The Tour Down Under 2019 commences today with Stage 1 of the Women's Tour: Hahndorf to Birdwood. The circuit takes riders through the picturesque Adelaide Hills and includes the following towns along the way:
- Verdun
- Balhannah
- Oakbank
- Woodside
- Lobethal (twice)
- Gumeracha (twice)–sprints
- Forreston (twice)–Queen of the Mountain (QOM) climb (6%)
- Mt Pleasant
- Mt Torrens
- Charleston–QOM climb (7%)
It is disappointing that the coverage does not begin until Sunday 13 January 2019 to coincide with the preview to the men's racing ("Down Under Classic" 7:00 pm. local time), totally ignoring the first 3 stages of the Women's TDU (WTDU). Stage 4 of the women's race is earlier on the same Sunday (2:30 p.m., local time).
I'm told by Tour Down Under that there will be daily highlight videos provided on its social channels from tonight. I see some have been posted on the Tour Down Under Youtube channel.
For those of you hoping to catch a glimpse of today's landscape, this circuit will not be repeated in the men's race but some of these towns will be included in the following stages of the men's Tour Down Under:
- Stage 2 (16 Jan): Norwood to Angaston includes Gumeracha, Birdwood and
Mt Pleasant. - Stage 3 (17 Jan): Lobethal to Uraidla includes Lobethal and Charleston.
- Stage 4 (18 Jan): Unley to Campbelltown includes Hahndorf, Woodside and Lobethal.
Tour Down Under 2018
Stage 5: McLaren Vale to Willunga
Stage 5: McLaren Vale to Willunga
20 January 2018
(continued from Part 1)
(continued from Part 1)
Pre-race formalities include signing on for the day but don't be late–no signature, no racing!
This is an opportunity for fans to see the riders at a slower pace.
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| # 122 Antoine Duchesne (Canada, FDJ*) |
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| #32 Adam Hansen (Australia, LTS*) |
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| #162 Lukasz Wisniowski (Poland, SKY*) |
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| #54 Lachlan Morton (Australia, DDD*) |
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| #7 Rohan Dennis (Australia, BMC) is from Adelaide. There were six Adelaide 'locals' in the 2018 tour: #5 Miles Scotson (BMC), #23 Alex Edmondson & #26 Damien Howson (MTS), #184 Tim Roe & #187 Alexander Porter (AUS). |
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| #13 Sam Bennett (Ireland, BOH*) |
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| #141 Elia Viviani (Italy, QST*), named as one of the riders to watch in 2019. |
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| #41 Rui Faria Da Costa (Portugal, UAD*) |
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| Who sports the King of the Mountain (KOM) spotted jersey while seeking shade amongst the support vehicles? |
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| Every rider is either signed in or accounted for–retirements are crossed out. Almost ready to race! |
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| Last drinks before the starter's gun. |
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| #172 Fumiyuki Beppu (Japan, TFS*) |
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| Tension builds as riders take their starting positions. |
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| Ready … set … go! |
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| The riders make several passes through McLaren Vale on the way to Aldinga Beach and Willunga Hill. |
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| Whether a rider or spectator, Mclaren Vale is a lovely place to get a break-away! (Did you see what I did there?) |
I can't believe it took a whole year to share these, but now that's done, I can start again with this year's race!
The weather is going to be extremely hot which will limit my ability to go out. This is the forecast from 11 January 2019:
Fri: 39°C (102°F)
Sat: 32°C (90°F)
Sun: 35°C (95°F)
Mon: 40°C (104°F)
Tue: 41°C (106°F)
Wed: 41°C
What's the climate like where you live?
What are your strategies for coping with weather extremes?
It will be a bittersweet tour this year after Paul Sherwen's passing in December. He and his best mate, co-commentator Phil Liggett were fixtures of the Tour Down Under. "We were joined at the hip," Phil Liggett says. The pair enjoyed the wining and dining culture of South Australia while here and they charmed everyone they met. It won't be the same race without their banter and expertise.
Phil Liggett "felt long and hard as to whether to continue broadcasting" without Paul Sherwen this year but Phil Liggett has arrived in Adelaide and I'm sure his cycling family will rally around him. There is a lot of love for them both in this town.
Hear Paul and Phil in the video highlights of the 2018 Stage 5 McLaren Vale to Willunga.
Do you have fond memories of Paul Sherwen?
Your thoughts are most welcome via the comment box below or by email at jodiebodiecrochets@gmail.com
R.I.P.
Paul Sherwen
* Team codes listed at the end of the previous post.
