The men’s Tour Down Under kicks off with a prologue time trial on Tuesday evening in Adelaide. The time differences created by the 5.5km loop around River Torrens are set to reveal the real overall contenders but keep the overall battle for victory tantalisingly close.
It is the first time a prologue time trial has been included in the Tour Down Under. Race director and former rider Stuart O’Grady wanted to mix up the format of the race in his first year in full charge as the race returns after a two-year COVID-19 pandemic hiatus.
He has replaced the final stage and final showdown on Willunga Hill with perhaps a harder final stage that ends atop Mount Lofty, overlooking downtown Adelaide.
“This race has come down to seconds before and so the prologue will be crucial. It mixes the racing up a bit and is a great way to start this race. It’ll be really interesting,” Geraint Thomas predicted despite ruling himself out after the recurrence of an infection.
“The course is technical, with a few corners. It’s the first big five-minute effort of the year and so it’ll hurt.”
The Women’s Tour Down Under ends on Tuesday with a hilly road race and the men’s race kicks off with the prologue in the evening when the expected 37C heat of the Australian summer will have subsided to 27C.
The prologue time trial covers a 5.5km course that starts near the Adelaide Oval cricket ground and then twists and climbs around the Adelaide Parks and Torrens River with a sweeping descent towards the finish testing the riders’ nerve and bike skills.
The riders will have to use their road race bikes rather than time trial bikes to ease logistic and early-season equipment issues. Aero bars are also not permitted but skinsuits, disc wheels and aero helmets are, perhaps offering some a slight marginal gain to the brave and talented time trialists on the start list.
Cyclingnews has spoken to a number of teams in recent days but few riders plan to adapt or lower their handlebars and cockpits to try to find a more aerodynamic position for the time trial. Instead, they prefer to stick to the position they know and trust, with any aerodynamic gains coming by staying low but fast on their road bikes.
Adelaide native Rohan Dennis (Jumbo-Visma) is a logical favourite as a former world time trial champion. It will be interesting to see how he performs on a road bike and if he is on form for a shot at overall victory.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…