Santos Tour Down Under 2019: Race director Mike Turtur relives his favourite Willunga Hill moments
It took 14 years for race director Mike Turtur to move the queen stage of the Santos Tour Down Under to the top of Willunga Hill and 21 for the biggest move of all — moving it to the final day. He relives his five favourite moments from the famous hill.
Tour Down Under
Don't miss out on the headlines from Tour Down Under. Followed categories will be added to My News.
It took 14 years for Mike Turtur to move the queen stage of the Santos Tour Down Under to the top of Willunga Hill and 21 for the biggest move of all — moving it to the final day.
For the first time in TDU history, the race will finish on top of the 3km climb on the final stage on Sunday afternoon, after Turtur decided to do away with the traditional city street circuit finale.
“The move to Willunga Hill has been phenomenally successful. There is nothing about the stage that you could say hasn’t worked, and moving it to the last day will compliment it again,” he said.
“I’ve been thinking about it for several years but it’s a consideration of everything else — tourism because people do the circuit race and finish at 3pm and get on a plane and go home, where as now it’s going to be a bit of a challenge coming from Willunga.
“Then there’s the little things like the merchandiser who has a ripper day at the rotunda on the final stage, so this is going to be new territory for him.
“There are all these little things that people don’t think about that have an impact on a lot of people.
“Logistically, to get back with riders and teams departing it’s going to be a challenge because instead of 10 minutes, it’s two hours.
“But the good outweighs the bad. The good is the final — you could come to me on the Sunday morning and not know who is going to win the bike race.
“Whereas you could previously come to me every Sunday even when two riders are equal on time and you’d know who would win. There was one second between (Daryl) Impey and (Richie) Porte and you knew Impey was going to win because GreenEDGE weren’t going to let anyone get any time on anyone.”
Turtur said feedback to the move had been overwhelmingly positive from riders and teams.
“With the Corkscrew stage, too, you get the double banger, but every team manager I’ve spoken to has said ‘Hat’s off, we love it’ because they’re old bike riders and they know what it will do to the race.
“When we leave McLaren Vale and go across to Willunga on that 6km stretch, there isn’t one vacant metre of real estate. Then Snapper Point is like a stage finish — there’s thousands of people there for the intermediate sprint.
“The crowds are respectful here; they don’t encroach on the road like they do in Europe and the police do an incredible job.”
To mark the first time the tour will finish on Willunga Hill, Turtur has nominated five of his favourite moments from the famous hill in 20 years of the race.
1 — Cadel Evans in the rainbow jersey
Cadel Evans made his first appearance at the Tour Down Under in four years in 2010 and he was in the world champion’s rainbow jersey.
And the Aussie didn’t disappoint, waging a huge battle with Luis Leon Sanchez, Alejandro Valverde, Luke Roberts and Peter Sagan in the climb.
Sanchez won the stage and Evans was third as it finished in the town of Willunga for the second-last time.
“It was phenomenal to have him in the world champion’s jersey and good on him because he realised the significance of it and the responsibility of having it as an Australian,” Tutur said.
2 — Race finishes on top for the first time
In 2012, after much negotiation with council and environmental groups, Turtur moved the stage to finish on top of the hill.
A giant grandstand was erected for corporates and a big screen for fans to watch the race unfold.
Valverde won the stage, pipping Simon Gerrans on the line.
However, Gerrans took the overall ochre jersey on a countback in a gripping finish.
“That was a big, big moment for the race and we had to investigate the possibilities not only with council but the location — it’s tight — like any mountaintop finish in Europe you don’t have room,” Turtur said.
“We wanted to do it for many years but there were environmental issues with native grasses and rightly so. They need to be protected from people trampling over them, so we had to barrier areas off so they would be protected.
“And council was a bit reluctant to move away from their traditional day and the way it was working in the township of Willunga. We met with council and they were not 100 per cent convinced that it was going to work. I said my opinion was it would work and was worth doing it once, and we haven’t looked back since.”
3 — Richie Porte in 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014
Take your pick of any of Porte’s five consecutive wins on the queen stage because all are memorable in their own way.
Last year, he again unleashed his trademark attack about 1km from home and won by eight seconds.
But Daryl Impey managed to do enough to keep the ochre jersey with just one second separating them.
Previously, Porte has had too much kick for the likes of Sergio Henao, Esteban Chaves, Diego Ulissi, Michael Woods, Jarlinson Pantano, Cadel Evans, Domenico Pozzovivo and Tom Dumoulin.
“What more can you say? He’s won on Willunga five times, and each time I’ve been on top of the hill, Turtur said. “It’s like someone kicking the winning goal in the grand final. There’s a huge roar from everyone watching the big screen.”.
4 — Alberto Contador returns
Contador won the Tour de France twice and Vuelta a Espana three times, but it was his stage win at Willunga in the 2005 Tour Down Under that he considers the most significant of his career.
Even last November, 13 years later, he still described it as “the most special victory of my entire career”.
The race didn’t finish on top of the hill but in the township, and Contador had just returned to cycling after suffering a stroke in 2004.
That day, he beat Luis Leon Sanchez and Allan Davis to the line and threw both arms in the air in celebration.
“I didn’t even know who he was but when he won the stage I asked Neil Stephens and he said Alberto had just had an issue with his brain, a major operation, and it was his first ride back,” Turtur said.
“And what’s happened subsequent to that has gone down in history.”
5 — Alejandro Valverde’s tears
The Tour Down Under was just as special for another Spanish cyclist, Alejandro Valverde, who returned from a two-year doping ban after being implicated in Operacion Puerto, to win an emotional stage on top of Willunga Hill in 2012.
Valverde might not have won the tour but he won the day by edging Gerrans on the line.
“He came over the finish and his staff embraced him and he was crying his eyes out,” Turtur said.
“The significance of what he’d been through and coming back, it meant a lot to him.
“I won’t forget that because of how emotional he was and that makes an organiser feel good, when they win a stage of your race and they are genuinely happy about it.”
Originally published as Santos Tour Down Under 2019: Race director Mike Turtur relives his favourite Willunga Hill moments
Ecuadorian conquers Willunga Hill to claim TDU honours
Ecuadorian Jhonatan Narváez has conquered Willunga Hill and will win the Tour Down Under after finishing second in the race last year.
Major update on hurt woman in horror TDU crowd crash
A New South Wales woman was taken to hospital in a serious condition following the horror crash on Saturday night.