Tour countdown begins
Cyclists competing in this year’s recent Tour de France – battling steep hills, wind and rain – are likely to get a different experience in five months’ time when they hit Adelaide for the seventh Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under. That’s not to say the race won’t be tough and challenging, but judging from previous years’ summer heat, the weather conditions will certainly be in stark contrast.
With the Tour Down Under’s new race routes unveiled on July 21, the countdown has begun for the arrival of around 100 cyclists, many the cream of the cycling world, to compete in the six day competition, a race that South Australian Premier Mike Rann said “is undoubtedly Australia’s premier cycling event.”
Taking place on January 18 to 23, the Jacobs Creek Tour Down Under sends cyclists on a 728-kilometre race through some of the state’s most beautiful regions, from the Fleurieu Peninsula and the Barossa to the Adelaide Hills and Glenelg beach.
The 2005 competition brings with it some new routes with Salisbury, the Southern Expressway and Devil’s Elbow all getting a guernsey, or should we say, jersey. The race will also return to popular Glenelg and Tanunda and then there’s also the regular favourites such as the Willunga route and the Victor Harbor leg.
UniSA has been sponsoring a team since 2001. Team UniSA, the only team with all South Australian riders, has a growing throng of supporters across the state and the nation.
We’re all looking forward to seeing them in action in 2005.