2012 Tour Down Under Stage 6: Adelaide Street Circuit, 90km, 2.WT

[Mellow Velo]

To burst someone else's bubble. We already know that you don't care about the TdU. (Which begs the question...)

I agree that the coverage is sub-standard - live streaming from the organizers website should be nearly market standard. That said, I dont particularly care for a number of stage races. I'll read the race reports for Tour of Colombia, or Turkey, or Oman, but I do not feel compelled to look for those respective forum threads just to say how stupid that particular race is.

Knocking down another race does not make the races I adore any better...

Interesting that you include Turkey. An exceptional well organized race, with first rate, live HD coverage and, this year, a big MTF.
If any stage race is heading in the right direction, Turkey could well be the one.

 

[Andy99]

i would say all cyclists even australian ones would prefer to win P-N.

also i agree with libertine's idea for sub-categories within the world tour.

I think the majority agree entirely with those sentiments. The sad thing is that the governing body of 'our' sport are unlikely to listen.

 

[benpounder]

Interesting that you include Turkey...

I include it only because it has been a race that I don't actively follow (meaning that I don't log on to steephill.tv early each morning to find the live feed). I am not offering any qualitative analysis of the actual races, merely suggesting to some of our fellow forum members, pipe down in the threads of those races that they dislike. We've got a race today that a good number of folks are interested in. Why several are so willing to piss on that parade baffles me.

 

[The Hitch]

. I'll read the race reports for Tour of Colombia, or Turkey, or Oman, but I do not feel compelled to look for those respective forum threads just to say how stupid that particular race is.
.

lol. Tour of Colombia has been around 65 years has one of the highest attendance figures and has a awesome parcors.

Every thing that should be promoted in sport. Tradition over greed. Local fans over trying to buy others with WT status. Interesting over boring. Riders racing over warming down.

If you can find something to fault in that race just because people find your home state tour loud and boring and unworthy of the hype it gives itself (for a race just created), please do.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

And Oman wasn't exactly bad the last 2 years either. Certainly not with the addition of that mountain. Only the atmosphere in both Qatar and Oman doesn't appeal to me (no audience).

 

[benpounder]

If you can find something to fault in that race just because people find your home state tour loud and boring and unworthy of the hype it gives itself (for a race just created), please do.

For christ's sake, I thought you of all would understand from where I come. I am not poo-pooing those races. I am saying that we all have different interests - and I am criticizing those several in this forum that feel compelled to engage in the threads of the races that they dislike merely to disparage them.

 

[Kwibus]

Yes I do what, care about the TDU or want to burst your bubble?

My issues with the TDU are:
1) Dull parcours.
2) Same recycled stages over and over and over again.
3) Massive overhype by CN and some other anglo-media outlets. It's a warmup race that gets treated like the TdF because we've been starved of racing for months. Phil and Paul are the straw that breaks the camel's back.
4) The massive chunk of WT points earned. Winning Paris - Nice is worth the same amount of points FFS. Ask any rider in the peloton which one they'd rather win, I guarantee 99% of the ones that don't have an "Australia" printed on their passports will say Paris - Nice.

1. True, allthough it's getting better.
2. Yep.
3. Hype, but there isn't anything else going on right? So ofcourse it gets loads of attention.
4. Yep it's ridiculous indeed.

5. Racing was pretty good this year. Sure I'm easily pleased after 3 months of no racing. I mean I got enthused by crappy short videos that were released 3 hours after the actual race.

 

[Kwibus]

lol. Tour of Colombia has been around 65 years has one of the highest attendance figures and has a awesome parcors.

Every thing that should be promoted in sport. Tradition over greed. Local fans over trying to buy others with WT status. Interesting over boring. Riders racing over warming down.

If you can find something to fault in that race just because people find your home state tour loud and boring and unworthy of the hype it gives itself (for a race just created), please do.

How much I agree with you on the tradition over greed part we all know it's all about the money in the world.

