kilometres. On three kilometres with an average gradient of six per cent, the gradient briefly exceeds 15 per cent. If some of the captains are already on the edge of their seats here, it could be a tough day all the way to the finish in Stirling.
At around the halfway point of the race, the peloton turns off onto a two-and-a-half circuit in the Adelaide Hills. It's all up and down. The final category 2 climb, which has to be ridden three times in total, is two kilometres long and quite unrhythmic, as the four per cent average climbs up to a maximum of 11 per cent.
Stage 3 | Sunday, 14 January 2024 | Adelaide - Wilunga Hill | 93.4 kilometres
The Tour Down Under ends on Willunga Hill, the most famous mountain in South Australia. The 376-metre-high mountain is included in the women's programme for the first time - for the men, it is something of a trademark and a regular fixture. Richie Porte won the stage that ended there six times in a row between 2014 and 2019.
The path to the top is 3000 metres long and has an average gradient of 7.4 per cent. The winner of the stage up there will probably also win the tour, and a solo winner can be assumed. Apart from a tough start directly in Adelaide, where the stage begins, the approach is relatively quiet. Straight from the start, the route climbs up to Windy Point. 3800 metres, an average of six per cent - extreme 20 at the top. After another hill, the profile calms down into the finale. Enough time to gather strength for the final climb.
The Tour Down Under on TV and live stream
Discovery+ will be broadcasting all three stages live in a paid stream. Due to the time difference, however, this happens in the middle of the night. The pay TV programme will be on air between 1:30 am and 5 am. The race will not be broadcast on free TV.
