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Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig to take support role on Tour Down Under debut

Dane enjoying Australian summer racing as FDJ-SUEZ target title defence with Grace Brown

Matilda Price

Racing news editor.

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Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig will ride in support of her teammates in the heat of her first Australian summer

For a race as established as the women’s Santos Tour Down Under , and a rider as omnipresent as Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig ( FDJ-SUEZ ), it’s a surprising realisation that the Dane has never previously ridden the Australian WorldTour opener.

Travelling down under to start her season in Adelaide for the first time, Uttrup Ludwig will be a newcomer in the Tour Down Under peloton this weekend, and be getting a taste of Australian summer racing.

Spending part of December in Australia with her boyfriend, who is also racing the Tour Down Under this week, the Danish rider has had plenty of time to acclimatise.

“Why not?” was her response when GCN asked why she had chosen to make her debut now. “Initially my boyfriend, he's Australian, so it's just super nice to be here and get two times summer and get some racing early.”

Though the women’s Tour Down Under is growing in stature, it’s still a very early season race, and many riders and teams struggle to justify starting racing so early and travelling so far to do so, with big European goals still a month off.

“It's a race that I've wanted to do for quite a while, but just never really had the opportunity to go here yet,” Uttrup Ludwig explained. “But now, it was time, and I'm excited to be doing it. And I think I've heard the Australian crowds are really awesome.”

Perhaps the fact she won’t be looked at as a leader in Adelaide also helps make racing worth it, with the event more an extension of warm weather training rather than a big goal.

With teammate Grace Brown set to try to defend her overall title, the often-exuberant rider will be in support mode for FDJ-SUEZ this weekend, albeit on a course that suits her abilities too.

Read more: Women's Santos Tour Down Under 2024 race preview

“I'll be helping Grace as much as I can,” she confirmed.

“We are sending a strong team. Of course, we want to defend the title - when you're coming in as a defending champion, you want to do well. Hopefully you can see some fireworks.”

Whether a TDU assault of her own may be in her future depends on how this race ultimately fits into and affects her wider season, but it’s clear Uttrup Ludwig is in good spirits in Australia.

“Maybe in the future [I’ll go for my own ambitions] but for now, I'm actually just happy being here. It’s super nice weather, I’m happy to support Grace, there should be some fun days of racing.

“I like the parcours, so hopefully it will increase so that we can do more stages in the future.”

• Nationality France
• Founded 2017
• Team Principal Stephen Delcourt
• UCI Code FST
• Bike Sponsor Lapierre

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig

• Team FDJ-SUEZ
• Nationality Denmark
• UCI Wins 18
• Height 1.68m

Grace Brown

• Nationality Australia
• UCI Wins 20

Tour Down Under

• Dates 12 Jan - 14 Jan
• Race Length 291 kms
• Race Category Elite Women

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Tour Down Under 2020: The Route

The 2020 Tour Down Under kicks into gear on 21 January to finish on the 26th. Two uphill finishes - stage 3 and stage 6 - are likely to be decisive in terms of the overall, while a number of sprint finishes and lumpy stages round out the route. Daryl Impey is title holder. ( Slideshow route/profile )

The Tour Down Under sets off from Tanunda. The 1st stage is a criterium race in the Barossa Valley with a likely sprint finish at the same place as it started.

The 2nd stage travels from Woodside to a false flat finish in Stirling. The route consists of two local laps and the elevation gain is 2,357 metres.

At 131 kilometres, the 3rd stage is likely to open up the first proper time gaps on GC. Following a race with 2,614 vertical metres the finish climb into Paracombe is 1.2 kilometres long and slopes at 9.9%. The last 300 metres are played out on the flat.

The Tour Down Under serves a lumpy race with a flat finale on stage 4 . The route runs from Norwood to Murray Bridge, where the Australian stage race did not finish since 2001.

The 5th stage of the Tour Down Under travels from Glenelg to a technical finale in Victor Harbor. Sprinters should also be aware of a 3.9 kilometres climb at 6%, which is crested with 20 kilometres to go.

Willunga Hill is on the agenda on the final day of action. The 6th stage is a carbon copy of last year’s final test. The route takes in two circuits, while the finale serves the 3 kilometres climb at 7%. Richie Porte has been imperious on Willunga Hill in the last six editions.

