The WorldTour cycling season has begun – the Tour Down Under got underway overnight.

Tonight, Polish time, the new UCI WorldTour cycling season has officially begun. As tradition dictates, the opening race is the Tour Down Under in Australia – an event that has for years marked the start of top-level international racing and provides the first indication of the form of the peloton’s leading riders.

This year’s edition of the Tour Down Under consists of a short prologue followed by five stages with a mass start. The organizers have designed a varied route that should deliver excitement for both sprinters and riders targeting the general classification. The schedule includes flat stages, ideal for the fastest riders in the peloton, as well as rolling and punchy, interval-style stages, which traditionally play a decisive role in the battle for overall victory.

The short and intense stages characteristic of the Australian race ensure that the pace is very high right from the start of the season, with minimal time gaps between riders. Every mistake can cost valuable seconds, which often prove crucial by the end of the race.

At the start of this year’s Tour Down Under, there was one Polish rider on the start line – Michał Kwiatkowski. He boasts numerous prestigious victories to his name, including winning the general classification at the Tour de Pologne in 2018. The Australian race is his first real test of form in the new season and an opportunity to compete against the world’s best riders.

The opening of the WorldTour season in Australia is a symbolic moment for the entire cycling community – after the winter break, the peloton returns to racing and fans can once again follow battles on the world’s roads. The Tour Down Under promises to be an exciting start to a long and demanding season.