The Adelaide Hills will again be the scene of some tough, but stunning racing as the peloton heads through the historic tourist towns of Lobethal and Hahndorf before the finish at Strathalbyn.
Rabobank's Graeme Brown says:
It's a nice hard start to the race going through the Gorge. Any Australian has probably ridden through the Gorge about a billion times. Stuart O'Grady's bike just rides through there by itself. Checker Hill is hard and it's quite steep, although it's less than a kilometre. It's hard to go up the hill – the road is dead straight but it's all about being in the right position with two kilometres to go because you turn onto a smaller road. It's more of a Belgian Classics style of ride.
If you're at the front it's a piece of cake. If there's one lesson I've learnt for this stage it's not to ride on Lance Armstrong's wheel like I did last year because you get hit by hands all the time going ‘There he is! There he is!'...
It will be a bunch sprint again but it will hurt. Sprinters that don't have top form or don't climb quite as well are going to struggle because it's just up and down all day.
Map
Image ©: Santos Tour Down Under
-
Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec: Julian Alaphilippe storms to hard-fought solo victory with late-race attack on breakaway
Frenchman secures first victory in the colours of Tudor Pro Cycling ahead of chasers Pavel Sivakov and Alberto Bettiol -
'We'll play it defensively' - Vuelta a España leader Jonas Vingegaard prefers conservative approach as stage 20 mountain showdown looms
Race leader snatches back four seconds on rivals in intermediate sprint on stage 19 -
Vuelta a España stage 19: Jasper Philipsen claims third stage win
Jonas Vingegaard gains four seconds in intermediate sprint bonus -
'It'll be a GC day'- a year on, Eddie Dunbar plays down chances of repeating 2024 Vuelta a España summit finish win at La Bola del Mundo
Irishman's form gradually picking up after a difficult summer
