All aboard for Tasmanian tour

The Tour of Tasmania will start aboard a ship in 2009, with the 655 kilometre race commencing from inside the Spirit of Tasmania. The ship is designed to cross the Bass Straight, the body of ocean separating mainland Australia from the state of Tasmania.

The Tour of Tasmania will embrace a record number of 10 municipalities in 2009. Tour Director John Craven said today the course was the toughest in the tour’s history.

“It won’t be a race for the faint-hearted,” he said. “Tasmania is poised to embark on a feast of top-flight international cycling.”

The 655km tour is expected to be contested by about 120 riders from all Australian states, New Zealand, England and the USA. The race will commence from inside the cargo hold on while docked at Devonport’s Mersey River on Wednesday, September 29.

The tour will pass through the municipalities of Devonport, Kentish, Meander Valley, Burnie, Circular Head, Central Coast, Launceston, West Tamar, George Town and Dorset before finishing with a closed circuit criterium at the Village Green in Westbury on Sunday, October 4.

The tour will be held two days after the inaugural Tas Gas 210km Launceston to New Norfolk Classic.