Women’s Tour Down Under Stage 1 Live – Willunga Sprint Battle

Uno-X Mobility squad are massing at the front of the peloton who is still together on the longest stage of the race.

Peloton still together. Teammates are chatting at the front and looking at the other teams. Who will attack first?

Three-time Santos Tour Down Under overall winner Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) is lining up for her last Santos Womens’ Tour Down Under after announcing that this will be her last season.

She shared her thoughts with Cyclingnews before the start of stage 1:

When asked how it feels to be lining up for her last TDU:

“Exciting, I think, mostly exciting, It’s really nice that I already announced that, and know it’s going to be, my last season. II feel a sense of calm around that and I’m still really motivated for the season ahead to race really well and training really well. I still love the sport, so I think I’m in a nice place.”

Asked about what she’d like from the race:

“I’d love to have a great and strong GC result but just with our team, I think, we have four really good climbers here, so we really want to get one of us up there on the podium.”

Peloton all together after the first intermediate sprint taken by Olivia Baril (Movistar).

Riders are going early. Movistar tries to control the pace and crosses first.

Pace is picking up significantly with SD Worx accelerating at the front inside of 2km to the first intermediate sprint. And now Movistar takes over the front.

5 kilometres to the first sprint, set to take place through the Esplanade at Snapper Point in Aldinga Beach. It’s the same smooth stretch of tarmac where Daniek Hengeveld soloed to victory on stage 1 in 2025.

Teams lining up at the front for the points and time bonus seconds on offer.

Different teams, including Visma-Lease a Bike, Liv AlUla Jayco , EF Education-Oatly and AG Insurance-Soudal are all massing at the front.

Amber Pate was not able to start today, leaving Liv AlUla Jayco down to 5 riders in their home race.

5 kms in and peloton is all together, across the road as they speed by the vineyards, and race motorcycles make their way around the pack.

Rather than cater to the climbers, stage 1 is for punchy sprinters who can power up the modest climb and its 20 metres of elevation (5.6% gradient).

Here’s what race director Stuart O’Grady had to say about stage 1:

“This opening stage will be the longest in Santos Tour Down Under women’s race history – a milestone we are all very proud of. In previous years the main emphasis of this stage has been Willunga Hill, but this stage is more about McLaren Vale and other parts of the region. The finish is the same as the men’s race in 2023 when Bryan Coquard won. There is a four or five per cent drag up to the finish line, so even though on paper it’s a sprinter’s stage we could see some surprises.”

Flag drop by race director Stuart O’Grady and racing is underway for stage 1 of the Women’s Tour Down Under. A total of 90 riders registered to take the start today.

Four riders from Liv AlUla Jayco are staying close to race director’s car who is whistling and trying to calm the nerves down

And the 2026 Women’s Santos Tour Down Under is underway, starting with a 1.3km neutral section.

Racing will start in around 5 minutes for stage 1 of the Women’s Tour Down Under, starting and ending in Willunga for a total of 137.4km.

The bakery at the start in Willunga is overflowing and a full complement of new kits are getting their first WWT showing.

Can’t wait to see the new kits in action in the first Women’s WorldTour race of the season. Exciting!

Riders are just rolling up to a sunny and warm day in Willunga with enough wind to get the flags flying on the start finish.

Since debuting as criteriums in 2011, the women’s Santos Tour Down Under has rapidly climbed the ranks—2.2 in 2016, 2.1 with equal prize money in 2018, WorldTour in 2023, and expanded again with a 1.Pro race in 2025. In 2026, it climbs again: a UCI rule limiting teams to skipping just one Women’s WorldTour event ensures all 14 elite squads will line up in Adelaide for the first time, boosting depth and firepower across the peloton.

Welcome to live coverage of the 2026 Women’s Santos Tour Down Under. The three-day South Australian race stretches a record 394km and opens the new Women’s WorldTour season.