Clip in: Santos Festival of Cycling

Get your cleats on, because from Saturday 21 January nine days of cycling bliss will kick off in South Australia as the Santos Festival of Cycling bursts off the line.

Santos has been the naming rights sponsor of the Tour Down Under since 2010, seeing the event grow into a revered celebration of cycling, attaining UCI rankings for men and women and attracting competitors and spectators from every corner of the globe.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has again precluded the running of the iconic UCI WorldTour Tour Down Under, the Santos Festival of Cycling offers a glittering schedule to delight any pedal power aficionado.

Starting from Friday 21 January, the event blasts out of the gates with the Adelaide Track League. Racing at the Adelaide Superdome, it is the first of more than 25 events celebrating cycling in all its forms. The schedule highlights multiple cycling disciplines including road, track, BMX, mountain biking, para-cycling and cyclo-cross.

The jewel of the festival remains a road race, where Australia’s elite cyclists will mash pedals in a battle for local legend status. The three-stage Men’s and Women’s road races will test legs and lungs alike as the pelotons tour the Barossa, Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula regions.

Can’t make it to South Australia? Don’t stress. For those playing from home, organisers have set up a digital cycling challenge on fitness app, Strava named the TDU 200.

Inviting cyclists to jump on their local loop or indoor trainers and keep up with the pros, the challenge will see users log 200km over the duration of the festival.

Learn more about the challenge at https://tourdownunder.com.au/ride/strava-challenge-tdu-200 or join on Strava at https://www.strava.com/challenges/Santos-Tour-Down-Under-200

For more information on the 2022 Santos Festival of Cycling head to https://tourdownunder.com.au/