Tour Down Under 2020: routes, profiles, more

Click on the images to zoom

Giro d'Italia stage 14 Live - Race against the clock for the general classification

Tour Down Under - Nine riders seeking early-season success from Ganna to Yates

Sprinters and GC riders who are expected to be in the mix in 2024

Corbin Strong

Diego ulissi, sam welsford.

The WorldTour buzz ramps up for the Tour Down Under , the first race of the 2024 series and the first chance for success for the 140 riders on the start list. Some will be out for stage wins, some out for the general classification, while others will just be happy to get some race days in their legs.

The Tour Down Under gala starts with the Down Under Classic, an hour-long criterium in Adelaide and invariably one for the sprinters. The stage race proper gets underway on Tuesday with the first of six tricky stages, culminating in two uphill finishes first on Willunga Hill and then the finale on Mount Lofty.

All 18 of the WorldTour teams will have riders on the line, as is required by the UCI, with the Israel-Premier Tech ProTeam and the Australian National Team filling out the start list.

Tour Down Under 2024 route Tour Down Under 2024 - Everything you need to know How to watch the 2024 Tour Down Under – live streaming Subscribe to Cyclingnews to gain unlimited access to the 2024 Tour Down Under

Some of the riders' form is known after the Australian Road Championships , while others have been busy training.

One thing is certain: there will be a new champion at the Tour Down Under, as 2023 winner Jay Vine won't be at the start, and all of the previous winners have retired.

Cyclingnews dug into the start list and came up with nine riders to watch - some obvious, some not so much - at the Tour Down Under from January 16 through 21.

Get unlimited access to all of our coverage of the Tour Down Under and Women’s Tour Down Under, including reporting from Australia, breaking news and analysis.  Find out more .

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Luke Plapp & Simon Yates

Luke Plapp and Simon Yates come as a package deal as the Jayco AlUla co-leaders of the home team for the Tour Down Under. Plapp has been on fire since joining from Ineos Grenadiers, sweeping both the Australian road race and time trial national titles. He won the road race last year before not overly featuring at the stage race, but his performances last week looked a different beast.

Behind him, he’ll also have a very strong team if he is the main GC option, but Yates was second last season and won the final stage to Mount Lofty, which he’ll be happy to see again on stage 6. Yates maintains a strong level throughout the season, so expect an in-form version of the Brit licking his lips at the prospect of a double ascent up Willingu Hill (3.4km at 7.4%) on stage 5. 

The pair could work well in tandem with Plapp launching early and utilising his time trial abilities to stay up the road while Yates marks the moves out behind, but they will also have Chris Harper at their disposal, who is a more than capable climbing domestique. Harper and Plapp attacked together 100km from the finish at the national road race championships to take a 1-2 for Jayco.

Different guises of Jayco AlUla have been the team to watch in many Tours Down Under gone by, and 2024 should be no different with a team built around three of their big stars.

Filippo Ganna

Normally the Tour Down Under wouldn't be a race for a former time trial world champion like Filippo Ganna - there isn't a time trial, the sprint stages are mostly geared toward pure sprinters and the climbers' stages are selective.

However, Ganna transformed from a time trialist and super-domestique into a vicious stage-hunter and one-day racer who can sprint against the pure sprinters and out-climb many of the pure climbers when he wishes.

From the Alto Colorado in the Vuelta a San Juan, where he was second to Miguel Angel Lopez, to the Vuelta a España, where we saw him going up against points classification winner Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Ganna showed in 2023 that he could do it all.

With the Olympic Games this year and a focus on both the track and road, it's uncertain how Ganna will be going in January. If he's firing, few riders can beat him, in particular on the more selective sprint stages like the opening stage in Tanuda with Mengiers Hill 13.5km before the line, stage 2 to Lobethal with a short kicker in the closing 5km.

Caleb Ewan found made a successful start in his return to home team Jayco AlUla, taking the win in the elite men’s Australian criterium championships. He’ll be looking to continue that form into the Tour Down Under and reignite his career after his least successful full season since turning professional that saw him manage only one pro win.

There were no stage wins for Ewan at the TDU in 2023 but he will be spurred on by the nine previous victories he’s achieved there. Ewan was racing with a group of very talented young riders for the Australian national team last year, but they were no WorldTour-level leadout which left him sprinting from deep in the pack.

He’ll be delivered in the sprints by a strong lineup including Kelland O’Brien, Michael Hepburn and Campbell Stewart. The GC side of Jayco AlUla’s team will feature Simon Yates, Chris Harper and newly crowned Australian ITT champion Luke Plapp, who could also help in the run into a sprint. Ewan should be on top form with top support in front of the home crowds.

