The Santos Tour Down Under (TDU), Australia’s greatest cycling race, is returning in South Australia in January with stages sure to challenge the elite international peloton.
A historic CBD prologue and finish atop Mount Lofty headline the race routes for the return of the event in January 2023.
As stages for the men’s race are launched, with new start and finish locations in the mix, fans are invited to enjoy about 700 kilometres of action from Tuesday 17 to Sunday 22 January.
The curtain-raiser Down Under Classic circuit through central Adelaide will take place on Saturday 14 January.
In 2020 – the last time the Santos TDU was held – it brought 44,800 interstate and international visitors to South Australia. It injected $66.4 million into our economy and created the equivalent of 742 full-time jobs.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has granted the event registration on its WorldTour calendar for the 2023, 2024 and 2025 seasons – a move that ensures the best international teams and riders will continue to compete in South Australia each January.
Quotes
Attributable to Zoe Bettison
We are very excited as anticipation is building for this major event.
We know how important the Santos Tour Down Under is to South Australia’s tourism sector and its power to capture international attention. It’s more good news for our tourism sector which is bouncing back with record CBD hotel bookings and more flights landing at Adelaide Airport.
Just over six months from now – both the men’s and women’s races will be held at the highest level of competition, and we are absolutely ready to share South Australia with a global audience once again.
Attributable to Katrine Hildyard
South Australia has a proud and historic cycling culture that is only further enhanced by hosting a UCI WorldTour event.
I warmly welcome the Santos Tour Down Under back for its twenty-third edition, under Race Director, and inaugural winner, Stuart O’Grady.
We are also delighted that, for the first time, we will be welcoming the world’s most elite female cyclists to SA for a UCI Women’s WorldTour event. Our government is committed to showcasing and advancing women’s sport and having this international event is an important part of those efforts.
The Santos Tour Down Under goes hand in hand with, and strengthens, the elite talent pathway provided through the South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) Cycling Program. Its presence on the State’s sporting calendar will hopefully inspire future generations of South Australians to achieve sporting excellence.
