Program For Adelaide’s 2022 ‘Festival Of Cycling’ Announced

Organisers of the Santos Festival of Cycling have released the program for the 2022 event, the replacement for the Tour Down Under which has been cancelled for a second consecutive year due to Covid.

Kicking off on Friday 21 January with the Adelaide Track League event at Adelaide Superdome, the nine-day program offers more than 25 events and will highlight multiple cycling disciplines including road, track, BMX, mountain biking, para-cycling and cyclo-cross.

SA Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing Corey Wingard said the 2022 Santos Festival of Cycling was a much-needed celebration during a time of challenge.

“Our state is no stranger to delivering world-class events. The previous Santos Festival of Cycling event illustrated our ability to innovate and deliver a highly compelling event in an extremely challenging environment,” he said.

“The 2022 Santos Festival of Cycling builds on that established track record, delivering an outstanding event that appeals to cycling and sporting fans and the broader South Australian community.

Elite riders will line up for a series of races in the second ‘Santos Festival of Cycling’ in Adelaide in January.

Race directors Stuart O’Grady and Kimberley Conte have designed the elite women’s and men’s road stages throughout Adelaide Hills, Barossa and Fleurieu Peninsula.

“The stages are designed to feature not only some of the most iconic scenery recognised around the world but provides a unique opportunity for teams to feature their riders’ particular strengths,” said Kimberley Conte.

“The mix of natural terrain from the lush vineyards of the Barossa to the undulating Adelaide hillside in full bloom, and the gritty coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula sets this event apart on the cycling calendar.

Designing the stages for the Santos Festival of Cycling this year gives competitors, onlookers and cycling enthusiasts an array of new tracks added to the program, for the ultimate endurance test,” said Stuart O’Grady.

“We think carefully about the start and finish locations, every road, each turn for a balanced and challenging stage to create a fresh and dynamic course which requires a high level of athleticism across the peloton of 140 riders will face in January,” said Stuart O’Grady.

More Para Cycling

This year, the festival features a new and exciting expanded Para-Cycling program including three event opportunities to watch and celebrate our Tokyo cycling Paralympians, as well as several other para-cycling races as part of the Festival Village program.

As the heart of the festival, the City of Adelaide Festival Village is the central meeting spot and pulse of entertainment for the cycling community and festival goers, activated from 26-29 January.

Night Time Crit

It will hold the Elite Men’s and Women’s Trek Night Riders criteriums on January 26 followed by other racing and demonstrations including Cyclo-Cross, BMX Freestyle, mountain biking, amateur criterium racing and Pedal Prix.

There will also be plenty of family friendly entertainment including an Australia Day kids concert, pump track and waterplay, as well as a vibrant music line-up of evening concerts, announced in due course.

Events South Australia Executive Director, Hitaf Rasheed is grateful to everyone involved in bringing this major event to the people of South Australia.

In light of the recent COVID-19 Roadmap announcement, event organisers underwent due diligence to exhaust the possibility of delivering the Santos Tour Down Under in 2022.

“The Santos Tour Down Under is Australia’s greatest cycling race, the place where world road cycling starts each year and an event that is very important for South Australia. For that reason it was critical that we again considered the possibility of delivering the event in January 2022.”

“We now turn our attention and energy to delivering the 2022 Santos Festival of Cycling and invite cyclists and cycling fans from all around the country to travel to be part of it. It has the support of AusCycling and the cycling community, and we want to thank all of our event partners,” said Hitaf Rasheed.

2022 Santos Festival of Cycling Program Summary

Elite Road Races and Criteriums

Sunday 23 January: Women’s Ziptrak® Stage 1 – Tanunda (start from Chateau Tanunda)- Williamstown
Monday 24 January: Women’s Westpac Stage 2 – McLaren Vale (start from Penny’s Hill Wines) to Echunga
Tuesday 25 January: Women’s Be Safe Be Seen Stage 3 – Lobethal-Lobethal
Wednesday 26 January: Trek Night Riders (Men’s and Women’s) Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi
Thursday 27 January: Men’s Ziptrak® Stage 1 – Stirling to Lobethal
Friday 28 January: Men’s Westpac Stage 2 – Mount Lofty Summit to Woodside
Saturday 29 January: Men’s Be Safe Be Seen Stage 3 – McLaren Vale to Willunga Hill

Cycling Program (excluding Elite Road)

Friday 21 January:
- Adelaide Track League, Adelaide Superdrome
Saturday 22 January:
- MTB Gravity Enduro Event, Fox Creek MTB Park
- Adelaide Track League, Adelaide Superdrome (sprint program)
Saturday 22 – Sunday 23 January:
- National Cup BMX Round (venue TBC)
Sunday 23 January:
- Santos Paracycling Time Trial = Williamstown
Thursday 27 January:
- Santos Paracycling Teams Event, Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi
- Norwood Cycling Club Criteriums, Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi
Friday 28 January:
- Norwood Cycling Club Criteriums, Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi
- MTB XC Short Track Event, Eagle MTB Park
Saturday 29 January:
- National Cup Cyclo-Cross Event, Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi