The Tour Down Under Monday 'rest day' is traditionally an opportunity for a team launch, media opportunities and sponsor commitments. The UniSA-Australia squad managed to complete all three, launching the seven-rider team for 2016, commemorating 16 starts for the team, and celebrating the University of South Australia's silver anniversary with cut cutting thrown in for good measure.
The youngest rider in the race, Lucas Hamilton, is making his WorldTour debut with the wild card team this week, reward for finishing second to UniSA-Australia teammate Chris Hamilton at last week's U23 Australian national championships. Following the celebrations, the 19-year-old climber spoke with reporters at the team launch on Monday morning, describing his initial impressions of the Tour Down Under.
"It's been a really good experience so far staying in this hotel [Adelaide's Hilton, ed] around all the professional cyclists, the best cyclists in the world, and it's a bit of an eye opener," Hamilton said following the cake cutting. "It's a good experience to see how they go about their day-to-day things. I think I've been here since Friday, going out for a few training rides and the atmosphere has been really good. I think Adelaide really gets around this event."
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Knee inflammation at the end of the 2015 season threatened to put the brakes on Hamilton's start to 2016 but following some gym work to strengthen his legs, what begun as a dream has become reality.
"Start of the season I was actually injured so it wasn't really on my mind until maybe November and I had a couple of results in the NRS and I thought if I go really well at nationals then it's a possibility," he said of his ambition to make the Tour Down Under team. "Then the lead up to nationals, it was definitely a big goal to get into this team. It's a really good opportunity for us young guns and Australian domestics to race against the pros."
Hamilton had his first taste of racing in a WorldTour peloton, albeit in a 51km criterium, on Sunday night which served to calm the nerves and provide a taste of what's to come this week in Adelaide.
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