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Stage 1 of Tour Down Under starts today, a race from Prospect to Clare of 149 km, with an estimated race time of 3 hours and 54 minutes. Join us for live updates of the Stage 1 of the Tour Down Under from 11:30 ADST (11am local).
The race begins with a 5 km neutral start. There are two sprint point locations: Jayco Sprint #1, at 74.7 km, and Jayco Sprint #2, at 104.5 km.
The focus for most Aussies will be on the GreenEDGE team, who frankly, looked short on ideas in the Down Under Classic.
With Jack Bobridge recovered from his fall which kept him out of the Classic, the team will be looking to ensure defending champion Cam Meyer, as well as past winners Simon Gerrans and Stuart O’Grady are with the main classification.
GreenEDGE have unsurprisingly backed Gerrans as one of their key riders vying for overall honours this year, after winning the National Road title last weekend. Meyer will play his part, being the defending champion and he’ll hope to catch a rare breakaway which helped him win last year. Local boy Stuart O’Grady won’t be far away, with Robbie McEwen, Matt Goss, Leigh Howard and Bobridge making up a strong looking team.
Team Sky has three Aussies in the race, with Michael Rogers, Chris Sutton and Mathew Hayman, as well as the likes of Boasson Hagen.
Lotto Belisol with Andre Greipel will also be a strong team – Greipel will need to get over the climbs, but has won twice. Movistar have Alejandro Valverde and Rojas in the line up and the course might suit their style and Aussie Matt Lloyd, riding for the Lampre ISD Italian team, will be in the mix.
Rabobank’s Luis Leon Sanchez won the race in 2005 and knows how to make a nuisance of himself, while teammate Mark Renshaw will be looking to show the world that he is more than a leadout fish for Mark Cavendish and emerge as a pure sprinter – with Stage 1 his first real chance after spotting a flat tyre in the lead-up Classic.
We’ll be doing our best to keep you updated throughout the race – join in with any questions and thoughts you have as the race unfolds.
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