Held each year in January during the Santos Tour Down Under since its inception in 1999, the Santos Best Dressed Town competition continued as part of the Santos Tour Down Under!
The competition is a great way for South Australian communities to get involved and be a part of the excitement of the event.
Open to all towns, schools, businesses and households along the race route on all stages, efforts do not go unnoticed by the professional cycling teams who love the support and the atmosphere as they ride through regional and metropolitan South Australia.
2024 OVERALL WINNERS
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Santos Best Dressed Town
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Santos Best Dressed Private Property
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Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community Property
MIDDLETON
The overall Gold winner of the Santos Best Dressed Town is Middleton! Middleton went all out to get the community engaged to watch the TDU go through their town. The town had a blue, orange and yellow theme that was visually effective and created an exciting atmosphere. They organised a free community event, allowing locals to enjoy the race, with live music and sausage sizzle. The town showcased creatively painted bikes shaped like surfboards with TDU signage, and lampposts were adorned with custom TDU signs. Bunting was displayed throughout the streets, adding to the inclusive community effort.
SILVER: Lobethal
The overall Silver winner of the Santos Best Dressed Town is Lobethal! The main street of Lobethal was bursting with colour and excitement with the whole community getting involved to decorate businesses and properties. The town got creative and lined the streets with flowers made of foam, tassels, pom-poms and bunting. With a blue and white theme, matching the Santos branding, there were re-purposed old bikes and bike wheels painted along the streets.
BRONZE: Christies Beach
The overall Bronze winner of the Santos Best Dressed Town is Christies Beach! The Christies Beach Business & Tourism Association orchestrated a community art project, crafting 80 surfboards from MDF and engaging multiple residents and businesses to paint them. These vibrant boards adorned lamp posts throughout the town, accompanied by 31 flags representing the countries of the riders. Bunting enhanced the town, and local apartment residents were given start flags to contribute to the lively atmosphere. In a commitment to sustainability, the town avoided balloon use, offering a recycling collection point for balloons and cable ties used by residents and businesses. This collective effort, set against the picturesque coastline, created a truly enchanting atmosphere.
2024 Daily Winners
Friday 12th January
Santos Best Dressed Town winner was Hahndorf. The town was bursting with Santos Tour Down Under colours and branding. Hahndorf had sustainable practices in place by organising a recycling collection for all the balloons used to decorate. The whole community got involved and showed community spirit, and it was a fantastic start to the Women's race.
Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community Property winner is Roots and Reasons, Hahndorf.
Roots & Reasons in Hahndorf had an incredible display ready to welcome riders into Hahndorf. The display was bursting with the Santos Tour Down Under colours and matched the overall town's decorations. Additionally, they organised the sustainable initiatives for the whole town with the balloon collection post event. They property had stunning blue and orange flowers on each table matching the theme and had seats available for people to enjoy a perfect view of the race.
Santos Best Dressed Private Property winner was Amy Gannon in Lobethal.
Amy had a wonderful display with a giant Koala dressed up in Australian colours, bike decorations along the front fence and a bustling display of colour and fun, welcoming the TDU cyclists to Lobethal.
Saturday 13th January
Santos Best Dressed Town winner is Echunga. The Community Association decorated the town by repurposing old CDs and attaching them to bicycles. The town had colourful bunting, flags, orange decorated trees, and bikes lining the streets throughout the town, welcoming the riders into Echunga with the TDU colours! The Community Association came together to bring excitement and spirit.
Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community Property winner is Stirling Community Shop. The shop was decorated with bunting and TDU colours, as well as a wonderful window display featuring bikes, flags, bike paintings, cycling jerseys and other cycling themed products. The store added vibrancy and colour to the town, contributing to the exciting atmosphere to the finish of the Women’s Stage 2 race.
Santos Best Dressed Private Property winner was Trevor Barker, Echunga. Trevor had a bike display out the front of his property, with bikes he collected from the junk yards. The bikes will be given away after the Santos Tour Down Under to anyone in the community who is in need of a bike. A fantastic way to welcome the TDU to Echunga with zero waste.
