Tour of Tasmania Preview - The Apple Isle Awaits for Round 2
The jewel of the ProVelo Super League calendar is almost upon us with the Tour of Tasmania starting this Thursday. Here’s what you need to know ahead of one of the hardest tours of the season.
The Course
Returning to the short and sharp zig-zag track in Launceston, the riders will get a good leg opener in town on Thursday evening before two brutal road stages and a fast criterium to end the much anticipated Tour of Tasmania.
Two of the most infamous climbs make a return with the riders facing Gunns Plains on Friday’s road stage, contending with two laps of the hilly circuit from Penguin, while Saturday sees the field head up to Poatina towards the Central Plateau.
It’s a tour for the climbers and many have been putting in the hard yards to prepare for the most mountainous tour of the season.
Men’s League
Conor Leahy (Team Brennan_) brings the League leaders jersey from round 1 in Adelaide, but he has his work cut out for him if the strong man from WA wants to hold onto it after Round 2. His teammate Levi Hone comes into Tasmania in red-hot form and the young climber from Echuca will no doubt want to make his mark.
Last year’s U23 road champion Julian Baudry (VIS p/b K.O.M.P) will have something to say about that. Making the PSL a clear focus for himself this season, Baudry will want to build off a strong showing in round 1. Others to keep an eye out for in the overall standings include Oliver Sims (COBRA9 X LEIGH SURVEYORS) and Leighton Cook (Falcons Pedal Mafia Racing) who put in stellar performances at the SA Kick it and find themselves on favoured terrain here.
For the stage hunters, CCACHE X BODYWRAP bring their stacked sprint squad and will be a tough team to beat. They'll be up against silver medallist in the U23 criterium championships Brayden Bloch, who has found a new home at Pinnacle Performance X Royal Bikes and will be looking to continue his early season momentum.
It would be remiss of me not to mention Cameron Ivory on the startlist who for many years had a lock on the zig-zag track time trial. Keep a close eye on the former XCO mountain bike national champion who will be sure to blast up the twisty track
Women’s League
Our SBS Women’s league leaders jersey is wide open for the taking as Odette Lynch (Butterfields Ziptrak Racing) sits out round 2. Sophia Sammons (Team Redcat) will no doubt be the favourite to pull the jersey on after Tassie, with her exceptional climbing ability sure to do some damage.
Meridian Bikebug bring yet another strong team with Hannah Gianatti on the startline, alongside two standout performers from the NZ national championships with the U23 Time Trial and Road Champions in Kirsty Watts and Ava Maddison respectively.
Neve Parslow (ARA Skip Capital) currently leads the U19 classification, and has shown herself to be an excellent climber and performer in the tough events. Coming in with a huge amount of momentum from her national championships in Perth, the U19 Road Race and Time Trial champion will be looking to show that she can match it with the best in the business.
We also get see Anna Dubier (nstrmo x Attaquer x CCACHE) back in the PSL after riding for the national team at the Tour Down Under. She'll be excited about her prospects in the criterium and we'll hopefully see a good battle against one of last years standout performers Keely Bennett who has some new colours with Butterfields Ziptrak Racing this season.
You can catch all the action of the 2026 ProVelo Super League season in-person, or enjoy expanded broadcast coverage live and on demand on SBS in Australia, Sky New Zealand in NZ with all broadcast stages live stream to the rest of the world on www.provelosuperleague.com and Facebook.
Angus Calder - Cycling Analyst