 

[Kwibus]

And Oman wasn't exactly bad the last 2 years either. Certainly not with the addition of that mountain. Only the atmosphere in both Qatar and Oman doesn't appeal to me (no audience).

Indeed Oman was quite good last year and I kinda liked the echelons in Qatar as well. So I guess watching the races was ok, but there was no audience. Both countries have absolutely nothing with cycling.
The only reason they got a cycling race is because a sheikh paid huge amounts of money for it to promote their country. Nothing better than a cycling race as it crosses large parts of the country.
Not sure how an endless desert is promotion though

If Oman and Qatar dissapear I will be a happy man. If they cared for Asia they should race in Iran, but I understand that's going to be a bit difficult.

A race in Australia makes a lot more sense. Cycling is a growing sport over there and looking at the crowds during this TDU it's a good thing they got a race over there. Maybe it shouldn't be WT though.
They better move the TDU to February.

 

[Froome19]

Indeed Oman was quite good last year and I kinda liked the echelons in Qatar as well. So I guess watching the races was ok, but there was no audience. Both countries have absolutely nothing with cycling.
The only reason they got a cycling race is because a sheikh paid huge amounts of money for it to promote their country. Nothing better than a cycling race as it crosses large parts of the country.
Not sure how an endless desert is promotion though

If Oman and Qatar dissapear I will be a happy man. If they cared for Asia they should race in Iran, but I understand that's going to be a bit difficult.

A race in Australia makes a lot more sense. Cycling is a growing sport over there and looking at the crowds during this TDU it's a good thing they got a race over there. Maybe it shouldn't be WT though.
They better move the TDU to February.

but in january they get much better publicity from cycling world with it being the first race of the season and everything

 

[maltiv]

So when is the estimated finish?

 

[El Pistolero]

Indeed Oman was quite good last year and I kinda liked the echelons in Qatar as well. So I guess watching the races was ok, but there was no audience. Both countries have absolutely nothing with cycling.
The only reason they got a cycling race is because a sheikh paid huge amounts of money for it to promote their country. Nothing better than a cycling race as it crosses large parts of the country.
Not sure how an endless desert is promotion though

If Oman and Qatar dissapear I will be a happy man. If they cared for Asia they should race in Iran, but I understand that's going to be a bit difficult.

A race in Australia makes a lot more sense. Cycling is a growing sport over there and looking at the crowds during this TDU it's a good thing they got a race over there. Maybe it shouldn't be WT though.
They better move the TDU to February.

What's next? Tour of Somalia?

Oman and Qatar are pretty good races as long as you don't expect more out of them as what they are: preparation races, nothing more and nothing less. Tour Down Under is a preparation race that tries to be more and that is being World Tour.

A race in Australia makes sense, but a WT race in January makes no sense at all... When's the next WT race? In March... As it should be. January-Frebuary should always remain months for preparation races.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

What's next? Tour of Somalia?

Oman and Qatar are pretty good races as long as you don't expect more out of them as what they are: preparation races, nothing more and nothing less. Tour Down Under is a preparation race that tries to be more and that is being World Tour.

No.Tour of India and Nepal

 

[will10]

What's next? Tour of Somalia?

Oman and Qatar are pretty good races as long as you don't expect more out of them as what they are: preparation races, nothing more and nothing less. Tour Down Under is a preparation race that tries to be more and that is being World Tour.

A race in Australia makes sense, but a WT race in January makes no sense at all... When's the next WT race? In March... As it should be. January-Frebuary should always remain months for preparation races.

Bingo .

 

[auscyclefan94]

Or an epilogue time trial.

sub-100km crits have no business being in the World Tour. In fact, crits full stop have no business being in the World Tour.

I would prefer a criterium than a 180km completely flat road stage. Criteriums generally have a lot of attacking in them.

Funny with the people who constantly complain about TDU being rubbish, boring etc yet they're up in the middle of the night to watch it and discuss it on the forum. I'm no big fan of TDU either but this year's edition was pretty good, with 3 good/decent stages. The hilltop finish really helped the excitement of the race in my opinion.

