Stage 1: Mawson Lakes - Angaston, 138km
January 18, 2011
The opening stage of the 13th Tour Down Under begins in Adelaide's northern suburbia, in Mawson Lakes before a journey into the region's migrant past.
The peloton will be in for a nasty surprise early on with the first King of the Mountain prize appearing at the 11.6 km mark at Black Top Road before a deceptively hilly ride north-east into the heart of South Australia's famous wine region, the Barossa Valley.
The pace will be on all day, and expect a breakaway to get away early but by the finish in Angaston, everyone will be back together.
Rabobank's Graeme Brown says:
It's quite tough terrain out there. The maps don't really give you any indication that it's up and down all day. If you looked at this on your first trip to Adelaide you'd think it's relatively straight forward and simple but it's pretty up and down and then you go through the finish line twice before the finish.
The breakaways will be gone before the tough Black Top Road climb, although it shouldn't be too much of a problem - it's only a 2.9 km's long.
When you ride the final three kilometres, you realise it's the complete opposite to what the profile says. It's about a 1500m of proper uphill. That makes for a pretty solid finish actually and it should be quite interesting to see.
Map
Image ©: Santos Tour Down Under
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Most Popular
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Lack of communication and bad timing create nightmare for former NCL riders
Riders say 'the delivery was cold' with a 2-minute Zoom call from league Monday to cancel season -
Anna Shackley forced to retire due to heart irregularities
'We are very sorry to see Anna's cycling career end like this' says sports manager Danny Stam -
'Riders like me are rare' - Alessandro De Marchi produces vintage breakaway win at 37
Italian veteran takes first win since Tre Valli Varesine 2021 -
FDJ-SUEZ could be a front-runner in the race to sign Tour de France winner Demi Vollering
'The rumours that link Demi Vollering with FDJ-SUEZ only confirm the viability of the team' says manager Stephen Delcourt