"The first two stages should be pretty straight forward and should be settled in bunch sprints," Mitchelton-Scott's head sports director, Matt White, tells Cyclingnews. "That said, the weather will always influence the day at a race like the Tour Down Under. It's basically hot or really hot, but the strength of the wind will determine how stressful a day it will turn out to be.
"Stage 1 is very flat but has many kilometres of open and exposed roads, and that's where the heat and the wind will factor in. We have started in Port Adelaide many a time but never finished there so the run-in and circuits will be new for all. There are several small climbs and descents in the first half of the race, but the break should be quick to go, and expect a rider from the national team from UniSA to be in there for sure."
-
With no Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, Canyon-SRAM look to Zoe Bäckstedt and Chloé Dygert for Tour of Flanders success
Dygert and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig make their Spring debuts, while in-form Bäckstedt will hit the ground running -
'I can give others some pressure' – Why Lorena Wiebes could be the most influential rider on the Tour of Flanders start line
Dutch star will play second fiddle to Lotte Kopecky, but her presence on Sunday could be a joker card for SD Worx-Protime -
'I heard some rumours' – Tadej Pogačar says he wasn't too surprised by Remco Evenepoel making shock Tour of Flanders debut
World Champion welcomes added challenge from Belgian star as he chases record-equalling third win on Sunday -
Power files: Comparing Mathieu van der Poel's staggering E3 Saxo Classic data to THAT Amstel Gold win shows how far cycling has come in just 7 years
The differences are stark, proving just how much the Dutchman has improved
