In 2027, the Santos Tour Down Under (TDU) will become the first WorldTour event in history to feature men and women riders racing stages on the exact same course, on the same day. The men’s event is six days along, however, while the women’s race is a three-stage event, so the course and the coverage will not be shared every day.
The TDU, which takes place annually in South Australia and has a history stretching back to 1999 (although the women’s race did not begin until 2016), is the opening event of the UCI WorldTour and Women’s WorldTour season. Significantly, in 2018, the TDU became the first professional cycling event to offer equal prize money to men and women.
The women’s race has traditionally taken place in mid-January, right in the burning hot heart of the Australian Summer, with the men’s race happening towards the end of the month. However, next year the TDU will run both men’s and women’s stages concurrently from 19–24 January (dates subject to final UCI calendar approval).
The change comes in response to a request from the UCI, following feedback from women’s teams about the expense and logistics of the peloton having to spend an extended amount of time in Australia to take part in two WorldTour races – the Tour Down Under and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, which happens at the end of January.
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The six-stage men’s tour will run Tuesday to Sunday next year, while the three-stage women’s race will be held from the Friday to the Sunday. On corresponding race days, the women’s peloton will start approximately 90 minutes after the men, and will ride the exact same course.
A press release from the organisers of the TDU said it is “expected” both the men’s and women’s races will be broadcast live.
The organisers of Paris-Roubaix, ASO, received criticism this April for breaking with tradition and scheduling Paris-Roubaix Femmes on the same day as the men’s cobbled classic; many media commentators and fans observed that – while it might have been a fantastic experience for spectators at the roadside – the change resulted in significantly less media coverage for the women’s race.
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“The challenge we were given by the UCI was to deliver a more condensed program of racing and optimise the time the women’s teams spent in Australia,” said TDU race director Stuart O’Grady. “We saw it as an opportunity to do something different and bring both men’s and women’s racing together and finish off with a bumper final weekend of racing.
“Since the women’s race was introduced to the Santos Tour Down Under in 2016, the level of racing has continually increased and this year was the first time all WorldTeams were on the start line, racing the longest and hardest stages we’ve ever seen.
Assistant race director Carlee Taylor said: “To have men’s and women’s stage racing on the same day and over the same course is an exciting new frontier for the event.
“Every year we’ve seen the level of women’s racing at the TDU progress and that will now extend to having the peloton riding longer stages, so I’m looking forward to seeing the atmosphere out on the roads for a huge final weekend of the Tour.
“It’s also a great platform to highlight the strength of our women’s peloton on a level we haven’t seen before, and the fact that we’re even able to do this reflects the growth and progression of women’s cycling.”
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