The stages, the stars, the burning questions and all you need to know about the Tour Down Under
EVERYTHING you need to know about South Australia’s biggest cycling race, the Tour Down Under.
THE STAGES
PEOPLE’S CHOICE CLASSIC
ADELAIDE EAST END 50.6KM
Sunday
Same course as last year with a slightly downhill sprint to the finish line on Wakefield St, it’s tailor made for the fast men. The GC contenders will be at the back and out of trouble but the likes of Caleb Ewan, Andre Greipel and Peter Sagan will be right at the front. It’s the first chance of the year WorldTour teams have to claim victory and it’s always hotly contested. Greipel and Ewan have won the race five times between them but this is the first time they’ve gone head-to-head here.
STAGE 1
PORT ADELAIDE TO LYNDOCH 145KM
Tuesday, January 16
The race returns to the Port for the first time since its inception in 1999 and heads to the Barossa where we can expect a bunch sprint. The KOM at Humbug Scrub comes early enough in the stage for the peloton to regroup and they will pass through Lyndoch four times including at the finish. Ewan won here last year but faces a tougher field this time with Elia Viviani making his debut with Quick-step Floors. Others looking to make their mark in Lyndoch will be Sagan, Greipel, Sam Bennett and wildcard Sam Welsford.
STAGE 2
UNLEY TO STIRLING 148.6km
Wednesday, January 17
After hosting a stage start last year, Stirling resumes its normal position in the TDU as a finish location where the four brutal laps of the undulating circuit present an opportunity for a breakaway or a punchy all-rounder. Simon Gerrans, Diego Ulissi and Michael Matthews have all won here in the past. Keep an eye on Jay McCarthy at Bora Hansgrohe if he gets the green light from Sagan to sprint for the win, Nathan Haas at Katusha-Alpecin and Simon Clarke at EF Education-First Drapac. But don’t discount a breakaway winning like we saw with Will Clarke when he was riding with UniSA-Australia. Should be an exciting stage.
STAGE 3
GLENELG TO VICTOR HARBOR 146.5KM
Thursday, January 18
Another road race this time heading south to Victor Harbor but finishing with three laps of a circuit which will be one for the pure sprinters. Caleb Ewan and Greipel have both won in Victor and will be keen to take the day’s honours but Sagan was second here last year so expect him to be around the mark again. Although it looks headed for a sprint finish, crosswinds from Myponga to the finish can be dangerous for GC contenders if there are splits in the bunch so expect the big teams to be at the front and controlling the tempo.
STAGE 4
NORWOOD TO URAIDLA 128.2KM
Friday, January 19
The most intriguing stage of this year’s Tour given Uraidla is set to host a finish for the first time in TDU history. It’s also an entirely new stage given the climb up Norton Summit comes just 8km from the finish meaning we will get fireworks. Norton Summit has been used on the race before but early in the stage meaning it didn’t pose a threat to those with ochre jersey ambitions. This time is different. Looks ideally suited to Nathan Haas, Jay McCarthy, Daryl Impey, Porte of course and Rui Costa if he’s fit. Depending on how hard they climb Norton, Sagan could be looming large as well.
STAGE 5
MCLAREN VALE TO OLD WILLUNGA HILL 151.5KM
Saturday, January 20
The queen stage of the TDU may very well decide the ochre jersey again. The big question outside of that is can Richie Porte win his fifth stage in a row? The past four years the entire peloton has known when he’s about to attack but has been powerless to stop him. There are several climbers who might challenge him this year led by the Izaguirre brothers at Bahrain-Merida, Damien Howson at Mitchelton-Scott, Chris Hamilton or Michael Storer at Sunweb or Ben O’Connor at Dimension Data. But all eyes will be on Porte.
STAGE 6
ADELAIDE STREET CIRCUIT 90KM
Sunday, January 21
A formality for whoever is in the ochre jersey providing they don’t crash but it’s game-on for the sprinters who get one final chance to crack the podium before the race is over. Ewan capped a week of domination by winning here last year and expect Sagan, Steele von Hoff, Viviani and Roberto Ferrari to all have a crack.
10 BURNING QUESTIONS
1. How do you beat BMC?
With great difficulty but it can be done. The biggest threats are likely to come from the likes of Nathan Haas, Jay McCarthy, Rui Costa, Lachlan Morton or the Izaguirre brothers. For someone like Haas who can also sprint, he will need to pick up bonus seconds early in the week then try to get away from Porte on the descent from Norton Summit to Uraidla on Friday. Then it’s simply a matter of hanging on on Old Willunga Hill and limiting the damage. Sounds easy in theory but it will take a mighty effort.
