The Santos Festival of Cycling in January 2022 will see top class riders such as Richie Porte, Rohan Dennis, and Grace Brown take on the four-day race.

Porte, in his second year, swapped his Ineos Grenadiers kit for Team Garmin Australia's and will race with Luke Plapp, who coached him to a WorldTour contract; Brown, 20, will race at Willunga Hill in the Australian summer of 2021, where Porte steering his teammate to his seventh victory, applauding his teammate's second-place finish, before signing with Ineos Grenadiers after a high-profile stint at the wheel of the

Brown, who will move from Team Bike Exchange to FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope in 2022, will also headline Team Garmin Australia and serve as a mentor in the event he first raced in 2017. [Santos Festival of Cycling men's race director Stuart O'Grady said in a statement, "The people of South Australia and the visiting cycling fans will not only see the best cyclists in Australia this year, but also the 2022 Santos Festival . will have the opportunity to watch a great selection of World Team riders who will bring together a strong peloton for the 2022 Santos Festival of Cycling," he said.

"Grace, Ritchie and Luke's inclusion in the Australian national team will be a great opportunity for Australia's next generation of champions (primarily first year riders under 19 and 23) to mix and learn with Australia's current stars.

Team Bike Exchange Jayco will also send a team to the 2022 event, with newcomers Ruby Roseman-Gannon, Georgia Baker, and Alexandra Manley in the women's race on January 23-26, and Luke Darbridge and Australian champion Cameron Meyer will compete in the men's race on January 26-29.

Dennis will be in the kit of his new team, Jumbo-Visma, along with Chris Harper.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to border closures, strict quarantine regulations, and the cancellation of international races, so for the second year, this event will replace the World Tour men's race and the 2. pro-ranked women's Tour Down Under. These restrictions are now being relaxed, but it is too late to change course.

There was speculation that the Tour Down Under and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race would be raced before or after the Road World Championships in Wollongong in September. However, the Victorian event rejected this option, confirming that the South Australian event is focused on a return to international racing in 2023.

"The Santos Tour Down Under will return in January 2023 and we look forward to welcoming UCI World Teams, media, cycling and sports fans from around the world and Australia to Adelaide and South Australia," said South Australia Tourism Tourism South Australia said.

The race will not have an international ranking in 2022, but will include many elements of a top-class event, such as allowing cycling fans to watch live race coverage and the terrain the course will cover.

"As the first race in the Southern Hemisphere and the first race on the National Road Series event calendar, the new challenges and dynamic stages added to the 2022 Santos Festival of Cycling program will undoubtedly will test the level of the World Tour riders," said women's race director Kimberly Conte.