Tour Down Under champions Jhonatan Narvaez and Noemi Ruegg will be back to defend their titles at the season-opening UCI World Tour race, officials said Friday, heading a stellar field that also boasts Tour de France queen stage winner Ben O'Connor.
Ecuador's Narvaez (UAE Team Emirates) won a heart-pumping climb up Willunga Hill to help claim the Ochre Jersey in Adelaide in 2025 ahead of Spain's Javier Romo (Movistar Team).
Switzerland's Ruegg took out the women's race from Dutch rider Silke Smulders.
UAE Team Emirates are boosted by 2023 winner Jay Vine, with the Australian coming off a stellar season that saw him clinch the mountains classification at the Vuelta a Espana for the second year in a row.
They are joined by British star Adam Yates, who is a Grand Tour stage winner and champion at the Tour de Suisse, Tour of Romandie and Volta a Catalunya.
The men's field for the five-stage race from January 21 to 25 will feature 140 riders from all 18 UCI WorldTeams as well as Swiss ProSeries team Tudor Pro Cycling -– owned by retired great Fabian Cancellara.
Team Jayco AlUla's hopes for the Ochre Jersey rest with O'Connor, who produced a world-class climb at stage 18 of the Tour de France last year over three Alpine mountains.
He is joined by road captain Luke Durbridge, Grand Tour stage winner Luke Plapp and Paris Olympic team pursuit gold medallist Kelland O'Brien.
Australian sprint star Sam Welsford, who has won six Tour Down Under stages in the past two years, will make his debut with new team INEOS Grenadiers.
The strongest-ever women's field includes 90 riders who for the first time represent all 14 UCI WorldTeams.
Ruegg is returning alongside newly crowned world champion and EF Education-Oatly teammate Magdeleine Vallieres, while Lidl Trek's roster includes three-time Tour Down Under winner Amanda Spratt.
The three-stage women's race runs January 17-19.
"We are thrilled with the quality of the field for both men's and women's races at this year's Tour Down Under," said race director Stuart O'Grady.
"The strength of this year's field reflects the increased level of difficulty of the courses with longer stages and more climbs."