Tour Down Under race director Mike Turtur wants to pick his successor after his 22nd and last race in charge next year

Tour Down Under race director Mike Turtur says his decision to stand down from the top job next year has been coming for some time and he hopes to be involved in helping choose his successor.

Mike Turtur has confirmed that 2020 will be his final Tour Down Under as race director after 22 years in charge. Picture: Kelly Barnes (AAP).

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Tour Down Under race director Mike Turtur says his decision to stand down from the top job next year has been coming for some time and he hopes to be involved in helping choose his successor.

As revealed exclusively by The Advertiser on Monday, Turtur will oversee one more edition of the race he started in 1999, and step aside after 22 TDU’s in January, 2020.

“This is something I didn’t just think about last week,” said Turtur, who turns 61 this year.

“This has been in my mind for a number of years now, it doesn’t matter what walk of life you’re in or what work you do, there comes a time when you’ve got to decide what the next step is going to be, and for me I’ve been thinking about it for some time.

“I think the time is right, the race is at a level that I never in my wildest dreams thought it would, so I think by moving on and leaving it in good shape, it’s the right time.

“There’s been a lot of speculation and questions for many months about the future, and in a way I’m happy that everyone knows what the situation is and we’ll proceed on and do the best we can.”

The 1984 Olympic gold medallist is expected to be involved in a carefully orchestrated handover period to whoever takes the top job.

“The decision about transition and other elements of the race’s future will need to be decided by Events South Australia, I’ll hopefully be part of that future, but the ultimate decision will be (for them),” Turtur said.

“If I can assist in a transition and be part of that, make sure the race is in good hands moving forward, I’ll be happy with that.”

Turtur hopes to be involved in the process of choosing his successor at the TDU as he plans to hand over the reins. Picture: Kelly Barnes (AAP).

e suggested he may return to the velodrome where he got his start as a promoter following the success of The Advertiser Track Down Under this month.

“The track event really gave me a good buzz because it was where I started, it’s my passion and the years I spent at the SuperDrome promoting track cycling was a good grounding as an event organiser,” Turtur said.

“The Track Down Under gave me a buzz, I got a lot out of it and it’s certainly something our company will look at moving forward.”

News of Turtur’s decision to stand down next year drew praise from two-time champion Daryl Impey.

“I’ve done seven TDU’s and every year is better and better. His (Turtur) attention to detail, always making an interesting course, the way he interacts with the riders as well is much appreciated,” Impey said.

“We come here every year, we’re well looked after, so thanks to Mike for putting on a great race and looking after cycling the way he does in Australia.

“He’s definitely left a legacy here for a lot of people to follow.”

But for now Turtur will get to work on next year’s race almost immediately with plans to make the 22nd edition bigger and better.

“We’ve got some ideas, but next month we will get expressions of interest from councils and once we have those we start to formulate starts and finishes, and try to fill the in-between,” he said.

“We’ll do some work in the next months and about July we’ll announce the course.

“We’ve got a couple of things (up our sleeve), we’ve got to talk to a few people and decide if they’ll fit with the race, be beneficial or of interest, but one proposal would be a nice addition to the race and we’ll see what happens.”

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