Stage 4: Norwood - Strathalbyn, 124km
January 21, 2011
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.
As always on this route south, Checker Hill could provide an opportunity for a breakaway at the 27 km mark but this well-travelled route south is a testing one and there will be some tired legs at the end of the day.
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
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Most Popular
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
'Maybe I had the legs to come around' - Fisher-Black unsure of how UAE Tour finish could have played out but 'form is probably the best it's ever been'
'It was a bit annoying, I had nowhere to go really' - New Zealand rider's strong finish at Liwa Palace upgraded to second after Philipsen got relegated -
Cameron Scott turns back to track after WorldTour run cut short
Former Bahrain Victorious rider steps out with Australia's Team Pursuit squad at Oceania Championships, claims title -
'Everyone is pretty greedy to win' - Michal Kwiatkowski keeps Ineos Grenadiers on victory path at Clásica Jaén
Former World Champion takes first triumph in 18 months in one-day Classic -
'We were chasing the facts' - Wout van Aert switches to helper status at Clásica Jaén in tougher season start than expected
Belgian star finishes 39th in Spanish version of Strade Bianche after working for Ben Tulett