Julian Alaphilippe

A decade ago, Julian Alaphilippe started his first WorldTour season with Soudal QuickStep at the Tour Down Under. Now he returns to the race for the first time since then with a highly decorated palmarès that has seen him twice become World Champion, take a Monument victory and light up the Tour de France.

Alaphilippe is the headline name on the starlist but has struggled with form in the past few seasons due to nasty crashes. He showed signs of his panache-personified best with a win at the Dauphiné, but is hoping to return to his brilliant best ahead of the Spring Classics .

He won’t race the Tour de France this year as they Belgian squad goes all in for Remco Evenepoel, but the Frenchman will instead make his Giro d’Italia debut to chase stages. He’s had great success in Italy before having won Milan-San Remo and Strade Bianche. With these focuses, it’s unknown how close to his best he’ll be in Australia but expect exciting racing nonetheless.

New Zealander Corbin Strong is beginning to come into his own in the WorldTour after two seasons with Israel-Premier Tech. The 23-year-old won the opening stage of the Tour of Luxembourg and was second at the GP Québec and Circuit Franco-Belge - all races that featured an uphill sprint finish.

The former points race world champion's skills will shine on the hilly first stages.

Strong has the benefit of spending the winter in the vicinity and not having to make the long-haul flight like his European peers and also not having a huge target on his back. He's ready for a breakthrough season, and Tour Down Under might just be the start.

Phil Bauhaus

Phil Bauhaus held off a charging Ewan and claimed stage 1 in last year’s race with a powerful sprint to the line into Tanunda, which he’ll be happy to see again features on the route as the start and finish point of the opening stage. 

The German fast man is brilliant in chaotic finishes, so without the full-strength lead-out trains that you may see at Grand Tours, his ability to pick the correct lines and wheels is better highlighted. His win in Australia was his only victory for the season, but he is one of the most consistent sprinters in the peloton and took top fives at the Tour de France, UAE Tour and Tirreno Adiratico.

Bahrain Victorious said in their press release that he’s in even better form than last season, so expect to see his explosive power. The last man for Bauhaus will be one of their two Australians riding at home, Cameron Scott.

UAE Team Emirates' Diego Ulissi has a long history with the Tour Down Under, having raced in six editions starting in 2014. He's landed on the overall podium twice - coming second in 2020 and third overall in his debut.

The Italian has a blend of skill sets - less pure power than the pure sprinters, more punch uphill than most, and is a tactically astute racer.

Ulissi has but one stage win in the Tour Down Under for all of his attempts, on the stage to Stirling in 2014, and look for him to be at the head of affairs on any stage, especially the final one that passes through Stirling en route to Mount Lofty.

Another rider from Down Under ready for a breakout season is Bora-Hansgrohe newcomer Sam Welsford , who spent the past two years at DSM.

Welsford won a stage of the Renewi Tour, beating Jumbo-Visma's dominant sprinter Olav Kooij as well as two stages of the Vuelta a San Juan and the GP Criquielion and a second place to Jasper Philipsen at the Scheldeprijs last season.

Welsford was third in the Australian criterium championships so he's got speed in his legs and a team with experienced riders including fellow sprinter Danny van Poppel. Stage 4 to Port Elliot is undoubtedly circled in his roadbook.

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James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.

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Team Cofidis’ values are comprised of courage, surpassing oneself and team spirit. Despite being founded in 1997, this will only be the 4 th appearance of Cofidis at the Santos Tour Down Under, being reinstated to WorldTour level in 2020. U Race Director Stuart O’Grady previously competed for Cofidis, including in 2004, when he won at stage 5 of the Tour de France.

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• Other notable wins: Itzulia Basque Country 2 nd place 2022, Tour de France 8 th place 2021, Criterium du Dauphine 3 rd place 2020

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Horror crash rules cycling star Luke Plapp out of Tour Down Under

• Australian road champion suffers severe road rash
• French rider also injured in stage three crash

Luke Plapp is out of the Tour Down Under with the Australian cycling star failing to recover from the injuries sustained in a nasty crash the day before.

The three-time reigning Australian road champion suffered severe road rash, from the back of his left shoulder down to the hip, when he crashed near the end of stage three.