2. Is this Ewan’s biggest test?
Caleb Ewan dominated last year’s Tour with four stage wins and the People’s Choice Classic, even with Peter Sagan here. Sagan returns but so does Andre Greipel and Elia Viviani who can all seriously move and are proven winners. Mitchelton-Scott plans on taking Ewan to the Tour de France for the first time this year. Having won a stage at the Giro and Vuelta, the Tour is his next frontier and this is exactly the type of quality he’ll be up against in July.
3. Who is Mitchelton-Scott’s wildcard?
The Aussie WorldTour team says the ochre jersey is not a priority but that won’t stop them from letting their climbers loose over Norton Summit on Friday and Old Willunga Hill on Saturday. Cameron Meyer can climb, but has had a mainly track preparation, Damien Howson is a mountain goat and Daryl Impey can get over a hill if he has to. Howson is the one. He won the Herald Sun Tour last year, held the Norton Summit TT record for a while and knows the roads being an Adelaide boy.
4. What form is Peter Sagan in?
Sagan returns to the TDU for the second year in a row even better credentialed as the three-time reigning world champion. Last year he was competitive in Adelaide but with three second-placings behind Caleb Ewan just missed the top-step of the podium. Sagan of course has nothing to prove to anyone at the TDU but his team and sponsors would love to see a stage win. I think we’ll see it this week even with Greipel and Viviani in the field. But like last year Bora Hansgrohe also has two cards to play with Sam Bennett more than capable in a sprint finish.
5. Can Nathan Haas finally crack the podium?
Haas has all the attributes to challenge for the podium and even the ochre jersey, he just needs a bit of luck early in the week. He finished fourth overall last year and fifth in 2014, and has joined a new team Katusha-Alpecin for 2018 which will give him plenty of motivation. Is in good form with fifth in the time trial and road race at nationals last week, but must make his move early in the week Simon Gerrans-style and pinch bonus seconds before Porte goes berserk up Willunga.
6. Which young Aussies are the ones to watch?
UniSA-Australia is a renowned breeding ground for the next generation of WorldTour pros and keep an eye on track world champs Alex Porter and Sam Welsford in the bunch sprints. Then there’s a neo-pro like Michael Storer at Sunweb, second-year pros Chris Hamilton and Ben O’Connor who are no strangers to the TDU and new national champ Alex Edmondson. Brendan Canty also gets his first TDU start after missing last year through illness. All can make their presence felt this week.
7. Can Lachlan Morton climb with the best in the business?
A talented climber in his second year back in the big-time, Morton has the make-up to challenge the GC guys up Norton Summit and Willunga Hill, but is he ready? Last year he was 96th on the queen stage when many expected he may contend. Hit his straps later in the season with seventh overall at the Tour of California which may be the case again but don’t be surprised to see him test his legs next weekend.
8. Is there a surprise packet in waiting?
Tom Jelte-Slagter stunned the peloton when he won the ochre jersey in 2013 and he returns again this year with Dimension Data which appears to have several cards to play along with Lachlan Morton and Ben O’Connor. Then there’s Domenico Pozzovivo for Bahrain-Merida who has an eye on the Giro d’Italia podium in May and could have early-season form. EF Education First also has options with Brendan Canty and Simon Clarke capable of producing an upset and George Bennett at Lotto NL Jumbo is pretty handy on the climbs too.
9. Is this 15 and out for Mark Renshaw?
The veteran Australian lead-out man is preparing to ride the Tour Down Under for the 15th, and possibly last time, given he is out of contract with Dimension Data at the end of this season. The 35-year-old went to the Tour de France last year underdone after an ankle injury but finished the season strongly in Britain and Belgium. Again likely to link up with Mark Cavendish at the big races this season but fans in Adelaide might be wondering if this is the last time they see him racing the TDU this week in case retirement beckons.
10. What is the UniSA plan this week?
Hugely disappointing for the likes of Chris Harper to miss out on a start after an administrative bungle, particularly after his third place in the national championships last weekend. But Tim Roe can climb, Steele von Hoff has won here before and will have a good lead-out with Alex Porter and Sam Welsford, while Zak Dempster, Scott Bowden and Nathan Earle will be opportunists so don’t be surprised to see them in a breakaway.
BETTING
$2.75 Richie Porte (BMC)
$6 Jay McCarthy (Bora-Hansgrohe)
$10 Diego Ulissi (UAE Emirates)
$11 Peter Sagan (Bora Hansgrohe)
$13 Nathan Haas (Katusha-Alpecin), Simon Gerrans (BMC), Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana)
$15 Rohan Dennis (BMC)
$17 Pierre Latour (Ag2R-LaMondiale), Rui Costa (UAE Emirates)
TV
Channel Nine and GEM will show the last 3-4 hours of Stages 1-4 live and Stages 5 and 6 will be shown live in their entirety. The People’s Choice Classic will be replayed at 9.30pm on Sunday. The action will also be streamed live on 9Now.