Road cycling fans will be aware that the first big UCI road tour of the year, the Tour Down Under was held last week 15-23rd of January.
The race now in its 14th year saw huge crowds turning out to cheer on their favourite riders in the Australian January summer. This season, the race featured a long awaited cat. 1 climb – in fact it featured two, on the Menglers Hillstages (stage 4) and Old Willunga Hill (Stage 5). Willunga Hill also features a mountain finish which was warmly welcomed.
The win was taken buy Austrailian rider Simon Gerrans riding for newly formed, all Australian team, Green EDGE. Team owner Gerry Ryan branded the success as a “win for the people”.
Green Edge are off to a pretty strong season start and it will be interesting to see how they fare against some of the more established European teams on this year’s UCI pro tour – but the theme looks set to be more exciting racing.
Photos:adelaidenow.com