Plapp had wanted to stay in the race, but his Jayco AlUla team announced on Friday morning he will not start the 136.2km stage from Murray Bridget to Port Elliot.

“After monitoring Plapp overnight, unfortunately he will not start today’s fourth stage of the Tour Down Under due to discomfort and ongoing pain from a large amount of wounds,” the team announced.

It is a painful reversal of fortunes for the Australian cycling star, who started the year by winning his third-straight national road race title. He also regained the time trial championship at the nationals.

At Monday’s pre-race media conference for the Tour, Plapp said the team was aiming for a sweep of the stages and the overall title – something no one has done in race history.

But after Jayco AlUla dominated the nationals, winning five of the six elite races, they did not win a stage in the women’s race and so far has not won any men’s stage either.

French rider Rudy Molard was also injured in the crash during stage three and has been ruled out for the remainder of the race after the Groupama - FDJ doctor confirmed he had suffered a concussion.

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“Rudy was our man for the general classification, and we will have to reorganize ourselves on that point,” said the team’s sports director, Jussi Veikkanen, on the team’s website. “I hope he is ok and that he has a fast recovery.”

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Plapp’s injury means the team’s Australian sprint ace Caleb Ewan loses a valuable leadout rider for Friday – the last sprint stage of the Tour.

Ewan was ill in the days before the Tour and has lacked his usual spark in the sprint finishes over the first three days.

The race ends on the weekend with summit finishes for the last two stages at Willunga and Mount Lofty.

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Tour Down Under

The race line-up

Rudy Molard

Paul Penhoet

Lorenzo Germani

Laurence Pithie

Reuben Thompson

The 2023 Groupama-FDJ version is officially back on the roads ! It is also the comeback of the australian Tour Down Under, 3 years after the last edition in 2020.

It is the first official race of the UCI World Tour calendar ! The race takes place in Australia around the city of Adelaïde and lasts 6 days : 1 prologue and 5 stages.

Prologue – Adelaïde > Adelaïde – 5,5 km – january, 17th Stage 1 – Tanunda > Tanunda – 149,9 km – january, 18th Stage 2 – Brighton > Victor Harbor – 154,8 km -january, 19th Stage 3 – Norwood > Campbelltown – 116,8 km – january, 20th Stage 4 – Port Willunga > Willunga Township – 133,2 km – january, 21st Stage 5 – Unley > Mount Lofty – 112,5 km – january, 22nd

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Married ‘Summer House’ star Amanda Batula reacts to flirty comments with Jesse Solomon

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Amanda Batula insists she and Jesse Solomon are just friends.

After fans noticed some flirty social media banter between the “Summer House” co-stars, Batula –– who is married to Kyle Cooke –– took to TikTok to shut down any further romance speculation.

“You guys are out of control,” she said in a video shared Tuesday, in response to a comment about the recommended automated search for Batula’s videos being about Solomon. “This is what you’ve done to the search bar on my videos now. Enough! It’s never gonna happen.”

Batula, 32, made the video after fans flooded the comment sections of her various social media platforms. Many inquired about her and Solomon’s friendship after seeing some of the playful comments he’s left on her posts over the last few weeks.

“I hope your future kid doesn’t get bullied for having the hottest mom,” Solomon wrote under a selfie Batula shared on April 5, to which his co-star responded with, “Jesse stop flirting with me” and “*prints out and frames comment*.”

In another post of Batula wearing a red-and-white dress at a wedding –– with Cooke –– Solomon wrote , “MILF in training.”

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Solomon, 30, continued his commenting spree by writing ”Holy f–kamole” under a series of photos of her posing in an off-the-shoulder yellow dress at a different wedding.

Most recently, Solomon commented under a dump Batula shared that featured her and her co-stars partying on a boat day that was shown on last week’s episode of “Summer House.”

“Just gassing up my queen again 😍🧎‍➡️,” he wrote on Wednesday.

For her part, Batula has also left a few friendly messages in the comments section of Solomon’s Instagram posts.

She joked about having her eyes closed in a group snap he shared, jokingly asking, “Why do you hate me?!!??” to which he replied, “lol whoops you look so hot in the video tho!!”

Solomon has not directly addressed the banter. However, he did say that Batula was “amazing” and that she “tickled [his] fancy” during his appearance on “Watch What Happens Live” last week.

Batula has been married to Cooke since September 2021 after dating for six years. Some of their marital issues –– including what their future looks like –– have been playing out on the current season of “Summer House.”

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