Kangaroos and fire danger in the men’s Tour Down Under

The 2026 Tour Down Under concluded in Stirling on Sunday with Jay Vine securing the Ochre jersey for the second time. Despite several casualties and a tangle with the kangaroo on the final stage, Vine’s UAE Team Emirates XRG were strong throughout the race and from Stage 2’s win onward, the victory appeared secure.

This year’s TDU has contended with race changes due to the high fire danger on Willunga Hill, and a rogue kangaroo that jumped right into the middle of the peloton, taking Jay Vine down.

Vine’s GC time gap was the second-largest in Tour Down Under history, behind South Australia’s Patrick Jonker, who won by 1min 13 sec in 2004.

But it wasn’t the perfect Stage 5 race for Vine. He lost another two UAE Team Emirates XRG teammates during the stage, Mikkel Berg and Juan Sebastian Molano, after the kangaroo incident.

Jhonatan Narvaez – the 2025 Tour Down Under champion – and Vegard Stake Laengden were forced out of the race during Stage 4 on Saturday.

However, Vine, despite the fall caused by the kangaroo, recovered and got back on a teammate’s bike after his team’s staff assessed the situation, claiming the 2023 win was one he will never forget.

Prologue

Adelaide

Distance: 3.6km

Although not regarded as a stage, the rider’s times still count towards general classification (GC), and unlike other time trials, this one was raced on road bikes rather than the aero TT rigs. 

Great Britain’s Samuel Watson claimed the Prologue and took the Ochre jersey while Canada’s Michael Leonard snared the MyWhoosh young rider jersey in 13^th place on the Adelaide city streets on Tuesday night.

Watson set the pace early and had to watch 129 riders try to beat his record before he was crowned Prologue champion.

“It was a big, big sigh of relief for myself, yeah I’m so happy to start season with a win,’’ Watson said. 

Only two other riders averaged more than 50 km/h – Great Britain’s Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling Team) at 50.6km/h and New Zealand’s Laurence Pithie (Red Bull BORA Hansgrohe) at 50.2km/h.

Santos Tour Down Under 2023 champion Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates XRG) was the final contender off the starting ramp.

Vine was the highest-ranked Australian in fourth place. The reigning Australian time trial champion rode well but fell four seconds short of Watson, averaging 49.7km/h.    

Stage 1

Tanunda to Tanunda

Distance: 120.6km

Tobias Lund Andresen moved into the Santos Ochre Leader’s Jersey after winning the opening Stage 1 in Tanunda. The 23-year-old Dane upstaged Britain’s Matthew Brennan and hot favourite Australia’s Sam Welsford at the finish line after 120.6km.

“When I crossed the finish line I could see wheels coming up on both sides, but with a lead-out like this, it really sets you up for a win,” he said.

“There were cross-winds the last 5km, so we wanted to be in a good position, and I think we did really well to stay together.

“I just had to commit and trust my teammates, and it ended up like this.”

Andresen’s team flew beneath the radar before attacking to perfection after defending TDU champion Jhonatan Narvaez immediately signalled his intent during the stage race.

Stage 2

Norwood to Uraidla

Distance: 147.5km

Australian Jay Vine staked his claim to again become the king of the Santos Tour Down Under after blowing the rival peloton to pieces during the Corkscrew Road climb on Stage 2.

The 2023 Santos Tour Down Under champion claimed the victory and Ochre jersey ahead of his UAE Emirates XRG teammate, Jhonatan Narvaez.

This put Vine 1min 05secs ahead of the team’s nearest rival, Jayco AlUla’s Swiss road champion Mauro Schmid and six seconds ahead of Narvaez, who won the race last year.

“Adam (Yates teammate) did an amazing job in the lead out (up the Corkscrew Road climb),” Vine said.

“After such a committed day by the whole team, for it all go to plan at the end was really nice.”

It was Vine’s first stage win at the Tour Down Under after claiming four stages of the Vuelta a España and winning the King of the Mountain jersey at the coveted Spanish race.

Vine and Narvaez finished first and second at the Uraidla finish line.

Despite his commanding lead, Vine wouldn’t declare that the race was over.

“Anything can happen, but to have such a big lead compared to my last Tour (overall win in 2023), it’s a lot more secure,’’ Vine said.

“We’ve also got Jhonny (Narvaez) in second now, we’re in a very strong position here.”

UAE Emirates XRG tried to position its stage contenders, Vine and Narvaez, towards the front before the second climb up the Corkscrew.

The break was caught just before the start of the second climb before Vine, and Yates led the front of the race before the King of the Mountain points at the top of the Corkscrew summit.

Vine attacked with incredible timing, with Narvaez on his tail after Yates did all the hard work before the KOM reward.

The pair dropped all rivals to open a 15-second gap after Vine earned maximum KOM points ahead of Narvaez and Italy’s Filippo Zana (Soudal Quick-Step).

