2016 Tour Down Under WT January 19-24 Adelaide

[stefank]

Rohan Dennis on Twitter:
You saw it here first. I'm targeting sprints at #tdu instead of GC....

 

[johnymax]

The Roglic era is starting. We are all witnesses

 

[42x16ss]

A couple of relatively strong teams in there, BMC, Lotto-Soudal Sky and AG2R in particular. Could be some good racing.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

10 laps to go in the People's Choice Classic

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Re:

10 laps to go in the People's Choice Classic

Ewan wins

 

[Squirbos_19]

2. Nizzolo
3. Blythe
4. Swift

 

[LaFlorecita]

5. Kump
6. R Janse Van Rensburg
7. Martinelli
8. Pelucchi
9. Wippert
10. Shaw

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Too easy for Ewan.

 

[SlickMongoose]

Edit: Never mind.

 

[Brullnux]

I see Nizzolo is still the King of Second Place.

 

[42x16ss]

Re:

I see Nizzolo is still the King of Second Place.

He went a few seconds too early, Impey just dropped Ewan off onto Nizzolo's wheel and let him do the rest.

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

I see Nizzolo is still the King of Second Place.

He went a few seconds too early, Impey just dropped Ewan off onto Nizzolo's wheel and let him do the rest.

But still. Wins don't come easy for that guy. Just needs something extra and could do so well.

 

[Scarponi]

Its a shame they don't use the alpine climbs in Victoria for this race, maybe Mt Baw Baw

 

[42x16ss]

Re:

Its a shame they don't use the alpine climbs in Victoria for this race, maybe Mt Baw Baw

Too early in the season for climbs like that (12km @ 8%). If it was held in March/April you could get away with it but there's too much racing in Europe.

TDU has it about right, it's just 4-6 weeks too early IMO

 

[Scarponi]

Re: Re:

Its a shame they don't use the alpine climbs in Victoria for this race, maybe Mt Baw Baw

Too early in the season for climbs like that (12km @ 8%). If it was held in March/April you could get away with it but there's too much racing in Europe.

TDU has it about right, it's just 4-6 weeks too early IMO

Yet San Luis has three difficult climbs.

 

[Scarponi]

Plus I thought it was 6km not 12

 

[Gloin22]

Re: Re:

Its a shame they don't use the alpine climbs in Victoria for this race, maybe Mt Baw Baw

Too early in the season for climbs like that (12km @ 8%). If it was held in March/April you could get away with it but there's too much racing in Europe.

TDU has it about right, it's just 4-6 weeks too early IMO

Yet San Luis has three difficult climbs.

It's good to have variety..having only climbs in stage races is as boring as having it all flat.

 

[Carols]

Re: Re:

I'll go for Dennis. He has made it clear he has ambitions.

This race isn't WT quality IMO but at least it is cycling and indicates the season is coming .

This! Anyone know if it's televised in the US? ( and yes, I know that's probably a dumb question )

You can watch live on NBCSports Extra live streaming. There is a 2 hour delayed coverage program every day on Universal HD. NOTE: You must be a subscriber

 

[roundabout]

Re: Re:

I see Nizzolo is still the King of Second Place.

He went a few seconds too early, Impey just dropped Ewan off onto Nizzolo's wheel and let him do the rest.

But still. Wins don't come easy for that guy. Just needs something extra and could do so well.

He has been a pro for 5 years now, maybe he is just one of those sprinters who don't win sprints and this is as good as it is going to get.

 

[Scarponi]

Re: Re:

Its a shame they don't use the alpine climbs in Victoria for this race, maybe Mt Baw Baw

Too early in the season for climbs like that (12km @ 8%). If it was held in March/April you could get away with it but there's too much racing in Europe.

TDU has it about right, it's just 4-6 weeks too early IMO

Yet San Luis has three difficult climbs.

It's good to have variety..having only climbs in stage races is as boring as having it all flat.

Agreed, I just think there are better climbs to use then the double ascent of the hill

 

[May0maniac]

Nizzolo would probably find a way to loose a sprint to Pozzovivo, he's a great guy and he'll score a lot of points for in in fantasy cycling, but he's not a winner, he always finds a way too loose.

 

[roundabout]

Speaking of variety, the main climb is still the same as it was in 1999 when it was a 2.4 race.

 

[Scarponi]

Re:

Speaking of variety, the main climb is still the same as it was in 1999 when it was a 2.4 race.

Corkscrew hill is the only stage that is decent

 

[StryderHells]

Plus I thought it was 6km not 12

Baw Baw is most certainly is 12 Ks in length with an average gradient of 7.7% with the last 6 Ks that is the beastly part that doesn't drop below 11%

 

[Libertine Seguros]

They like the repeat nature of the TDU though, lots of early season races have a certain repetitious nature, it allows riders to judge form year on year and teams to judge progress year on year. Yes, a lot of the time it's because it's the only such climb available in the area. But Oman always has that hilly stage by the Technical University and the Jebel al-Akhdar MTF; Algarve always has the Alto do Malhão HTF; San Luís always has Mirador del Potrero and until recently Mirador del Sol (now goes as far as Filo Serrano, higher up the same climb), Langkawi always has Genting Highlands, and the TDU always has Old Willunga Hill and the Stirling circuit. Of those early stage races with a summit finish in them, only really the Ruta del Sol changes year on year.

I'd rather they mix things up once in a while, change the order of stages more than anything else perhaps, to encourage more racing on the Corkscrew Hill and Stirling stages by putting them after OWH once in a while. The biggest thing I'd like to change about the race is that I'd like a short TT on the final day instead of a sub-100km crit which has absolutely no business being in a World Tour race, however. Any Aussies have an idea of the viability of Belair or Norton Summit as the HTF instead of Willunga if you do want to shake things up? Those could have a shorter circuit which could increase the likelihood of moves before the final climb.