The best of Australian cycling is set to return once again to South Australia from January 21 - 29 at the Santos Festival of Cycling 2022. Cycling enthusiasts, locals and visitors alike will watch as elite cyclists travel through some of the state's most scenic backdrops during the action-packed nine-day event.
Highlighting the best of South Australia through the lens of various disciplines, the Santos Festival of Cycling will offer an exciting program of racing across multiple regions as well as an activity-packed CBD hub in Victoria Park/Pakapakanthi.
The festival replaces the traditional UCI WorldTour, Santos Tour Down Under in 2022, which cannot go ahead due to international border closures and associated quarantine requirements for visiting international teams, but retains an elite profile.
"Adelaide in January is all about cycling and our cycling friends from all around Australia gathering here. Although international major events continue to be challenging, we will celebrate cycling in January 2022 in the best way we know how and welcome visitors to Adelaide once again to kick off the new year," said Premier of South Australia, Steven Marshall.
He continued, "South Australia's ability to host COVID-Safe major events, including the Santos Festival of Cycling, brings substantial economic benefit and employment opportunities to the state, as well as showcasing stunning views of South Australia to the world."
Events South Australia Executive Director, Hitaf Rasheed recognises the importance of the event to the people of South Australia.
"The Santos Tour Down Under is a much-loved event on the world cycling and Australian sporting calendar and an important economic driver for South Australia, attracting 44,000 people, injecting 742 jobs and more than $66 million into the economy when last held in 2020. We have fully explored all avenues, but unfortunately in the end it was the border closures and quarantine requirements for more than 400 people that make up the international teams that proved to still be too difficult to overcome," said Hitaf Rasheed.
The Santos Festival of Cycling is primed to still deliver a wonderful experience for cycling fans to enjoy, bringing together Australia's best with some of the world's best across a range of disciplines - road, track, BMX, mountain biking, paracycling, cyclocross, and much more.
Race Directors Stuart O'Grady and Kimberley Conte are excited to bring their plans to life, reflecting on the cycling talent expected to participate plus the new breadth of disciplines covered in the program.
"The Santos Festival of Cycling is the perfect opportunity to not only showcase some of our best athletes, but to tap into Australia's enduring and growing passion for recreational cycling in all its forms," they said.
"Supporting events and initiatives that make a positive contribution to the South Australian community is important to Santos and we're proud to bring a COVID-safe cycling event to life in 2022. We're looking forward to the community-focussed event returning to the streets of South Australia to bring people together and drive economic benefits for the state," Santos Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gallagher said.
The Santos Tour Down Under would like to sincerely thank SAPOL, SA Health, the teams, host councils, major partners and in particular naming rights partner Santos, for their unwavering support of the event and the event team.
