Five talents to watch at the 2026 Men's Tour Down Under
The 2026 WorldTour season is nearly upon us as riders take the trip Down Under for the first WorldTour race of the season. The Southern Hemisphere’s only WorldTour stage race has seen several young riders shine in recent years, including Isaac del Toro, Albert Withen Philipsen, Oscar Onley, and Matthew Brennan.
1. Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike)
A pretty obvious inclusion, let’s be frank about it. The young Brit of Visma | Lease a Bike is still just 20-year-old and after experiencing an astounding 2025 season, the only way is up for one of the brightest talents within cycling.
Can he go on and begin his 2026 season with a stage race victory at the Santos Tour Down Under? It’s teetering on the edge of the realms of possibility, with the difficulty of the Willunga Hill climb on stage 4, which Brennan, in the previous edition, finished 55th on.
With several tremendous punchy performances in 2025 and blistering sprint speed, Brennan could realistically win three of the five stages at the 2026 Tour Down Under. And if he can climb the way he did at the Tour of Norway in spring 2025, where he was edged in a punchy finish by Maxim Van Gils before going on to win the GC, then overall contention is not out of the question.
2. Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
The Tour Down Under will be Luke Tuckwell’s first-ever WorldTour start in his neo-pro season, and it will come on home roads in Australia. In 2025, he finished second at the Giro Next Gen, just 12 seconds behind Jakob Omrzel. He also got his first taste of pro racing across several blocks of competition, lining up for a run of Spanish races early in the year and the Czech Tour in summer, where he placed 17th on GC.
Tuckwell will most likely ride in support of the Kiwi, Finn Fisher-Black, but he could still find himself with a chance or two, especially if Fisher-Black runs into trouble.
3. Pavel Novák (Movistar)
Pavel Novák is another rider with a big future ahead of him. The 21-year-old Czech moves to Movistar for the 2026 season from MBH Bank Ballan CSB after a strong 2025 campaign, highlighted by a stage win and a GC podium at the Giro Next Gen. He also impressed at the Tour de Hongrie, most notably on stage 3, where he finished fourth after an 11 km climb.
Movistar made a real mark at the 2025 Tour Down Under, taking a stage and narrowly missing out on the overall with Javier Romo. Could Novák slot into a similar role, ready to take advantage if the peloton switches off approaching the finale?
4. Sente Sentjens (Alpecin-Premier Tech)
Continuing the theme of WorldTour debut seasons, the 20-year-old Belgian Sente Sentjens, son of former pro Roy, is a rider held in high regard in Belgian cycling circles. He is expected to feature in the sprint finishes at the 2026 Tour Down Under, thanks to a sharp kick that suits both pure sprints and punchy finales.
In 2025, Sentjens placed sixth in a strong sprint field at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, a stage won by Jonathan Milan. It would be no surprise to see him land similar results on a few stages in 2026 with the well-drilled Alpecin-Premier Tech setup.
5. Haimar Etxeberria (Red Bull-Bora- Hansgrohe)
Etxeberria is, along with Tuckwell, another 2026 signing for Red Bull, joining from Equipo Kern Pharma. His profile fits the 2026 Tour Down Under parcours well, with plenty of short, sharp climbs, but the key question is whether he will be given the freedom to ride for his own results. The 22-year-old from Irún in the Basque Country already has a UCI win to his name, taking victory at the Vuelta a Castilla y León ahead of multiple Vuelta stage winner Jesús Herrada.
Etxeberria could be a genuine wildcard on the final stage around Stirling, which serves up a real kicker’s circuit after an accumulation of climbing across the 169 km route.
