Mat Hayman's view

On paper, this looks like a fairly flat stage, and once again the sprinters' teams will want to control the race. The GC teams will be keeping out of trouble and will be waiting for the next few stages. The sprinters' lead-out trains will be putting all their winter-work into practice, and it could be that one of the more well-oiled machines from the previous years come out on top, simply because they're used to working with each other.

The heat, as throughout the race, is going to be a factor. The southern hemisphere riders will be used to it, and they might have spent most of the off-season in those conditions, whereas some of the Europeans – although they might have been in Australia for some time – might never like it or get used to it. At the end of the day, you're either good in the heat or you're not.