2026 Tour Down Under Stage 3 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 3 of the 2026 Tour Down Under! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
Stage 3 starts in Henley: beloved by beachgoers and ready for its Santos Tour Down Under debut. This 140-kilometre third stage is set to head south to Flagstaff Hill and Coromandel Valley before visiting Adelaide Hills communities including Clarendon, Kangarilla, Meadows and Echunga. Climbers will step it up on the steep slopes of Wickham Hill at McLaren Flat and Mount Barker’s Summit Road, with a Ziptrak® sprint in Echunga before a 19-kilometre loop leading to a final showdown in Nairne. It will be the first men’s stage finish in this picturesque town, and a chance for GC contenders to tighten the screws with more big climbs to come.
Summer mornings call for coastal vistas – and we have just the place. Henley Beach is hosting a stage start for the first time, welcoming the world’s best as they saddle up for a day largely spent in the Adelaide Hills. Climbs through Flagstaff Hill and Coromandel Valley will offer early challenges, with more vertical in store on McLaren Flat’s Wickham Hill and Summit Road in Mount Barker. Riders are due to enter Nairne before spending the final 19km of this undulating stage on a loop north of the town, returning for a push to the line set to favour sprinters.
Sprint points are up for grabs on Mawson Road in Meadows at the 57.7-kilometre mark, and again along Angus Road in Echunga once riders have covered 100.3 kilometres of this third stage.
A climb to rival the storied slopes of Willunga? Believe it. Wickham Hill at McLaren Flat looms as a major challenge on stage three. This category one ascent extends over three kilometres, offering an average gradient of seven per cent, a punishing steepest section of 11 per cent and 207 metres of elevation gain. It will be contested 32.2 kilometres into the stage. Riders’ second chance to earn efex King of the Mountain points will come on the category three Summit Road at Mount Barker with 116.4 kilometres complete.
Fans will gather along the charming main street of Nairne as this third stage comes to a close. Sprint stars have a chance to make their mark here, but the big question is whether they’ll be in contention following climbs earlier in the day.
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