Tour Down Under

Tour Down Under

2012 Tour Down Under
The Tour Down Under peloton in Victor Harbor, January 2004.
Race details
Date	January
Region	South Australia
English name	Tour Down Under
Discipline	Road
Competition	UCI World Tour
Type	Stage race
Race director	Mike Turtur
History
First edition	1999 (1999)
Editions	14 (as of 2012)
First winner	Stuart O'Grady (AUS)
Most wins	Stuart O'Grady (AUS) André Greipel (GER) Simon Gerrans (AUS) (all 2 wins)
Most recent	Simon Gerrans (AUS)

The Tour Down Under is a cycling race in Adelaide, South Australia and surrounding area. The race starts on the third Tuesday of January each year and attracts riders from across Australia and the world. In 2005, the Tour Down Under was promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale to the international rating of 2.HC, the largest and highest ranking outside Europe. In 2008 the Tour Down Under became the first UCI ProTour event outside Europe, and the following year it became the inaugural event of the UCI World Ranking calendar.

History

List of overall winners

		Rider	Team
1999	AUS !	O'Grady, StuartStuart O'Grady (AUS)	Crédit Agricole
2000	FRA !	Maignan, GillesGilles Maignan (FRA)	AG2R Prévoyance
2001	AUS !	O'Grady, StuartStuart O'Grady (AUS)	Crédit Agricole
2002	AUS !	Rogers, MichaelMichael Rogers (AUS)	Australian Institute of Sport
2003	ESP !	Astarloza, MikelMikel Astarloza (ESP)	AG2R Prévoyance
2004	AUS !	Jonker, PatrickPatrick Jonker (AUS)	UniSA
2005	ESP !	Sanchez, Luis LeonLuis León Sánchez (ESP)	Liberty Seguros-Würth
2006	AUS !	Gerrans, SimonSimon Gerrans (AUS)	AG2R Prévoyance
2007	SUI !	Elmiger, MartinMartin Elmiger (SUI)	AG2R Prévoyance
2008	GER !	Greipel, ANdreAndré Greipel (GER)	Team High Road
2009	AUS !	Davis, AllanAllan Davis (AUS)	Quick Step
2010	GER !	Greipel, AndreAndré Greipel (GER)	Team HTC-Columbia
2011	AUS !	Meyer, CameronCameron Meyer (AUS)	Garmin-Cervélo
2012	AUS !	Gerrans, SimonSimon Gerrans (AUS)	GreenEDGE

Tour directors

• 1999 to present: Mike Turtur.

Course

The Tour generally features stages surrounding Adelaide, which varies from flat to moderately undulating. There are no large mountains in the area, giving specialist climbers few opportunities to show their particular skills. One notable climb featured involves two laps of Willunga Hill, a 3 km climb at an average gradient of 7.6%. However, it is typical for most tour stages to finish as a bunch sprint. The Tour does not include a time trial, as is typical in early season races and to avoid imposing extra shipping costs on the international teams.

The conditions in South Australia in late January are often very hot. Daily maximum temperatures approaching or exceeding 40 °C (104 °F) are not uncommon.

Jerseys

Leaders of competitions within the race wear a distinctive jersey.

Current jerseys

• The Ochre jersey is awarded to the rider with the fastest cumulative time at the end of each stage and to the winner at the end. Ochre is associated with Australia and the Tour Down Under is unique in having it for the leader's jersey.
• The Sprint jersey is awarded to the rider with most points and time bonuses awarded to the first three riders across the line at points along the route and at the finish.
• The King of the Mountain jersey is awarded to the rider with most points awarded to the first five riders over climbs.
• The Young rider’s jersey is awarded to the leading rider under 23 at the end of each stage.
• The Most aggressive rider’s jersey is worn by the rider who instigated most attacks, breakaways or helped team-mates to best advantage during the stage.
• The Winning team jersey goes to the team with the lowest cumulative time by its four best riders on each of the six stages.

Be Active Tour

Participants in the 2005 Be Active Tour at Angaston

The Tour Down Under has a companion event, the Be Active Tour. This is one of Australia's fastest growing recreational events, held over the route the professionals race later in the day. The inaugural event in 2003 was known as the Breakaway Tour and attracted more than 600 riders. In 2004 riders increased to 1,400 and the event was known on as the Be Active Tour. The 2005 tour saw more than 1,900 riders leave Salisbury, Williamstown and Angaston in 30 °C (86 °F) to tackle the hills and roads of stage 2. In 2006, riders rode 154 km from Strathalbyn to Yankalilla in temperatures in excess of 40 °C (104 °F). The heat took its toll on riders and a heat policy now exists.

In 2007 the name changed again to Mutual Community Challenge Tour and it was joined by the Mutual Community Fun Tour and Powerade mini-tour for children. The new events are to increase the popularity of the event and attract people who do not ride regularly. In 2010 there were over 8,000 participants.

Records

Australians Stuart O'Grady (1999 and 2001) and Simon Gerrans (2006 and 2012) as well as German sprinter André Greipel (2008 and 2010) are the only riders to have won the Tour Down Under twice.

In fact, there has never been a back-to-back winner, which means there has never been anyone capable to win the race two years in a row.

Women's Criterium Series

There used to be a women's criterium series of three street circuits. This was sponsored by UniSA and was generally held at the same place as the men's race, or at the end of the men's race.

For the 2011 edition there will be a two-race series called the Rendition Homes Santos Women’s Cup.

Traditions

One tradition of the Tour Down Under is that the fans choose an unknown rider and treat him the way they would a star, by mobbing him at hotels and painting his name on the road. The rider must be a non-english speaking domestique who most likely will not get a start at a major race and will simply act as a bottle carrier. For 2010 that rider was Arthur Vichot of Francaise Des Jeux. For 2011, the rider was Angel Madrazo of Team Movistar. For 2012, the rider is Wouter Mol of Vacansoleil-DCM.

See also

• Bicycling terminology

External links

• Tour Down Under