Links & Related Posts on Lupey Loops
Australian Associated Press (AAP), "For Liggett, the cycling show must go on", SBS News, 10 January 2018: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/for-liggett-the-cycling-show-must-go-on
Bacon, Ellis, "5 riders to watch at the 2019 Tour Down Under", Cycling News, 9 January 2019: http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/5-riders-to-watch-at-the-2019-tour-down-under/
Cycling Central, "Our Heart is Breaking: Paul Sherwen dies aged 62", Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), 3 December 2018: https://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/article/2018/12/03/our-heart-breaking-paul-sherwen-dies-aged-62
Lupey Loops, "Tour Down Under 2018 Photos (Part 1)", 9 January 2019: https://lupeyloops.blogspot.com/2019/01/tour-down-under-2018-photos-part-1.html
See this previous blog entry for more cycling links.
Lupey Loops, "International Visitors", 8 January 2019: https://lupeyloops.blogspot.com/2019/01/international-visitors.html
Tour Down Under: http://tourdownunder.com.au/
- Broadcast & Coverage Guide: http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/watch/tv-and-streaming/broadcast-guide?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=broadcast
- Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/tourdownunder/videos
Find highlight videos on the Youtube channel.
Tour Down Under 2018 Stage 5 McLaren Vale to Willunga:
- "Stage 5 preview | Santos Tour Down Under", [Youtube video], 19 January 2018: https://youtu.be/AkTUa2WVlso?list=PLDNADzJjCMtXhhMg-bxPx5Sh4YXHZeSr9
- "Highlights | Stage 5 | Santos Tour Down Under" [Youtube video], 19 January 2018: https://youtu.be/ZmWeb5aDcAM?list=PLDNADzJjCMtXhhMg-bxPx5Sh4YXHZeSr9
- "Riders at the start line | Stage 5 | Santos Tour Down Under", [Youtube video], 19 January 2018: https://youtu.be/wzP78QhpGcI?list=PLDNADzJjCMtXhhMg-bxPx5Sh4YXHZeSr9
- "Fan Cam | Stage 5 | Santos Tour Down Under", [Youtube video], 19 January 2018: https://youtu.be/93GbnBtUeSk?list=PLDNADzJjCMtXhhMg-bxPx5Sh4YXHZeSr9
Extremes for this little Island off the West coast of Scotland generally means storms with high winds, the cancellation of Ferries and power cuts. We cope with this by staying in by the stove and always having a healthy store cupboard.
ReplyDeleteNew technology that allows people to work from home is a wonderful help too. Do you need to 'batten down the hatches' and make special preparations when the weather comes in, or is your home always ready?
DeleteThe hot weather forces a change in the daily routine - getting up early and going to bed later because all the physical jobs get done in the cooler hours around dawn and when the sun has gone down. It makes for long days and afternoon siestas because it gets too hot to do anything much.
What a shame that the women riders aren't getting the same attention and coverage. They wouldn't be out there if they weren't excellent athletes in their own right. We are in the winter months here where it is usually much colder inside the house than outside because of concrete walls, no heat, no insulation. I'm freezing all the time and sleeping with many layers of blankets on me and very thick socks.
ReplyDeleteOoh Tammy! It's not nice to feel the cold. It seems like your dwellings are designed for the summer heat and not the winter cold. That's how it is here. We don't have fancy underfloor heating or central heating. In some homes, walls are thin and double-glazing is rare. Many of our older homes have very thick stone walls which keeps the heat out for a while but once the heat gets in (such as after a week of temperatures over 37 degrees Celsius / 98 deg Fahrenheit) it takes forever to cool down like an oven!
DeleteIt's awful to feel the cold. It doesn't take long to get cold but takes ages to warm up. You have my sympathy (and some extra socks if I knew where to send them!). Maybe I can send you some foot warmers - little sachets that you can put in your slippers, similar to pocket warmers.
Re: women's bike race - it's getting bigger all the time and the standard is rising. More riders, bigger crowds. The only reason it didn't get more interest in the past was the lack of publicity. How can people go if they don't know it's on?
Some say that the women's racing was more exciting than the men's last year.
Leuk. Maar wel warm! It is a sort of tour de France :-)
ReplyDeleteJa, het is net als de Tour de France maar kortere. Het is de eerste van UCI Grand Tour wedstrijden in elke jaar. (Is 'wedstrijden de correct woord - Engels 'race' or 'competition'?).
ReplyDeleteHet is ook heel warm. Vandag 44-45C op straat en 42-43C thuis. Bedankt voor aircon.
Other towns in South Australia reached 45-52C today (Pt Augusta, Renmark, Tarcoola).
It was still around 30C at midnight in Adelaide tonight. Dus ik slaap niet! In plaats daarvan bloglezen. ;-)
I've been watching so much of the Australian Open and the Tour Down Under. Now wonder January went by so quickly.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
We watched the tennis on the television. Both the women's and men's finals were fabulous. All four players deserve to win. They are all remarkable. We were in awe of the speed and precision of Djokovic and Nadal's first set. So fast! I'm a fan of Dylan Alcott who won the wheelchair tennis - he is such a cool dude. I like the way he goes about things.
Delete