Image 1 of 40 Say cheese. Esteban Chaves gets his photo taken with a chilled looking koala (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 2 of 40 Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 3 of 40 Simon Gerrans (Orica-Scott) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 4 of 40 Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 5 of 40 Team Dimension Data at the TDU (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 6 of 40 Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 7 of 40 Geraint Thomas (Sky) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 8 of 40 Sven Erik Bystrøm and Jhonatan Restrepo (Katusha-Alpecin) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 9 of 40 Jack Bauer (Quick-Step Floors (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 10 of 40 Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 11 of 40 Lachlan Morton debuts with Dimension Data at Tour Down Under (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 12 of 40 Matti Breschel (Astana) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 13 of 40 Lorenzo Manzin (FDJ) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 14 of 40 Robert Gesink (LottoNl-Jumbo) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 15 of 40 Ben Swift (UAE Abu Dhabi) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 16 of 40 Louis Meintjes (UAE Abu Dhabi) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 17 of 40 Jarlinson Pantano (Trek-Segafredo) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 18 of 40 Nathan Earle (UniSA) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 19 of 40 Mark Renshaw (Dimension Data) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 20 of 40 Martin Velits (Quick-Step Floors (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 21 of 40 Aboriginal performers at the TDU team presentation (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 22 of 40 Janez Brajkovic (Bahrain-Merida) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 23 of 40 Koen de Kort and Trek Segafredo hospitality manager Nathalie Desmarets with a snake (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 24 of 40 Robert Gesink takes a selfie with a koala (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 25 of 40 Robert Gesink (LottoNL-Jumbo) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 26 of 40 Gianluca Brambilla and Eros Capecchi share the kangaroo love (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 27 of 40 Niccolo Bonifazio shows off his new friend (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 28 of 40 A snake gets a feel for the Bahrain-Merida's bike for the 2017 season (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 29 of 40 Francois Bidard (AG2R-La Mondiale) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 30 of 40 Koen Bouwman (LottoNL-Jumbo) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 31 of 40 Enric Mas and Petr Vokoc cradle some baby kangaroos (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 32 of 40 Esteban Chaves will race in Australia for the first time (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 33 of 40 Diego Ulissi and Marco Marcato (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 34 of 40 Yukia Arashiro is happy to see this koala (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 35 of 40 Danny van Poppel takes his turn with the baby kangaroo (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 36 of 40 Owain Doull (Team Sky) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 37 of 40 Enric Mas (Quick-Step Floors) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 38 of 40 Petr Vakoc stands next to a koala (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 39 of 40 Lotto-Soudal's James Shaw with a baby kangaroo (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 40 of 40 Amael Moinard with a koala (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) The Tour Down Under has become synonymous with pictures of riders and some of the local Australian wildlife.
With the start of the race just a few days away, the riders congregated in In Victoria Square/Tarndanyangga to be introduced to the crowds and a team of snakes, koalas and baby kangaroos at the team presentation.
On Sunday, the riders will get their first opportunity to test their racing legs in the People’s Choice Classic with the main event beginning on Tuesday. Local hopes will be on riders such as Richie Porte (BMC Racing) and Simon Gerrans (Orica-Scott). Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) is also seen as a potential contender, even if his big ambitions lie later in the season.
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