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Say cheese. Esteban Chaves gets his photo taken with a chilled looking koala (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Simon Gerrans (Orica-Scott) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Team Dimension Data at the TDU (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Geraint Thomas (Sky) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Sven Erik Bystrøm and Jhonatan Restrepo (Katusha-Alpecin) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jack Bauer (Quick-Step Floors (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Lachlan Morton debuts with Dimension Data at Tour Down Under (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Matti Breschel (Astana) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Lorenzo Manzin (FDJ) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Robert Gesink (LottoNl-Jumbo) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Ben Swift (UAE Abu Dhabi) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Louis Meintjes (UAE Abu Dhabi) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jarlinson Pantano (Trek-Segafredo) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Nathan Earle (UniSA) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mark Renshaw (Dimension Data) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Martin Velits (Quick-Step Floors (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Aboriginal performers at the TDU team presentation (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Janez Brajkovic (Bahrain-Merida) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Koen de Kort and Trek Segafredo hospitality manager Nathalie Desmarets with a snake (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Robert Gesink takes a selfie with a koala (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Robert Gesink (LottoNL-Jumbo) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Gianluca Brambilla and Eros Capecchi share the kangaroo love (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Niccolo Bonifazio shows off his new friend (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
A snake gets a feel for the Bahrain-Merida's bike for the 2017 season (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Francois Bidard (AG2R-La Mondiale) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Koen Bouwman (LottoNL-Jumbo) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Enric Mas and Petr Vokoc cradle some baby kangaroos (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Esteban Chaves will race in Australia for the first time (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Diego Ulissi and Marco Marcato (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Yukia Arashiro is happy to see this koala (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Danny van Poppel takes his turn with the baby kangaroo (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Owain Doull (Team Sky) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Enric Mas (Quick-Step Floors) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Petr Vakoc stands next to a koala (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Lotto-Soudal's James Shaw with a baby kangaroo (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Amael Moinard with a koala (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The Tour Down Under has become synonymous with pictures of riders and some of the local Australian wildlife.
With the start of the race just a few days away, the riders congregated in In Victoria Square/Tarndanyangga to be introduced to the crowds and a team of snakes, koalas and baby kangaroos at the team presentation.
On Sunday, the riders will get their first opportunity to test their racing legs in the People’s Choice Classic with the main event beginning on Tuesday. Local hopes will be on riders such as Richie Porte (BMC Racing) and Simon Gerrans (Orica-Scott). Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) is also seen as a potential contender, even if his big ambitions lie later in the season.
You can find the full Tour Down Under start list here and, click here to subscribe to the Cyclingnews video channel.
