Will Mitchelton-Scott’s recent domination of the Tour Down Under fields continue in 2020?
Strong men’s and women’s TDU fields are out to end Mitchelton-Scott’s recent run of golden summers, writes Reece Homfray.
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One question hovers over this year’s Santos Tour Down Under more than anything else – who, if anyone, can end Mitchelton-Scott’s stranglehold on the title?
Not just the men’s with Daryl Impey – who last year became the first rider in the race’s 21-year history to win back-to-back titles and is now gunning for a third – but Amanda Spratt, who is taking aim at an unprecedented fourth straight women’s crown.
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Both are on the start line for the biggest cycling race in Australia, which marks the start of the WorldTour season and boasts fields that would rival any event in Europe.
And they will all be out to catch Impey and Spratt, who have delivered their Australian team a dream 1-2 punch the past few summers.
Impey, 35, last year proved the race remains one for the genuine all-rounders after he was able to tail superstar sprinter Peter Sagan to Uraidla, climb with Richie Porte over Willunga Hill and win a tricky stage finish to Campbelltown.
While he will be targeting a third straight ochre jersey, Porte will be eyeing an incredible seventh-straight victory on top of Willunga on the final day.
The field will feature both current world champions, with Porte’s Trek-Segafredo teammate, Mads Pedersen, of Denmark, the reigning road race champion and home-grown hero Rohan Dennis the current time trial world champ.
As always, Mitchelton-Scott will have options in its quest for the title, and this year brings Simon Yates to make his TDU debut and bolster the team.
Yates won the Vuelta a Espana in 2018 and is using the TDU as part of his preparations for an assault on the Giro d’Italia in May.
The sprint stages will be just as hotly contested, with Italian Olympic track champion Elia Viviani returning for the third consecutive year after winning a stage in 2018 and 2019.
He will go head-to-head with German Andre Greipel, who returns to the race a two-time champion after a year away from the WorldTour.
Australia’s sprint hopes will rest on the newly crowned Oppy Medal winner for Australian Cyclist of the Year, Caleb Ewan, who made a stunning Tour de France debut last year with three stage wins, four other podium finishes and second place in the points classification.
The course is again designed to test both the sprinters and the climbers, and provide plenty for
the spectators.
The opening night Schwalbe Classic will go through the heart of the CBD for the first time and past the tour village in Victoria Square.
Sprinters will have their eye on Stage 1 to Tanunda, Stage 4 to Murray Bridge and Stage 5 to Victor Harbor, while the climbers will relish a return to Paracombe on Stage 3, where Dennis sealed his overall victory in 2015, Stirling on Stage 2 and of course the finish on top of Old Willunga Hill on Stage 6.
As race director Mike Turtur bows out of the hot seat after 22 editions and his replacement Stuart O’Grady ushers in a new era, so many questions remain unanswered – but will be answered on the road this week.