Stage 6: Norwood to Stirling

Nothing is decided until Stirling.

Sunday is not a procession. The Tour Down Under has been won and lost on the final day more than once, and the 2027 route gives the peloton every reason to try. Ashton comes early and long. Checker Hill comes at 600 metres of 14.2% average and tops out at 18.4%, which is short enough to attack and steep enough to hurt. The run through Birdwood, Lobethal and Hahndorf never settles, and the last climb into Stirling arrives with the race still open.

For the first time in WorldTour history the women race the same course, the same day, the same distance. Two pelotons, one set of roads, one finish line on Mount Barker Road. Stand in the right place and you watch the season open twice.