"The first two stages should be pretty straight forward and should be settled in bunch sprints," Mitchelton-Scott's head sports director, Matt White, tells Cyclingnews. "That said, the weather will always influence the day at a race like the Tour Down Under. It's basically hot or really hot, but the strength of the wind will determine how stressful a day it will turn out to be.
"Stage 1 is very flat but has many kilometres of open and exposed roads, and that's where the heat and the wind will factor in. We have started in Port Adelaide many a time but never finished there so the run-in and circuits will be new for all. There are several small climbs and descents in the first half of the race, but the break should be quick to go, and expect a rider from the national team from UniSA to be in there for sure."
-
Tour of Flanders Women past winners
Past winners 2004-2024 -
Uno-X Mobility overtake Arkéa-B&B Hotels in hunt for 2026-2028 WorldTour
XDS Astana's upward trajectory hit by bad luck in Strade Bianche -
'We've got to get back to being the great Ineos team we once were' - Filippo Ganna leads Ineos Grenadiers fight back from the front
Italian prepares for Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix with a week of success and suffering at Tirreno-Adriatico -
'I don't consider myself the best sprinter in the world' - Jonathan Milan is modest but not scared of major rival Tim Merlier
Lidl-Trek's gentleman sprinter wins at Tirreno-Adriatico after textbook lead out and dive into last corner
