The 2026 Tour Down Under came to a close this Sunday with a demanding fifth stage around Stirling. A tough sprint ultimately decided the win, with Matthew Brennan taking victory, while Tom Donnenwirth—like the day before—managed to enter the top 15, this time finishing 14th. Two Australian races remain on the schedule for the Groupama-FDJ United cycling team next week.
With nearly 170 kilometers on the menu, the peloton tackled the longest stage of the Tour Down Under this Sunday as the race finale. The circuit around Stirling also featured 3,000 meters of elevation gain on demanding terrain, where a proper bunch sprint didn’t look like the most likely outcome. Many riders were keen to take the initiative from the gun; Enzo Paleni was once again very active, but it was ultimately without the rider from Picardy that a four-man breakaway went clear after about twenty kilometres. “The peloton let them have three minutes, then started to control,” reported Jussi Veikkanen. “Halfway through the race, there was a big crash caused by a kangaroo. We weren’t involved, but several guys went down, including the overall leader Jay Vine. The race then gradually settled back into its rhythm, the sprinters’ teams took control and reeled in the break at the start of the final lap.”
“We’re not going to jump to conclusions” — Jussi Veikkanen
With twenty kilometres to go, the race was shaken up again as four other riders attacked, including Jefferson Cepeda and Santiago Buitrago. “They put on a real show but were caught with 800 metres to go,” added Jussi Veikkanen. By then, the peloton had been reduced to around fifty riders due to the relentless pace on the uphill sections of the final. “Both Lewis and Tom could go for it today,” Jussi explained. “Lewis was dropped at the bottom of the final ramp, 6–7 kilometres from the finish, so he wasn’t there at the end. Tom tried to follow the moves in the sprint, but he was just missing that little something to really stand out.” The French puncher eventually took 14th place on the day, his second consecutive top-15 finish. The stage win went to Matthew Brennan, while Jay Vine secured the overall victory. “We’re not going to jump to conclusions after this Tour Down Under,” Jussi concluded. “We weren’t at our best on stage two, and that obviously weighs on the overall assessment of the week, which is naturally mixed despite Lewis’s podium. Now we’ll recover and focus on next week—there’s a real opportunity starting Thursday.”
Before heading back to Europe, the peloton will line up for the Surf Coast Classic on Thursday, followed by the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race on Sunday.
