Tour Down Under organisers cast fresh doubt over whether race will go ahead in January
Tour Down Under organisers announced in August that the event would go ahead next January, but now they aren’t so sure.
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Tour Down Under organisers have cast fresh doubt over whether January’s race will go ahead with a decision expected within a week.
The State Government declared in August that the race would happen in some format in 2021 despite the Covid-19 pandemic, however its UCI WorldTour status hung in the balance.
But with Wednesday marking 78 days to the women’s race starting on January 14 followed by the men’s WorldTour race on January 19, contingency plans are being put in place.
Covid has already killed off the women’s Australian Open golf tournament which was to be played at Kooyonga.
“The Santos Tour Down Under is an important event for South Australia and it’s for that reason that we are ensuring we take as much time as necessary to consider fully whether it’s possible to deliver a safe and successful (event) for South Australia, our event partners, the UCI and the teams,” Events SA executive director Hitaf Rasheed said in a statement.
“There are a lot of moving parts in making a decision like this. There are many stakeholders, and we have been working closely with them to ensure we arrive at the best possible outcome for all concerned.
“(It) signifies the start of our South Australian summer and festival season and it delivers millions of dollars to our local economy, drives significant media coverage and gives South Australian’s a sense of pride and happiness.
“Its importance is why we have worked so hard to consider if and how this event can be successfully delivered.
“We have also been considering alternate scenarios if we are unable to deliver the Santos Tour Down Under with UCI men’s and women’s races in January, including how to present cycling in some format in South Australia in January.
“We expect to be in a position to announce our decision within the next week.”
It’s understood one of those alternate scenarios is top-level rider appearances leading an events-based festival of cycling rather than a race itself.
Last month Ms Rasheed said the TDU planned on speaking with the Armaury Sports Organisation - owners of the Tour de France - about how they successfully staged their race in the middle of a global pandemic.
The major sticking point for international teams is whether they will have to quarantine for two weeks on arrival which they say is not feasible.
Teams are open to other possibilities including a softer quarantine where they would only be allowed to leave their hotel for training for two weeks before the race providing they test negative to the virus.
But it’s understood one of the biggest hurdles for organisers to overcome is devising adequate crowd control with hundreds of thousands of spectators lining the roads every year.
The new-look race may also spell the end of interaction between riders and fans at the stage starts which has become a popular part of the TDU for recreational cyclists.
The global pandemic forced all three of cycling’s Grand Tours into the second half of this year with Australians Richie Porte and Jai Hindley both finishing on the podium at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, and the Vuelta a Espana due to finish on November 8.
The TDU is the jewel in the state’s sporting and tourism crown, having injected upwards of $63m into the state’s economy each of the past three years. This year’s event lured over 44,000 visitors from interstate and overseas who filled hotels, bars and restaurants for two weeks.
New men’s race director Stuart O’Grady and women’s boss Kimberley Conte have designed the race routes but they have not been made public.
reece.homfray@news.com.au