+1 - The racing itself this year has been really good. If Tutur can keep a similar looking route with the undulating stage around Stirling, Hilltop finish up Wilunga (which really did have a tdf atmosphere) & and a stage similar to stage 4 this year then the race is quite good.

 

[Kwibus]

What's next? Tour of Somalia?

really... I'm not seriously going to explain this to you.

 

[online-rider]

Has anyone noticed the Garmin team is being lead by 2 neo pros (nathan haas and jack bauer) who really should be out the back carrying water! What gives?

 

[will10]

Has anyone noticed the Garmin team is being lead by 2 neo pros (nathan haas and jack bauer) who really should be out the back carrying water! What gives?

Haas and Bauer are probably the only ones on the team who are in good shape and motivated to get a result, given that one is Aus and the other is NZ.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Haas and Bauer are probably the only ones on the team who are in good shape and motivated to get a result, given that one is Aus and the other is NZ.

Haas said he wasnt in great shape atm but after his ride yesterday I doubt that.

 

[swuzzlebubble]

TDU needs to contine to grow into its WT status.
Changes this year have generally worked.
No longer a sprinters race for GC = good.

Now time to replace the final crit with say a MTT - Norton’s Summit? (5.6km)
http://www.cycle2max.com/bike-hill-climb/Norton-Summit.aspx?id=602
(MTT works around the issue of TT rigs too)

The Cancer Council Classic fills the street race role.

 

[online-rider]

TDU needs to contine to grow into its WT status.
Changes this year have generally worked.
No longer a sprinters race for GC = good.

Now time to replace the final crit with say a MTT - Norton’s Summit?
http://www.cycle2max.com/bike-hill-climb/Norton-Summit.aspx?id=602

The Cancer Council Classic fills the street race role.

Good idea.

 

[PCutter]

Has anyone noticed the Garmin team is being lead by 2 neo pros (nathan haas and jack bauer) who really should be out the back carrying water! What gives?

Hausler was actually team leader, but he was in the pile up on stage 1 (or 2) and got checked in another sprint so he hasn't gotten the results he'd like, and obviously didn't make the split after the first time up Wilunga yesterday. Too early for him to be peaking given MSR, Flanders are the races he's setting for. Hesjedel was supposed to be their guy yesterday, but don't know what happened to him

 

[Fetisoff]

Haas and Bauer are probably the only ones on the team who are in good shape and motivated to get a result, given that one is Aus and the other is NZ.

Meh... yet again, this IS the TDU.
Kohler should have been out carrying bottles for Ballan too

 

[swuzzlebubble]

TDU needs to contine to grow into its WT status.
Changes this year have generally worked.
No longer a sprinters race for GC = good.

Now time to replace the final crit with say a MTT - Norton’s Summit? (5.6km)
http://www.cycle2max.com/bike-hill-climb/Norton-Summit.aspx?id=602
(MTT works around the issue of TT rigs too)

The Cancer Council Classic fills the street race role.

http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2012/01/welcome-to-radelaide/

Norton’s Summit challenge

So after a few too many Leffe Blond’s last night I tweeted $100 for anyone who rides under 12 minutes up Norton’s Summit. Then Mark Renshaw retweeted it to 70,000 people, so it looks like I’m committed. For those unfamiliar, Norton’s Summit is one of the famous Adelaide climbs where many punters and pros like to compare their times. Brett Aitken used to hold the record of 12:39 up the 5.5km, 5% climb. As local folklore goes, Aitken offered up $1000 to anyone who could beat it. Jack Bobridge had a crack and holds the new record of 11:50. Did he ever receive the $1000? who knows…Here are the Cycle2Max and Strava leaderboards.

 

[PCutter]

So when is the estimated finish?

Live streaming starts at 1:40pm AEDT (Sydney time) so 90km...probably finish a bit under 2hrs later - probably figure 1.5hrs to be safe, it will be pretty quick avg speed