The riders congregate on the stage 6 start line in Adelaide(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Richie Porte punches the air following his stage win on Willunga Hill but couldn't find the two seconds he needed to claim overall victory(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Cadel Evans shows off his custom BMC for his final appearance at the Tour Down Under(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Lorrenzo Manzin had a painful introduction into WorldTour racing, hitting the deck hard on stage 4(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Alexey Tsatevich lost a load of skin in the stage 3 finish pile up(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Cadel Evans shadows race leader Rohan Dennis on the morning of stage 4(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Rohan Dennis checks his phone after holding on to his overall lead on the queen stage up Willunga Hill(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Cadel Evans trying to ride away from Tom Dumoulin up Willunga Hill(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Watching bike racing Australian style(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
For riders such as Marcel Kittel the ride up Willunga Hill is rather enjoyable(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Rohan Dennis crosses the line atop Willunga Hill to hold onto the ochre jersey(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Rohan Dennis shares a hug with BMC boss Andy Rihs(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Wouter Wippert's stage 6 victory meant the wildcard teams won three of the six stages on offer to upset the WorldTour teams(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
The final day Adelaide city circuit dishes up fast and furious racing(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
UniSA enjoyed a second stage win as Steele von Hoff proved to be the quickest man in the stage 4 sprint finish(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Cadel Evans (BMC) and Richie Porte (Team Sky) up against each other on stage 3(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Stage 3 victory in Paracombe was Rohan Dennis' first WorldTour win, setting up overall race victory (Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Cadel Evans cut a serious figure on the start of stage 1(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Riding for the wildcard UniSA team, Jack Bobridge pulled of an upset victory as he won the sprint from the breakaway on stage 1(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Jack Bobridge was rewarded for his stage 1 victory with the first leader's jersey of 2015(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Domenico Pozzovivo was the first rider to use SRAM's eTap in the WorldTour peloton, debuting the wireless shifting on stage 1 of the race(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
The Tour Down Under was Heinrich Haussler's first race as the Australian national champion(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
As the first race leader of the 2015 race, Jack Bobridge enjoys a cuddle with a joey(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
There was plenty of support for Cadel Evans in his last ever stage race of his career(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Greg LeMond's joey time is interrupted by an interviewer(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
David de la Cruz waiting for the stage start in the Etixx-QuickStep team van as is custom at the Tour Down Under(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
An appropriate victory celebration from JJ Lobato considering Movistar is a Spanish mobile phone operator(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Greg LeMond was a guest of the race in 2015 and was clearly enjoying his time down under(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
The start of the 2016 WorldTour season gets underway in just three weeks time with the first stage of the Tour Down Under taking place on January 19. The six-stage Australian race is preceded by the Sunday evening Down Under Classic criterium with racing starting in earnest on Tuesday with the 130.8km stage from Prospect to Lyndoch.
2015 champion Rohan Dennis (BMC) will be aided by Richie Porte in his defence but faces stiff competition for overall victory from the likes of Geraint Thomas and Sergio Henao (Team Sky), Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale) and Ryder Hesjedal (Trek-Segafredo) with several teams still to announce their riders for the race.
Before the 2016 edition of the race gets underway, Cyclingnews has put together a selection of Tim de Waele photographs from the 2015 Tour Down Under. From Jack Bobridge's opening day upset stage win with the UniSA wildcard team to Wouter Wippert's final day sprint victory, with photos of joeys, crashes, the South Australian landscape and much, much more in between, click or swipe through the gallery above.
For our Tour Down Under race page with all the latest news, features and tech articles that we will continue to update over the next 21 days, click here
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