The Santos Tour Down Under is the most important bike race in Australia and the primary race at the 2019 guys’s WorldTour calendar. It’s had a bit of a shake-up this 12 months with the queen level moving to the very last day which have to make for stimulating racing till the very quit.
Read on for our preview of the 2019 guys’s Tour Down Under, such as a observe the route, the degrees that remember, and the riders you ought to hold an eye fixed on.
THE COURSE
The men’s racing at the Tour Down Under starts offevolved on Sunday with the Down Under Classic, a one-hour criterium in East Adelaide. This race isn’t part of the TDU proper — it doesn’t depend towards the general category — but it’s miles raced by means of the equal riders with a view to experience in the most important event. The Classic is a high-quality hazard to look which riders are in shape for the real aspect, particularly the sprinters.
There’s a ‘relaxation day’ on the Monday, after which the six-degree TDU begins on Tuesday.
Stage 1: North Adelaide to Port Adelaide (132.4km) – A lumpy degree out via the Adelaide Hills however one that have to lead to a group dash.
Stage 2: Norwood to Angaston (149km) – A fairly trustworthy day that ends inside the Barossa Valley. There’s a mild upward push to the line over the last kilometre however it ought to nonetheless be a group dash.
Stage three: Lobethal to Uraidla (146.2km) – Another lumpy day within the Adelaide Hills that particularly accommodates six-and-a-half of laps of a tricky circuit around Uraidla. More than 3,300m of mountaineering for the day!
Stage 4: Unley to Campbelltown (129.2km) – Includes some climbs here and there but this stage is all approximately the pinchy Corkscrew Road (2.5km at 9%) which peaks five.7km from the end. It’s all downhill to the road.
Stage 5: Glenelg to Strathalbyn (149.5km) – Features the early climb of Sellicks Hill but need to lead to a bunch sprint.
Stage 6: McLaren Vale to Willunga Hill (151.5km) – The conventional queen stage of the TDU, moved from level 5 to the final day of racing. The level consists of ascents of the now-well-known climb (3km at 7%) and finishes on the pinnacle of the second one.
DECIDING THE GC
When it comes to tiers with a view to affect the GC, there are clear standouts: degree 4 (thanks to Corkscrew Road) and level 6 (Willunga). The climbs are a comparable length, but the finishes are very extraordinary.
The finish to Stage four is up and over the pinnacle of Corkscrew Road, that means you could’t just be exact uphill — you want to descend well, and in all likelihood have a fast finish. A solo winner on this stage is a opportunity (see Cadel Evans’ win in 2014), so too is a small organization coming to the line .