Sunday 14th January
The Daily Winner of the Santos Best Dressed Town was McLaren Vale. The McLaren Vale Business and Tourism association encouraged the whole community to get involved in the TDU with their “Decorate a Bike” initiative, inviting locals to place decorated bikes along the main road of McLaren Vale! They even had a town organised competition for the best bike. Additionally, the town displayed a huge spray-painted McLaren Vale logo, which was visible from an arial view, promoting the region to a domestic and international audience! A fantastic way to welcome the TDU into the region!
Coromandel Valley Primary School are the daily Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community property! The school went above and beyond with their creativity. They had a display of interactive wheels with bells attached, ready to cheer on the riders as they came past. They created A “CORO” sign in the TDU colours, made from pieces of wood and bike wheels! They also had a box full of sunglasses, medals, hats, bells and other Santos branded items for spectators to use while they watched the platoon go by. All items were donated by the school community from previous TDU events. The OSCH community also got involved in the schools’ decorations, with pictures of kangaroos riding bikes coloured in by the children lining the ramp railing!
The daily winner of the Santos Best Dressed Private Property was Stefan Hornlund in Aldinga Beach! Stefan had an impressive display from his balcony, welcoming the TDU to Aldinga Beach! Stefan made a large bike out of wood, had Australian flags on display and had handmade Santos signage. Stafan has been a part of the Santos Best Dressed Town competition for many years and will re-use his decorations to ensure no waste!
Tuesday 16th January
The Santos Best Dressed Town daily winner is Tanunda!
Tanunda had the whole town decorated with TDU bunting and colour lining the streets, a wonderful welcome to the first day of the Men’s race. Businesses along the street had dressed up the town with balloons and tassels in blue and orange which assisted in building the excitement.
The Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community Property daily winner is Homburg Real Estate!
Homburg Real Estate went above and beyond to welcome the riders into the Barossa, with an impressive display of blue and white balloons decorating the business, matching their Santos bunting, as well as scarecrows dressed in blue Santos hats and riding jerseys. They had painted bikes rigged outside of the building and had a brand new mural painted down the side of the business, showcasing the beautiful Barossa region, providing a wonderful background for spectators of the TDU to take photographs in front of.
Wednesday 17th January
The Daily Winner of the Santos Best Dressed Town is Lobethal!
The entire main street of Lobethal was bursting with colour and excitement for the finish of the efex Men’s Stage 2! The whole community was involved, with businesses and properties along the street joining in. As well as colourful businesses, the town got creative and lined the streets with flowers made of foam, tassels, pom-poms and bunting. The town had a blue and white theme, matching the Santos branding. Additionally, there were re-purposed old bikes and bike wheels painted white along the streets too.
The daily winner of the Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community Property is The Lobethal CFS Op Shop!
The shop decorated the front of their business with bunting, paper flowers and flowers made from old milk bottles! They had a bike decorated with flowers and Santos bunting rigged to the front of the store with a huge colourful bike made from wood on the edge of the street. Stuffed animals adorned the bike to welcome the riders into Lobethal.
The daily winner of the Santos Best Dressed Private Property is Rylan Peel and Gus Dykshoorn!
Rylan and Gus were given permission to dress up the local rotunda in Lobethal! They used balloons and streamers with the TDU colours attached to the roof of the rotunda, as well as on the surrounding garden. They had bikes on display out the front of the rotunda and on the roof and tied it all together with Santos bunting.
Thursday 18th January
The daily winner of the Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community Property is The Tea Tree Gully Heritage Museum!
The museum volunteers went to a tremendous effort to decorate the front and back of the property. In the front, they had many bikes decorated in all the colours of the rainbow. Bike wheels and seats were attached to their fence and balcony, plus bikes decorated on the roof. The volunteers set up Santos TDU bunting out the front of the property, as well as across the road in the park and the rotunda! Out the back, there were 2 giant bikes laid out on the grass that could be seen by the helicopter broadcast, one made out of wood and pool noodles and the other one was made with pool noodles and spray paint on the grass! What an excellent way to celebrate the efex Men’s Stage 3!
