Stage 4: Norwood - Strathalbyn, 124km
January 21, 2011
The Adelaide Hills will again be the scene of some tough, but stunning racing as the peloton heads through the historic tourist towns of Lobethal and Hahndorf before the finish at Strathalbyn.
As always on this route south, Checker Hill could provide an opportunity for a breakaway at the 27 km mark but this well-travelled route south is a testing one and there will be some tired legs at the end of the day.
Rabobank's Graeme Brown says:
It's a nice hard start to the race going through the Gorge. Any Australian has probably ridden through the Gorge about a billion times. Stuart O'Grady's bike just rides through there by itself. Checker Hill is hard and it's quite steep, although it's less than a kilometre. It's hard to go up the hill – the road is dead straight but it's all about being in the right position with two kilometres to go because you turn onto a smaller road. It's more of a Belgian Classics style of ride.
If you're at the front it's a piece of cake. If there's one lesson I've learnt for this stage it's not to ride on Lance Armstrong's wheel like I did last year because you get hit by hands all the time going ‘There he is! There he is!'...
It will be a bunch sprint again but it will hurt. Sprinters that don't have top form or don't climb quite as well are going to struggle because it's just up and down all day.
Map
Image ©: Santos Tour Down Under
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Most Popular
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Nash Dash Cyclocross: Mani and Werner sweep C2 elite races with Alexis Magner and Ty Magner in top 10
Cusack and Funston repeat with second-place finishes in Georgia races -
Nash Dash Cyclocross: Caroline Mani and Kerry Werner win C2 openers in Georgia
17-year-old Lidia Cusack earns first UCI elite women's podium -
Benjamin Thomas and Fabio Van Den Bossche win Gent Six Day with stunning late attack
Week-long leaders Lindsay De Vylder and Robbe Ghys finally finish second -
Canadian Cyclocross Championships: Ian Ackert adds elite men's national title to collection
Gunnar Holmgren second and Tyler Clark third on muddy Lévis course in Quebec