ANDERSON: Tour Down Under not to be overshadowed

Once again I am in Adelaide to review the first of the World Tour events for 2013, at the Tour Down Under.

Unfortunately and it is now almost consistent that any event in cycling is overshadowed by the politics and dynamics of drugs, Lance Armstrong and the appalling state at the helm of the UCI.

I always look forward to Adelaide’s race as the 18 World Tour teams have to field a team and the Aussie fans get an opportunity to take a look at the world’s best up close.

As usual, the ongoing disappointment for those same fans is that the UCI won’t sanction a place for the winning team of the Australian National Road Series – rather they accept the fabricated UniSA team of local talents instead.

Realistically, these young riders are individuals who can throw out a challenge but that is all, they’re not a cohesive team. What a great forum to showcase the best of our local teams and see how they rate but not so.

For myself my arrival has been marred by the Lance/Oprah dialogue and the media’s demand for comment. Have I been included in the net Lance cast about all cyclists of this generation? The disillusionment is so deep with cycling fans, they don’t deserve this saga.

Really, for me, I have admitted my shame in that I believed the mythology, I wanted to. 

I lived the dream and it is awful to have to deal with the fact that fans believe all professional cyclists are cheats. It is so galling to constantly have to defend yourself and your sport. Even more appalling is the stance taken by the UCI in their own limited defence of their own actions during this generational period.

As for Lance, do I believe he is contrite, no. Is he sorry, I don’t believe so. Once the USADA report was released it has been hard to speculate how Lance could possibly feel. 

I am often asked as someone who once knew him well, what sort of place do you think he is in? I guess we now know.

Lance admits to being used to controlling everything in his life and that drugs were really just part of that process, that the processing and scheduling were better than winning. By the end of the interview I am feeling that Lance has set his path and the we are all being used in his quest to redeem himself as he tries to return to public/athletic life. 

He is desperate to have his life time ban lifted in order for him to compete again, he remains as ever the ruthless driven athlete and it would appear that despite all that has happened, he has not changed.

I am here for the Tour Down Under, to catch up with friends and to enjoy Adelaide. This town celebrates this event like no other Australian city could. Locals take leave and cycling fans from around Australia join South Australia to watch the racing, enjoy the riding and in fact not to worry about Lance.

I am nervous about a catch up with old rival Hinault, hopefully now that he has finally ventured onto Australian soil old wounds will heal and we can finally share a can of coke.

As for the race, it will be interesting. For Orica-GreenEDGE, a strong domestic performance in Adelaide is critical.  A team’s sponsor will always hope to make an impact locally as they seek to build the their brand on home soil.

For many of the teams the years focus will be on other events and they will not be ready and in fact field relatively weak teams.  

Under current UCI regulations all World Tour teams must attend but we will not see many of the stars. Despite this it will be interesting to see 2010 Tour de France winner Andy Schleck make an appearance as he prepares for the 2013 Season. I would imagine he is going through his own crisis as his brother Frank defends drug charges.

Traditionally a sprinters race, the advent of longer stages and extra climbs at the TDU has seen the likes of Simon Gerrans, a strong all round rider being once again the likely candidate for victory.  When chatting to Simon’s parents last week it seemed his focus was not on the Nationals but rather defending his title at the TDU.

That said, Luke Durbridge may be the one to watch after he won both the National time trial title and the National road race title last week. He is obviously going very well and would have to be one of the TDU favourites.

It’s whether he has the explosive power to stay in touch going up Old Willunga Hill that could define his overall chances. 

He certainly showed a clear pair of wheels at the Nationals and appears to have the endurance needed to make such early breaks and hold his lead; a formulae that was successful at the nationals as he was the last man standing from the first break of the day.

Another team that could do well is Blanco Pro Cycling (the old Rabobank team) with Aussies Jack Bobridge, Graeme Brown, and Mark Renshaw, expected to perform. With relatively quiet seasons behind them I would expect both Jack Bobridge, a former national road race champion and his sprinting compatriots to give it a real shot for tour honours at the Tour Down Under this year.

Lotto-Belisol has German sprinter Andre Greipel who has won the Tour Down Under twice and always has a strong showing early in the season on the flatter sprint stages.

Greipel will have support from Aussie teammate Adam Hansen who again will look to a strong showing on home turf.

As always, the Tour Down Under is sure to be a great race and a grand start to the 2013 season. I hope the new year brings fresh faces and a breath of fresh air to cycling. There is new talent on the block and while the dirty washing is constantly dragged through the ringer I can only hope that the UCI initiates changes that satisfy the riders, teams and fans. 

There is no clarity in any of the processes, the only one with any sense of purpose and delivery at the moment is Lance as the rest of the bureaucrats in the cycling world jockey for position if heads should roll.