The WorldTour buzz ramps up for the Tour Down Under, the first race of the 2024 series and the first chance for success for the 140 riders on the start list. Some will be out for stage wins, some out for the general classification, while others will just be happy to get some race days in their legs.
The Tour Down Under gala starts with the Down Under Classic, an hour-long criterium in Adelaide and invariably one for the sprinters. The stage race proper gets underway on Tuesday with the first of six tricky stages, culminating in two uphill finishes first on Willunga Hill and then the finale on Mount Lofty.
All 18 of the WorldTour teams will have riders on the line, as is required by the UCI, with the Israel-Premier Tech ProTeam and the Australian National Team filling out the start list.
Some of the riders’ form is known after the Australian Road Championships, while others have been busy training.
One thing is certain: there will be a new champion at the Tour Down Under, as 2023 winner Jay Vine won’t be at the start, and all of the previous winners have retired.
Cyclingnews dug into the start list and came up with nine riders to watch – some obvious, some not so much – at the Tour Down Under from January 16 through 21.
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Luke Plapp & Simon Yates
Luke Plapp and Simon Yates come as a package deal as the Jayco AlUla co-leaders of the home team for the Tour Down Under. Plapp has been on fire since joining from Ineos Grenadiers, sweeping both the Australian road race and time trial national titles. He won the road race last year before not overly featuring at the stage race, but his performances last week looked a different beast.
Behind him, he’ll also have a very strong team if he is the main GC option, but Yates was second last season and won the final stage to Mount Lofty, which he’ll be happy to see again on stage 6. Yates maintains a strong level throughout the season, so expect an in-form version of the Brit licking his lips at the prospect of a double ascent up Willingu Hill (3.4km at 7.4%) on stage 5.
The pair could work well in tandem with Plapp launching early and utilising his time trial abilities to stay up the road while Yates marks…
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