The Santos Tour Down Under route will feature some old favourites as well as new additions in 2025, as the South Australian race celebrates the 25th running of the event which started in 1999.
The racing will start with the Women's WorldTour opener, which sets off from Brighton and heads toward a likely sprint finish in Aldinga on Friday January 17 and then on Saturday moves into a stage which finishes at the top of Willunga Hill, the iconic climb which crowned the winner in 2024.
“We saw incredible vulnerability and emotion in so many of the athletes this year, in particular Sarah Gigante as she won up Willunga Hill – a climb that we will see women tackle twice for the first time in 2025,” race director Stuart O'Grady said in a statement.
The women's Tour Down Under will then conclude on an undulating stage through Stirling which, if the overall battle is tight after Willunga, could still provide an opportunity for some GC reshuffling.
The attention then turns to the men's WorldTour race, although spectators will have already had a taste of the action with the Down Under Classic criterium on the evening of Saturday January 18.
“We’ve designed the routes to both challenge the riders and give fans the best possible opportunities to enjoy all the racing action up close,” O'Grady said in a statement.
“Some of the exciting new elements in the men’s race will see them ride down the face of Willunga for the first time followed by two ascensions and a brand-new climb up Knotts Hill, Pound Road. Smart team tactics will be crucial for success in this edition of the Santos Tour Down Under.”
Stage 1 on Tuesday January 21 from Prospect, will deliver the first of two stages that provide an opportunity for the sprinters before the new Pound Road climb is likely to open up the GC battle on stage 3. After stage 4 to Victor Harbor, stage 5 will likely decide the overall with its descent and two ascents of Willunga Hill.
The final offering, one for the sprinters, pays homage to the race history as it finishes off the men's Tour Down Under on Sunday January 26 on a city circuit in Adelaide. This was a stage which in the first edition of the race 1999 was expected to draw a crowd of 15,000 though ultimately 40,000 packed the streets.
In the intervening years, with 24 editions of the event and two years of a COVID-19 hiatus, the race has grown – with the introduction of the women's event – and crowds have grown even further. South Australia also released an analysis of this year's event as they released the course for 2025.
“The economic benefits this iconic race has brought to the state across its 25 years is outstanding," said the state's Minister for Tourism Zoe Bettison. "This year’s race injected more than $87 million into our state’s economy, attracting a total attendance of 770,600 while showcasing South Australia’s regions to millions more around the world through the broadcast.”
Tour Down Under 2025
Women's race
- Friday January 17 - Stage 1 from Brighton to Aldinga, 101.9km
- Saturday January 18 - Stage 2 from Unley to Willunga, 115km
- Sunday January 19 – Stage 3 from Stirling to Stirling, 105.9km
Men's race
- Saturday January 18 – Down Under Classic, Adelaide East End, 55km
- Tuesday January 21 - Stage 1 from Prospect to Gumeracha, 150.7km
- Wednesday January 22 – Stage 2 from Tanunda to Tanunda, 128.8km
- Thursday January 23 – Stage 3 from Norwood to Uraidla, 147.5km
- Friday January 24 - Stage 4 from Glenelg to Victor Harbor, 157.2km
- Saturday January 25 - Stage 5 from McLaren Vale to Willunga Hill, 147.5km
- Sunday January 26 – Stage 6 in Adelaide, 90km
