Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal)(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
The IAM Cycling Scott bikes await the riders(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Cadel Evans studies the race manual to plan the training ride(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
The BMC team pose for a photo together with team leader Cadel Evans(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Dario Cataldo is making his debut with Astana in Australia(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Heinrich Haussler (IAM Cycling)(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
A huge marquee hosts the Tour Village, where fans can see the riders and team staff before and after each stage (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
The countdown to the 2015 Tour Down Under has begun, with most of the riders and teams already in Adelaide, preparing and acclimatizing before Sunday's People's Choice Classic criterium. The six-day Tour Down Under starts on Tuesday January 20.
All 17 WorldTour teams will ride the Tour Down Under plus the UniSA-Australian team that includes Steele von Hoff and Jack Bobridge. With 2014 winner Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) absent after breaking his collarbone, the race for overall victory appears to be wide open this year.
Cadel Evans (BMC) will end his career in Australia and Pete Stetina, Rohan Dennis and Campbell Flakemore are part of the strong line-up that hopes to help win the Tour Down Under. Richie Porte leads the Team Sky squad that includes Geraint Thomas and British national champion Pete Kennaugh.
After winning the Australia national title on Sunday, Heinrich Haussler joined up with his IAM Cycling teammates in Adelaide and showed off his green and gold jersey during on a training ride, while Ryder Hesjedal and Moreno Moser showed off the new green and black Cannondale-Garmin colours.
Marcel Kittel leads the Giant-Alpecin team and is the favourite for the sprint finishes. The German arrived in Adelaide at the weekend and spent a few hours on the beach to recover from his jet lag before doing some serious training on Tuesday.
Watch the Cyclingnews video of the top five ridesr to watch out for the Tour Down Under and click here to subscribe to the Cyclingnews video channel.
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
