The Route - Tour Down Under
The Tour Down Under opens the WorldTour calendar each January with a week of stage racing around Adelaide. It runs in serious South Australian summer heat, mixes flat sprint days with a handful of hilly and summit-finish stages, and the general classification almost always comes down to one climb. Knowing the parcours tells you which markets are worth a look on any given day.
The parcours
The race is a week-long loop based around Adelaide, typically six road stages plus a short prologue or criterium-style opener depending on the year. The defining feature is the weather: it is run in the middle of the Australian summer, and stages can be raced in punishing heat. That alone shapes who survives a hard day and who fades.
The terrain splits into two types. Most days are flat or rolling and end in a bunch sprint, suiting the fast finishers and their lead-out trains. A smaller number are hilly, including the summit finishes that sort the general classification. The signature climb is Willunga Hill, a short, steep ascent that the race traditionally finishes on, and it is where the overall has been won and lost year after year. It is not a long mountain, but it is decisive because the rest of the route gives the climbers nowhere else to make time.
What it means for betting
The general classification is decided on cumulative time, so the overall winner is usually the rider who climbs Willunga best while holding his place on the flat stages. Time gaps elsewhere are small, which is why the climb carries so much weight. If you are betting the outright, you are really betting on who handles Willunga and the heat.
The sprinters chase the flat days instead, where the GC contenders are content to sit in. Treat the two as separate questions. For the markets themselves, see our cycling bet types guide, and read the overall winner page for how the GC market prices up. Back to the Tour Down Under for the full set of markets.
Frequently asked questions
Which climb decides the Tour Down Under?
Willunga Hill is the signature climb and traditionally the decider. It is short and steep, and because the rest of the route is largely flat or rolling, it is where the general classification riders make or lose the time that settles the overall.
Does the heat actually affect the racing?
It can. The race runs in the South Australian summer and some stages are raced in serious heat, which wears riders down over a hard week and can catch out anyone short of early-season condition. It is one reason form here is hard to read.