The WorldTour returns this January with the 2019 Tour Down Under. Once again, the organsiers have modified the parcous with the return of the Corkscrew climb and the shift of the Willunga Hill stage to the final day of racing.
The six-day event in Adelaide and the surrounding area has plenty to offer the sprinters, too, with Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) headlining.
The general classification battle sees Darly Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) look to defend his crown against a motivated Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) and several other contenders. Mitchelton-Scott director Matt White – who has won the race as a director five times – sits down with Cyclingnews to analyse this year's six stages.
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Stage 1
Start: North Adelaide
Finish: Port Adelaide
Distance: 132.4km
Type: Bunch sprint
The first two stages should be pretty straight forward and should be settled in bunch sprints. That said, the weather will always influence the day at a race like the Tour Down Under. It's basically hot or really hot, but the strength of the wind will determine how stressful a day it will turn out to be. Stage 1 is very flat but has many kilometres of open and exposed roads, and that's where the heat and the wind will factor in. We have started in Port Adelaide many a time but never finished there so the run-in and circuits will be new for all. There are several small climbs and descents in the first half of the race, but the break should be quick to go, and expect a rider from the national team from UNISA to be in there for sure.
Stage 2
Start: Norwood
Finish: Angaston
Distance: 149km
Type: Bunch sprint
Stage 3
Stage 4
Stage 5
Stage 6
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tour-down-under-matt-whites-stage-by-stage-guide
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