It took place from 18 to 23 January in and around Adelaide, South Australia, and was the first race of the 2011 UCI World Tour.

[1] The Tour was preceded by the Cancer Council Classic race, on Sunday, 16 January, that consisted in a circuit of 30 laps around the Rymill Park in Adelaide's East End, totaling 51 kilometres (32 mi).

In the race's other classifications, overall winner Meyer also guaranteed himself the black jersey for the highest placed rider under the age of 26, and Goss took home the blue jersey for amassing the highest number of points during stages at intermediate sprints and stage finishes.

[6] Although he was not expected to be an overall contender, the 2011 Tour marks Lance Armstrong's last race outside the U.S. as a professional cyclist.

Unlike most other cycling events, there was no categorization of climbs as each awards the same points (16, 12, 8, 6, and 4) to the first five riders past the summit.

This jersey was not presented on the podiums daily, but it was awarded to the winning team at the end of the Tour.