Tour Down Under

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Tour Down Under

General
Established	1999
Held	January
Country	Australia
Region	South Australia
Type	Stage Race
Data
Editions	9 (1999-2007)
First Winner	Stuart O'Grady, AUS
Most Recent	Martin Elminger, SUI
Most Wins	Stuart O'Grady, AUS: twice

The Tour Down Under is a cycling race held in Adelaide, South Australia, and the surrounding area. The race starts on the third Tuesday of January each year, and it attracts esteemed riders from across Australia and around the world. In 2005, the Tour Down Under was promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale to the international rating of Hors Classe 2, making it the largest and highest ranking cycling event outside of Europe.

1 History
- 1.1 List of overall winners
- 1.2 Tour directors
2 Jerseys
- 2.1 Current jerseys
3 2005 Event
4 Be Active Tour
5 Records
6 Women's Criterium Series
7 References
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] History

[edit] List of overall winners

Patrick Jonker celebrates winning the 2004 Tour Down Under

2007 Martin Elmiger (SUI), Ag2r
2006 Simon Gerrans (AUS), Ag2r
2005 Luis León Sánchez (Spa), Liberty Seguros Team
2004 Patrick Jonker (Aus), UniSA
2003 Mikel Astarloza (Spa), Ag2r
2002 Michael Rogers (Aus), Australian Institute of Sport
2001 Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Credit Agricole
2000 Gilles Maignan (Fra), Ag2r Prévoyance
1999 Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Credit Agricole

[edit] Tour directors

1999 to present: Mike Turtur.

[edit] Jerseys

Generally a coloured jersey is associated with each prize. The current holder of the prize is required to wear the jersey when racing.^[1]

[edit] Current jerseys

The Ochre leaders jersey is awarded to the rider with the fastest cumulative time at the end of each stage and to the overall winner at the end of the race. Ochre is a colour strongly associated with Australia, and the Tour Down Under is unique in having it as the colour of the prestigious leaders' jersey from 2006.

The Sprint jersey is awarded to the rider who leads the sprint points tally after each stage. Points and time bonuses are awarded to the first three riders across the line at designated sprints along the route and at the stage finish.

The King of the Mountain jersey is awarded at the end of each stage to the rider who leads the mountain points tally. Points are awarded to the first five riders over the summit of designated climbs during the race.

The Young rider’s jersey is awarded to the eligible rider who has the fastest cumulative time at the end of each stage in the competition for riders under the age of 23.

The Most aggressive rider’s jersey is awarded at the end of each stage to the rider who is judged to have instigated the most attacks, breakaways or assisted their team-mates to the best advantage during the stage.

The Winning team jersey is awarded to the leading team - the team with the lowest cumulative time determined by adding together the times of the team’s first four riders across the line on each of the six stages.

[edit] 2005 Event

The 2005 Tour Down Under was a six-day tour that was staged from January 18 to January 23, 2005, and covered a total of 728 kilometres (449.3 miles). Luis León Sánchez from Spain was the overall winner.

The race started with a circuit race stage in the East Parklands and finished with a circuit in the North Parklands. The other four stages are road stages usually including visits to the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Fleurieu Peninsula and Adelaide Hills.

[edit] Be Active Tour

Participants in the 2005 Be Active Tour at Angaston

In the tradition of L'Etape du Tour in France (a companion event to the Tour de France) the Tour Down Under has a companion event known as the Be Active Tour. This event is one of Australia's fastest growing recreational cycling events, giving cyclists an opportunity to ride a full stage of the race before the professional riders race over the same route later in the day. The inaugural event in 2003 was known as the Breakaway Tour and attracted more than 600 riders. In 2004 the number of riders had increased to 1,400 and was known from then on as the Be Active Tour. The 2005 tour saw more than 1,900 riders leave Salisbury, Williamstown and Angaston in 30 Degree heat to tackle the hills and roads of Stage 2 of the Tour Down Under.

2007 sees the name change again to Mutual Community Challenge Tour and the introduction of the Mutual Community Fun Tour and Powerade mini tour for kids. These two new events are aimed at increasing the popularity of the event and attracting people who do not ride regularly.^[2]

[edit] Records

Stuart O'Grady (Australia) holds the record as the only rider to have won the Tour Down Under twice (in 1999 and again in 2001).

[edit] Women's Criterium Series

There is a complementary women's Criterium series every year, which consists of 3 street circuits. This is sponsored by UniSA and is generally held at the same place as the men's race, or at the end of the mens race. In 2007 they are races of 30 minutes plus one lap.^[3]