Stage 3

Henley Beach to Nairne

Distance: 140.8km

Australian sprinter Sam Welsford claimed his seventh Tour Down Under stage in Nairne.

It was Welsford’s first win for his new team INEOS Grenadiers after two seasons at Red Bull BORA hangrohe where he won six stages of the Tour Down Under.

“For me, it’s just one of my most special ones (wins),” Welsford said.

“I think coming off a really hard year last year with injuries and broken bones, I lost a lot of you know self-belief and also with the team last year, I think you know we didn’t get a really nice bit of season with injuries and stuff as well.

“I lost a lot of opportunity as a sprinter and I’m a sprinter you need a you need that belief you need that momentum and kind of lost my way a little bit last year.

“For me to come here I’m win on a day that did probably didn’t really suit me on paper spring by the heart of sprint day I’m really happy with that.”

Australia’s Jay Vine retained the Ochre Leader’s Jersey after his UAE Team Emirates XRG surrounded their star rider, ensuring he would be well protected in a day marked for the fast guys in the peloton.

Vine is six seconds ahead of teammate Jhonatan Narvaez with Jayco AlUla’s Mauro Schmid still 1min 05 seconds behind Vine.

“The last 50km was really stressful,” Vine said.

“After we came through the sprint point everyone started attacking as we got into the circuit but yeah I have a good team around me they helped me and as we came with 4km to go it was yeah stay on with the group and avoid any crashes.”

Stage 4

Brighton to Willunga Hill

Distance: 131km (reduced from 176km)

The TDU organisers made the difficult decision to shorten Stage 4 by removing the three ascents of Willunga Hill due to severe weather that posed a high fire risk. The stage also started an hour earlier than scheduled.

This turned the stage into one for the sprinters with Great Britain’s Ethan Vernon of NSN Cycling claiming his maiden Down Under victory in the searing heat on Stage 4 in Willunga.

Vernon, 25, was superfast in a bunch sprint, slight uphill finish at the shortened stage, and the NSN sprinter was ecstatic with the biggest win of his career.

“I really wanted to win out there and start the season strong, and to be the first rider (from the team) to be in this jersey is really special,” Vernon said.

“When I left my home country (Andorra), it was minus 15 °C, so it was a big shock to the weather difference.

“In the end, the boys looked after me and kept me cool and showed that in the end they supported me the best.

“We had to readopt our plan, and we lost Corbin (Strong) and Jake (Stewart) at the start of the stage. In the end, it showed we can communicate and adapt to situations that are chucked at us.”  

Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) finished second ahead of Laurence Pithie (Red Bull BORA Hansgrohe).

Australia’s Jay Vine ended the stage in the Santos Ochre Leader’s jersey, but he lost two teammates during the race.

The reigning Santos Tour Down Under champion, Ecuadorian Jhonatan Narvaez (UAE Emirates XRG), abandoned the race and was taken to the hospital for observation.

Narvaez was just 13 minutes into the stage race before the incident.

He was only six seconds behind Vine on the GC before the shortened stage on Saturday before crashing inside the first 20kms.

The team suffered another blow when Norway’s Vegard Stake Laengen abandoned the race so too did fan favourite Danny Van Poppel (Red Bull BORA Hansgrohe).

Stage 5

Stirling to Stirling

Distance: 169.8km

Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s Matthew Brennan secured his team’s first victory of the season when he took Stage 5 of the TDU in Stirling. The 20-year-old Brit was the fastest in the final stage of the Tour Down Under, following excellent lead-out work from his teammates on the challenging finish in Stirling.

“I’m really happy with this win,” Brennan said after the race. “The past week didn’t always go as we hoped, and results were hard to come by. But as a team, we worked hard every day and gave 100 per cent in every stage. To see that rewarded today is really special.”

In the final stage of the Australian stage race, four riders broke away early. The breakaway built a maximum lead of four minutes but ultimately played no significant role in the finale, thanks to controlling efforts from Team Visma | Lease a Bike and others.

On the last local circuit, the race opened up as several riders tried to launch attacks. Four riders managed to escape from the peloton, but strong teamwork from the Dutch squad reeled them back in during the final kilometre. Brennan then confidently finished off his teammates’ work with an impressive sprint victory.

An eventful final stage including a kangaroo nearly derailed Jay Vine’s chances of winning a second Santos Tour Down Under on Sunday.

Vine spent anxious seconds with his heart in his mouth, perhaps wondering how he had hit the deck during efex Stage 5 in Stirling.

“I can’t fathom how much bad luck we have had in the last couple of days,” Vine said after claiming his second overall Tour Down Under victory since 2023.

“We’ve got guys that are in the hospital. I have come out unscathed, but you never want that to happen.

“All the Europeans (riders) always ask me what’s the most dangerous animal in Australia, and I tell them kangaroos.

“They (kangaroos) wait in the bushes until you cannot stop, and then they jump out in front of you.”