The daily winner of the Santos Best Dressed Private Property is Carol Bain from Williamstown!
Carol and her grandson decorated the front of their property with green and gold streamers. They also decorated bicycles with different coloured streamers and had them displayed out of the front of the property. They were excited and ready to welcome the TDU to Williamstown!
Friday 19th January
The Daily Winner of the Santos Best Dressed Town is Middleton!
Throughout the town there were painted bikes displayed with signage in the shape of surfboards promoting TDU and Middleton! They also created their own TDU signage for the lampposts, had bunting displayed throughout the town and had a free community event on so the local community could watch the race go past, while listening to a live band and enjoying a free sausage sizzle! A wonderful way for the whole community got involved!
The daily winner of the Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community Property is Artworx Gallery & Gifts!
The Gallery commissioned a local artist to paint bike themed artwork which was on display in their window! They had cycling jerseys on display in the window and had different shapes hand painted in the TDU colours out the front, as well as a hand painted bike, and animal sculptures dressed up in orange. They also had a bike displayed on the roof and a sign that can be picked up on the broadcast! Such a creative way to welcome the Tour Down Under into Goolwa.
Saturday 20th January
The Daily Winner of the Santos Best Dressed Town is Christies Beach!
Christies Beach Business & Tourism Association arranged for 80 surfboards to be cut out of MDF and painted by the community. 34 members of the community and 21 businesses painted the boards that were placed around the town on the lamp posts. The town also displayed all 31 flags of the various countries that the riders represent. The town was decorated in wonderful bunting and the town gave local residents in apartments along the start flags to display to brighten up the town. A group of 7 volunteers set up all the town's decorations the day before. Additionally, to be conscious of the environment, the town made an effort not to use any balloons and went above and beyond by arranging a recycling collection point for any balloons and cable ties used by private residents and businesses. All of this across the beautiful coastline back drop created a wonderful atmosphere for the start of Men’s Stage 5.
The daily winner of the Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community Property is Office & Image!
The business had bikes set up out the front and on the roof made of pool noodles, bunting displayed, and a custom TDU window mural installed. They had set up games for the local community out the front, including a game of ‘snap’ using the cyclist’s team jerseys, a game of toss, where you can try to throw a ball into each region that Stage 5 race travels through, and a game of connect 4! Office & Image really added to the atmosphere for the finish of Men’s Stage 5.
The Santos Best Dressed Private Property is Ryan Smith in Willunga!
Ryan and their family and friends decorated their front fence with sunflowers hand made using old bike wheels, old coat hangers and scraps of fabric. Additionally, they had a huge painted crown displayed for the ‘King of Willunga Hill’ and had dummies dressed up in cycling jerseys. Ryan and his family assisted the whole town to dress up, including setting up bikes and flowers along the race route. What a wonderful display!
Sunday 21st January
The Daily Winner of the Santos Best Dressed Town is Echunga!
The Community Association decorated the town by repurposing old CDs and attaching them to bicycles. The town had colourful bunting, flags, orange decorated trees, and bikes lining the streets throughout the town, welcoming the riders into Echunga with the TDU colours! The Community Association came together to bring excitement and spirit.
The daily winner of the Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community Property is Farm Gate Services Farm Shop!
Farm Gate Services Farm Shop is the daily Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community property! The store decorated the front of the business with blue and orange streamers, matching the TDU colours! They dressed up their garden sculptures and had Santos bunting displayed, as well as a bike set up out the front! They also had a giant Lego man painted in TDU colours, ready to cheer the riders on as the pass Echunga!
The Santos Best Dressed Private Property is Trevor Barker in Echunga!
Trevor had a bike display out the front of his property, with bikes he collected from the junk yards. The bikes will be given away after the Santos Tour Down Under to anyone in the community who is in need of a bike. A fantastic way to welcome the TDU to Echunga with zero waste.
