A look ahead to the Tour Down Under with the stages, contenders, TV coverage and more. It’s billed as the hardest edition yet but this is a matter of degree, it’s still a fine race where time bonuses often shape the final result as much as any climb.
The new kits have been unveiled, the kangaroos have been cuddled and the criterium completed. Now it’s time to start the season proper. This year’s Tour Down Under route isn’t new but it is improved, the Corkscrew climb is back and the Willunga Hill stage on Sunday is the final moment of the race. Here’s a look at the route, contenders, TV timings, coverage and more.
The World Tour gets underway with the Tour Down Under. After the pre-race criterium and photo ops with local wildlife the race begins on Tuesday and this year’s route features the regular haunts as well as an intriguing finish to Uraidla just over the long climb to Norton Summit.
The season begins on Tuesday with the Tour Down Under. This is now an established race with habitual finish lines, known climbs and even ritualised photo ceremonies. Even picking the contenders feels familiar with a strong list of local contenders keen to profit from their summer of cycling.
Here’s a preview of the race with stage profiles, the contenders and pretenders for stages and the GC plus TV listings and finish times.
The 2016 World Tour begins with the Tour Down Under in Adelaide. This is now a familiar race with habitual finish lines and known climbs but who wins is anyone’s guess given the starting slot on the calendar.
Here’s a preview of the race with stage profiles, the contenders and pretenders for stages and the GC plus TV listings and finish times.
Rohan Dennis jumps clear on the climb to Paracombe to take the stage and the time bonus, putting him in the ochre jersey. It was a slender lead but enough to defend on Willunga Hill two days later.
The 2015 season has started with a tale of home advantage, an Aussie 1-2-3 on GC and local teams thriving.
There’s a race on. It’s becoming a cliché to say we should talk about the sport instead of scandal, races instead of revelations. So here it is, a proper World Tour race packed with big names, Australian sunshine and it’s all just a few days away.
Here’s a stage-by-stage preview, a look at the contenders, the jerseys as well as what time you can expect to watch the finish on TV.
Australian broadcaster SBS covers most of cycling in Australia with the rights to the Tour de France and plenty more, including the Cycling Central website.
In recent months there’s been a regular podcast offering comment and analysis from their staff. And tagged on to this is a quick mention of a new French radio show, Radio Vélo.
Gerrans wins Milan-Sanremo but the clip above is an illustration of the teamwork and success being enjoyed by all. Expletives are beeped out and at times the soundtrack is like Morse Code as riders and managers alike share the moment.
Sport often celebrates the “little guy” winning and Will Clarke’s win in Stage 2 of the Tour Down Under fits this script. I’m hesitant to label a rider like Clarke “little” because he’s an elite athlete – and tall too. So far his career has been a story of breakaways, in more ways than one.