Well, I’m back in Brisbane and it’s raining but the Adelaide sun is still shining. The Tour Down Under is over for another year but I can’t let it go without a final wrap up of Stage 6 and an overview of my highlights while in Adelaide.
After a rather large week of riding I decided to sleep in and take my time on the bike to cruise around town and take a look at the street circuit that would be the finale stage of the TDU 2012. The course is 4.5km through the edge of the CBD and North Adelaide. There is a KOM section but it’s barely a bump compared to the usual climbs. The circuit really is a beautiful bit of riding. Great scenery of the waterways and parks of Adelaide.
The Green Edge boys went into attack mode from the get go. Cameron Meyer was is several breakaways during the stage but couldn’t quite pull off a solo victory coming into the last lap. In the end they defended Simon Gerrans’ lead to consolidate the win.
The crowds were there on mass and the atmosphere was loud and festive. I felt a bit sad that there was only 90km of racing left to see. Bring on 2013!
Here’s a list of my Top 1o reasons to travel to South Australia next year to be part of the Tour Down Under 2013.
1. Ride with the Pros
2. Watch lots of bike racing including the pro men and women and every level below.
3. Do loads of riding on probably the best accessible roads and scenery in Australia (based on proximity to Adelaide CBD)
4. Atmosphere, ambience, vibe… call it what you like but it’s exciting!
5. Weather… it can get hot but it’s still so good! Blue Skies just keep on coming.
6. The Tour Village and Bike Expo.
7. Adelaide restaurants and food are 2nd to none
8. Other attractions – The Adelaide Zoo, the cafes, shopping and the wineries
9. The quality of the whole organisation of the TDU. It’s a well oiled machine.
10. Come with us… Lifecycle will be running an organised tour. More details to come. Stay tuned!
Enjoy some pics of the last stage below…
Matthews leads out Voigt after the first KOM
Hausler in the bunch
Durbridge takes the corner
Doing the Quickstep...
UniSA were aggressive all TDU
Cam Meyer about to make his solo break
Green Edge controlled the race from start to finish
The Aerial view of the presentation area for Stage 6
The Jersey winners presentation
Green Edge celebrate thier success
Nice work Paul – you’ve made it tempting for next year. Looking forward to hearing more during the next ride. You will have to hand out time limits as we all try to ride beside you to find out more.