Tour Downunder approaching

[rustychisel]

Starts Sunday 19 Jan.

here's some weather forecasts in the week leading up...
http://www.dbmagazine.com.au/cyclo/weeksweather.jpg

[chengher87]

Race season can't get started fast enough......

[Louis]

PK: Adelaide (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPbcC-F2Z0U)

[firerescuefin]

Race season can't get started fast enough......

Should be a great year. OPQS signed Renshaw and Petacchi for Cav's lead out train. Those guys w/Steegmans should be pretty tough.

The Classics as always are going to be awesome…Would be great to see Sagan, Boonen, Hushvold, and Cancellara all healthy going into Flanders and Roubaix…
And, I'm hoping young Phinney starts to deliver results there as well.

A. Schleck is targeting the Ardennes classics and hopes to be on song for the TdF. I may not like his persona, but I'd love to see another legit animator.

Contador had his @ss handed to him in the tour last year. Hopefully he comes in guns a-blazin and is able to take it to Froome…or at least make it interesting. Will also be interesting to see in Quintana was a flash in the pan, or a guy that will be wearing people out for the foreseeable future.

And Mr. Cookson is leading the charge. Happy with everything I've heard from him so far.

Anyhow Chengher…couldn't agree more. Should be fun.

[chengher87]

Should be a great year. OPQS signed Renshaw and Petacchi for Cav's lead out train. Those guys w/Steegmans should be pretty tough.

The Classics as always are going to be awesome…Would be great to see Sagan, Boonen, Hushvold, and Cancellara all healthy going into Flanders and Roubaix…
And, I'm hoping young Phinney starts to deliver results there as well.

A. Schleck is targeting the Ardennes classics and hopes to be on song for the TdF. I may not like his persona, but I'd love to see another legit animator.

Contador had his @ss handed to him in the tour last year. Hopefully he comes in guns a-blazin and is able to take it to Froome…or at least make it interesting. Will also be interesting to see in Quintana was a flash in the pan, or a guy that will be wearing people out for the foreseeable future.

And Mr. Cookson is leading the charge. Happy with everything I've heard from him so far.

Anyhow Chengher…couldn't agree more. Should be fun.

Too true. For once, I actually can't wait for the Tour (it's my least favorite grand tour). They've finally given more balance to the Tour route (I mean in the past there literally was a week of sprints) with more..I guess they are calling them hill stages now and putting them in earlier. Which I thought lit up the tour in 2013. And a lot of good young riders that can do GC damage (Betancur, Talansky, Atapuma, Uran, Costa) and motivated veterans (Schlecks, Contador, Valverde) that are looking for redemption. And then of course, if Wiggo and Froome are both at the Tour, there is a huge potential of drama there.

The classics should be good too. Sagan with a little more experience, Gilbert without the burden of the rainbow jersey. Heck, Schleck did win LBL with an audacious solo attack, so maybe racing the Ardennes might get him back on track, although he might be in a better place with Frank back.

But Spartacus vs Tommeke on the cobbles should be most entertaining.

[dekindy]

TrainerRoad's 2nd annual Tour of Sufferlandria starts January 25th!:banana:

[Admiral Ackbar]

ice never fancied the TDO but I'm very interested to see how Sagan performs in the classics after his performances in the past 2 seasons, i would LOVE to see Hushovd do well too (its that nordic blood in me) but it seems like he's been off form in the past seasons. can't say I'm a Fabu fan but he is spectacular, always rooting for Boonen as well.

[rustychisel]

ice never fancied the TDO but I'm very interested to see how Sagan performs in the classics after his performances in the past 2 seasons, i would LOVE to see Hushovd do well too (its that nordic blood in me) but it seems like he's been off form in the past seasons. can't say I'm a Fabu fan but he is spectacular, always rooting for Boonen as well.


It's a lot like the Tour of Cali in many ways, a smaller race off the main calendar, and it's not to the taste of many, being neither a long stage race nor particularly hard. But those who deride it are missing the point, and are usually those who have never attended. Trust me, if you see Geraint Thomas or Peter Sagan going full gas up The Corkscrew you understand they're not just having a leisurely training ride.

As an indicator of form and a chance to see new teams etc, it's great. Being in January is hot enough and brutal enough to make it worthwhile, and for us, of course, it gives a wonderful focus on cycling for just a short time.

I will say, for those who don't live where this sort of event is a possibility, the benefits and recognition for cycling are mostly positive and far outweigh any negatives. Sure, for a few weeks car drivers seem especially careful, then things seem to slip backward a bit, for a few weeks everyone knows the teams are in town, but like the amateur ride associated with the TDU, these things are all positives.

With numbers, mass, and public awareness comes strength. The uptake in cycling; the fact that I can now confidently tell a bad driver "I might have been your brother/uncle/cousin/son" is a wonderful thing to see, and be part of.

[Admiral Ackbar]

i understand the challenges involved with an early season stage race in the scorching southern hemisphere, and I'm sure its an interesting race for some, but it just does not appeal to me, as i only really enjoy single day races. to each their own