World’s Best Cyclists to Return to South Australia in 2023

The peloton rides past a roadsign warning of kangaroos during the 2015 Santos Tour Down Under in South Australia, Australia on January 24, 2015. (Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images)

South Australia’s (SA) roads will once again play host to the world’s best cyclists when the Santos Tour Down Under returns to the state in January 2023.

The ten-day Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) event, scheduled from Jan. 13 to 23, 2023, will kick off the international cycling calendar for the first time since 2020.

Santos Tour Down Under Race Director, Stuart O'Grady OAM, said that he and the event team were excited about putting on Australia’s greatest cycling race.

“I can say emphatically and with great excitement that we are ready,” he said.

“World cycling is heading back to South Australia—mark those calendars and make your plans to share the celebration. We can’t wait to see you.”

O'Grady is currently in Europe, meeting with teams who will be competing in the tour in 2023, and who he said have missed the season opener down under.

“Elite cyclists love starting their seasons in South Australia and the amazing welcome they receive from fans here. For many of the teams, the Santos Tour Down Under is their favourite race experience of the year,” he said.

“We look forward to seeing familiar faces who we haven’t seen in South Australia since the 2020 Santos Tour Down Under, as well as riders who are experiencing the event for the first time.”

First held in 1999, the race typically starts and ends with Adelaide city street circuits, while stages 1 to 5 take riders through regional SA, bringing fans and tourist dollars into those regions and showcasing the state’s attractions to the world via television coverage.

A peloton rides past Aldinga Beach, 45 km south of Adelaide, during the 2015 Santos Tour Down Under in South Australia, Australia, on January 24, 2015. (Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images)

Tourism Minister Zoe Bettinson said the Santos Tour Down Under would once again share South Australia with a global audience and deliver a significant economic boost to the state.

“Major events like the Santos Tour Down Under support South Australia’s tourism industry in its covid recovery and boost confidence across the sector,” she said.

“We look forward to welcoming fans to this celebration of cycling and sharing the food, wine, regions, and city vibrancy that make South Australia such a great state.”

The 2020 event attracted 44,800 interstate and overseas visitors, injecting over $66 million (US$49.8 million) into the state’s economy and creating around 740 jobs.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the 2021 and 2022 tours were replaced by the Santos Festival of Cycling, which included National Road Series races, domestic competition across a further five cycling disciplines, and the City of Adelaide Festival Village.

Santos Managing Director and CEO Kevin Gallagher, said the company is delighted to see the full event return to SA in 2023.

“Competition for events like the Tour Down Under is strong, and Santos is committed to supporting the event to keep it in South Australia so that Adelaide and surrounding regional communities reap the economic benefits that flow from the huge number of international and Australian tourists who come to South Australia for this world-class event,” he said.