Competition Details
- Santos Best Dressed Town
- Santos Best Dressed Private Property
- Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community Property
- Best Dressed Town - Community involvement, innovation, appearance, environmental initiatives and the use of Santos Tour Down Under in your display.
- Best Dressed Private Property & Commercial or Community Property - Innovation, appearance, environmental initiatives and the use of Santos Tour Down Under in your display.
- Community Involvement: How involved is the community? Is the whole community being pro-active and contributing to the event? Do visitors (and judges) feel welcomed into the community? Is the community radiating with energy and excitement?
- Appearance: How much effort was placed into the preparation of the decorations, festivities and activities? Is the nominee exploding with colour and visual impact?
- Innovation: Have any creative measures been used in the planning, preparation and installation of the decorative efforts and local activities? Does the venue have any planned activations for the race?
- Santos Inclusion: How well has the nominee included Santos Tour Down Under in their design?
- Environmental Initiatives: How well has the nominee used environmental initiatives in their design? What initiatives have been undertaken to reduce the environmental impact?
The Santos Best Dressed Town Competition will award overall winners for each category, including gold, silver and bronze Best Dressed Town winners for the event. There will also be a daily winner for each category at every stage.
DAILY WINNERS
Santos Best Dressed Town:
Framed certificate and $500.
Santos Best Dressed Private Property:
Framed certificate and gift pack.
Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community Property:
Framed certificate and gift pack.
OVERALL WINNERS
Santos Best Dressed Town - Gold:
Signed framed jersey, $5,500 worth of furniture from Spark's standard range, 2 x metal signs signifying win, $3000 to be spent on a community improvement project or resources of the nominee’s choice, as well as the town added to the perpetual winner’s trophy with 11 months display rights.
Santos Best Dressed Town - Silver:
Signed framed jersey, $1500 to be spent on a community improvement project or resources of the nominee’s choice.
Santos Best Dressed Town - Bronze:
Signed framed jersey, $750 to be spent on a community improvement project or resources of the nominee’s choice.
Santos Best Dressed Private Property:
Framed certificate, gift pack and $1000.
Santos Best Dressed Commercial or Community Property:
Framed certificate, gift pack and $1000.
SANTOS BEST DRESSED COMMERCIAL AND COMMUNITY PROPERTY NOMINEES
1918 Bistro & Grill
Amberlight Motorcycle Cafe
Artworx Gallery & Gifts
Australia Opal Company
Barossa Birthstones
Barossa Regional Gallery
Barossa Visitor Centre
Bleasdale Vineyards
Brolly Toasties
Carto Graphics
CFS Opportunity Shop Lobethal
Coromandel Valley Primary School
Decor Dreams
Dodd and Page
Elliot & Me
Emma and Ivy - Lobethal
Flowerworx
Goolwa Primary School Out of School Hours Care
Goolwa Secondary College
Greenock Post Office
Hahndorf CFS
Homburg Real Estate
Jelly: The General Store
Lobethal Bierhaus
Lobethal Hair Studio
Mist
Oasis Gardens Restaurant and Function Centre
Office & Image
Roots & Reasons
SA Homes & Acreage Property Specialists
Stepping Stone Early Development Centre - Tanunda
Stirling Community Shop
Surf and Sun Middleton
Talunga Estate Cafe/Restaurant/Winery
Tea Tree Gully Heritage Museum
The Alexandrina Business Hub
The Bargain Barn
The Clothing Palette Hahndorf
The Crafers Hotel
The Greenman Inn
The Grill Goolwa
The Gully Public House & Garden
The Lobethal Bakery
The Picky Parrot Barber
The SandBAR
Third Space Float & Wellness Studio
Uraidla Hotel
Vigna Bottin Cellar Door and Osteria
Williamstown LPO
SANTOS BEST DRESSED TOWN NOMINEES
Christie’s Beach
Clarendon
Echunga
Hahndorf
Goolwa
Greenock
Kangarilla
Lobethal
McLaren Vale
Middleton
Port Elliot
Tanunda
Willunga
Woodside