Team UniSA-Australia 2007
After last years success Team UniSA-Australia have assembled another strong
team of riders under the watchful eye of manager Dave Sanders to tackle the
world class competition in the 2007 Tour Down Under.
The team will be striving to build on past experiences, and we wish them every success in this iconic event on the world cycling calendar.
Team UniSA-Australia History (129kb PDF) viewed with Adobe Acrobat
The Team UniSA-Australia riders for the Tour Down Under 2007 are:
- Allan Davis QLD
- Matthew White NSW
- Robert McLachlan ACT
- Mitchell Docker VIC
- Chris Jongewaard SA
- Russell Van Hout SA
- Karl Menzies TAS
- Brett Aitken SA
Team Manager: Dave Sanders
Allan Davis
Allan Davis is no stranger to success at the Tour Down Under with a brace of stage wins in 2006 to go with the bagful of stage podiums he has accumulated since his first tour in 2003. He also has a wealth of European experience, competing in the Tour de France in 2004 and 2005, with a 5th placing in the overall points classification for the latter event. A specialist sprinter, Davis will be spearheading Team UniSA-Australia’s crack at the overall title. full profile
Matthew White
With a wealth of European experience as well as Commonwealth and Olympic games representation under his belt, Matthew White is a measure of cycling consistency. Currently signed to the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team and racing in Europe, he will be looking to continue his strong 2006 form into the new year. Competing in his third Tour Down Under in 2007, White is hungry for another stage victory to go with the one he picked up in 2005. full profile
Robert McLachlan
Robert McLachlan’s cycling career has been divided into two distinct parts. He started out as a junior at the age of 16 and rode competitively until he was 22 including representing Australia at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Suffering from burn out and yearning to take a break, he spent the next 10 years pursuing other interests before returning to competitive cycling winning a handful of stages on the 2004 Sun Tour and back-to-back second places in the 2004 and 2005 Australian Open Road Championships. After his lead up to the 2006 Tour was plagued by illness and a couple of nasty crashes, McLachlan is keen to return to the form that saw him finish in the top ten in 2005. full profile
Mitchell Docker
Inspired to get involved in competitive cycling after watching the gold medal ride at the Olympic Velodrome during the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Mitchell Docker has steadily progressed through the junior ranks picking up a number of Under-19 national track titles in 2003. In the final year of a food technology and nutrition degree, he is aiming for a result in the Under-23 classification on this year’s tour as a forerunner to taking on cycling full-time in 2008. full profile
Chris Jongewaard
Chris Jongewaard has proven his versatility on and off road in the last two years. On a mountain bike he finished fourth at the Commonwealth Games while on a road bike he netted a second place overall on the 2007 Jayco Herald Sun Tour. Competing in a number of SA Criteriums and the National Championships in the lead up to the Tour will have him competition sharp so expect him to be giving the top ten a shake once again. full profile
Russel Van Hout
A strong all-round rider, Russell van Hout has proven his ability in the Tour Down Under. He has raced in all six previous Tours with Team UniSA-Australia, taking out a superb stage victory on the way to seventh overall and runner-up in the Sprint classification in 2006. He also has netted a brace of second’s in the King of the Mountain standings in 2001 and 2002. Extensive experience overseas has also seen him compete twice in the Giro d’Italia, so you can expect to see van Hout at the competitive end of the field once again. full profile
Karl Menzies
Karl Menzies could be considered a relatively late starter in the world of road cycling beginning his career seven years ago at the age of 22. However previous competition experience as a triathlete has given him the physical and mental toughness to make the grade. Having raced in the USA for the past two seasons, Menzies will be making his debut in the Tour Down Under, so you can expect to see him giving it a red hot go. full profile
Brett Aitken
Brett Aitken is a legend of Australian cycling. He’s pretty much done it all. Representing Australia and grabbing medals at three Olympics, the highlight of which was Gold in the Madison at Sydney 2000. He also has a brace of Commonwealth Gold medals and a World Championship to his name. Competing in his fifth Tour Down Under and his third for Team UniSA-Australia, he brings a wealth of experience to the team. full profile