The pace in B grade was flat out from the start, Tour Down Under Report no working into a rhythm, just head down arse Back from my third Tour Down Under. I have up! What I found hard was the entire field promised Keith for the last two years that I basically sprinted the last 4km to the finish on would write an article but I have not got around each lap! I hung on for about four and half laps to the writing the promised articles. and I was dropped when as we hit the headwind along the beach on the last lap.Nick found the This year I have been determined to put finger to pace in A grade very high and hung on for 2 keyboard, so here are my observations of the laps. Tour Down Under event as well as some reports on the Australian Road Racing Champs and the I found the standard very similar to racing at Vets races held in conjunction with the TDU.I Eastern and the other competitors were very should add that I did not attend all the vets racing friendly and made us fell welcome. as I chose to ride to some of the stages to see the On a different note there was virtually no traffic big race, so it would be good if someone else control and we used all of the road, even could fill in the gaps on the vets events. weaving over double lines, all of this did not I have created a slideshow of the events which is seem to bother the motorists who were on the website. As usual it is in PDF. remarkably patient. 15 January 18 January TDU Stage 1 Arrived in Adelaide in time to watch the mens The main race started as usual with crit through Aust Road Race champs at Echunga. The race the east end of the city in the evening. The first course is to the south east of Adelaide in the and last stages of TDU are probably the hills, very nice area for riding. highlights for most people as they are held right in the middle of the city and everyone can get There was a big crowd in attendance lining the close to the action. Tip – if you are going next barriers in the main street of Echunga. The riders year make sure you get to the barriers early to had to complete 14 laps of the 13km course get a good position. (see images)The crowd was (182km). The course had a very nasty little climb estimated at over 70000 which made for a great just after the start/finish line, 9% gradient atmosphere. The elite women raced first then the (steepest part of Donna Buang climb is 8%). The main race started at 6:30. rest of the course was rolling terrain with a fast downhill to the finish line. The organisors changed the rules this year so that the riders could not ease off in the event of a If you look closely at some of the images you breakaway as their time in the crit counted in the will see guys like Stuart O’Grady climbing the GC. In previous years there had been hill in the big chainring – this is near the end of breakaways with some of the field being lapped. the race which I thought pretty amazing!About 5 laps into the race the field split and then split This year was very different with all the riders again after another few laps with a 4 man break having a big go and no one was allowed to get to made up of Cadel Evans, Rob McLachlan, Paul far in front. As was to be expected the master Crake and Robbie McEwen. In the end McEwen sprinter McEwen showed he was not tired from sprinted away to win by about 20m from winning the Aust RR and blasted to the front to McLachlan in second and Crake in third. win. With a high quality field of riders it was a great I have said it before but you really need to be race to watch and it was clearly a hard race for there to fully appreciate the speed of these guys, the riders as quite a few were lapped. to see 90 riders, bunched together, fly through the tight sections of the course is very 16 January impressive. On the Sunday morning before the TDU started 19 January TDU Stage 2 and Vets Crit Nick Panou and I raced with Outer Harbour vets at, not surprisingly, Outer Harbour!We were The vets crit race was held at Tanunda for the both moved up a grade, Nick to A and me to B. first time, I also think it was the first time TDU The club officials think the standard of vets had finished at Tanunda. racing is much higher in Vic!! From my previous experience of the The race was a points score race over 10 laps handicapping for the vets races I was not too with points awarded on laps 1, 3 and the last lap. confident before the start but I was proved The course was basically a rectangular shape wrong. Unlike previous years all the fields in with hardly any rises along the beach front with a each grade stayed together. I think the major “nice” strong headwind along one leg of the reason was the layout of the course which was a course. fair bit flatter but with more twists and turns. Also the handicappers may have “got the The look on the riders faces as they came in said message”. it all, it had been a very hard day out on a windy road.(see slideshow)The entire Quickstep team Take note those that think METEC is a little was seen after the finish riding back into technical and rough, I advise you go and see Adelaide. Apparently none of the Quickstep what it is really like on a technical and rough team riders had been in the main break and the course!!Unfortunately for me it was all to no Directeur Sportif thought it would be a good idea avail as I was dropped after two and a half laps to ride back to Adelaide for some additional in D grade, just did not have the legs on the day training!! (probably should not have raced on the Sunday before)Eastern had quite a few competitors 21 January TDU Stage 4 racing but I am not sure of their placings. Brian A large group of us met at the Hilton Hotel for McCann rode well in D grade finishing in sixth the ride down to Unley for the start of stage 4. place. The Hilton Hotel is where all the pro riders and After the vets racing we went out on the TDU teams stay for the duration of the event. course and followed the peleton catching up with Directly across the road is the TDU Village them in several different locations. To me this is where all the team bikes are serviced. At the end one of the highlights of the TDU, traveling to the of each stage the public can go and watch the different spots on the stages and catching the mechanics service all the bikes. It is well worth a peleton as they fly through. look. We made it back into Tanunda with just enough At 9 o’clock the pros “saddled up” and headed time to see McEwen take out the sprint finish. off followed by all the support vehicles (approx There is probably no one in the world at the 75) plus, seemingly from nowhere, several moment that could beat him in a sprint, he is hundred cyclists. It was fantastic riding through riding very strongly. the city in a huge procession. It was also a little The crowds this year were much bigger than last scary as police motorcycles, team cars and year and it was a little difficult to get near the camera carrying motorcycles tried to work their start/finish line, the organisors made comment way through hundreds of cyclists. that they had to extend the barriers to cope with We rode down to Unley (15mins) and stopped in the extra crowds. The extra people also meant we the starting area, again thousands of people had to park further out of town. lining the barriers. We headed for the nearest 20 January TDU Stage 3 coffee shop which is also what a lot of the pros did, it was great to mingle with some of the best I rode down to Glenelg to watch the start of road cyclists in the world. I have been told that Stage 3. Again thousands of people lined the this does not happen in Europe as the public and barriers to watch the riders sign in the roll off for the riders are separated, again I think this is what the race. makes the TDU such a great event. Drove down to Victor Harbour to see the race Right on 11 o’clock the pros rolled off followed but got caught up in the rolling road closures by all the support vehicles and of course which is another interesting aspect of the TDU. hundreds of recreational cyclists that had found a The police (there are about 20 motorcycle police way through the barriers onto the course. as well as police cars) close the roads a section at It was a little un-nerving to be riding along in a time as the peleton comes through.