2018 Race Routes Revealed Pay Tribute to 20 Years of TDU

2018 Race Routes Revealed Pay Tribute to 20 Years of TDU

The UCI WorldTour cycling season opening event race routes have been announced today at the 2018 Santos Tour Down Under official launch.

The 20th edition of the race will see it remembering its origins, with Stage 1 returning to Port Adelaide – which was part of the inaugural race in 1999.

The peloton will then travel through 81 towns in total, with the route including exhilarating crowd favourites and punchy climbs, spanning the following routes:

 Saturday 13 January 2018 – Team Presentation, Victoria Square

 Sunday 14 January 2018 – People’s Choice Classic, Wakefield Road Circuit, 50.6km

 Monday 15 January 2018 – Rest Day (for men’s racing)

 Tuesday 16 January 2018 – Stage 1, Port Adelaide to Lyndoch, 145km

 Wednesday 17 January 2018 –Stage 2, Unley to Stirling, 148.6km

 Thursday 18 January 2018 – Stage 3, Glenelg to Victor Harbor, 146.5km

 Friday 19 January 2018 – Bupa Stage 4, Norwood to Uraidla, 128.2km

 Saturday 20 January 2018 –Stage 5, McLaren Vale to Willunga Hill, 151.5km

 Sunday 21 January 2018 – Be Safe Be Seen MAC Stage 6, Adelaide Street Circuit, 90km

Race Director, Mike Turtur reflects back on the last 19 years and laments if he had been asked in 1999, what did the next 20 years hold for the TDU, he could never have imagined the race would achieve so much in such a short period of time.

“The success of the event is testament to the support of our partners and especially in those early years the ownership shown by the people of South Australia,” said Mike Turtur.

“One of the race route highlights in 2018, is the nostalgic return to Port Adelaide. Port Adelaide had a stage start at the inaugural race in 1999, going back 20 years later from a history perspective adds to the interest in the race.”

“The 2018 race routes revealed today are a mix of old, detailed twists and the new, particularly with the Bupa Stage 4 finish in the Adelaide Hills town of Uraidla. The big feature of the finish into Uraidla is the final 7km of the stage where the riders will tackle Norton Summit, making it a technically difficult finish to test the peloton,” said Mike Turtur.

With January 2018 set to see the Santos Tour Down Under, as Australia’s premier cycling event celebrate 20 great years, the fans can expect the peloton to bring it home strong on the last day of racing on the streets of Adelaide.