It was recently announced that there are only 100 days until the 2016 Tour Down Under – 100 days in which we will invariably debate, as we do most years, whether the first WorldTour race of the year should be moved to a later date.
There’s the argument that the almost two-month hiatus between the TDU and Paris-Nice, the second WorldTour race of the year, is too lengthy.
It is currently the longest gap between any two races in the World Tour calendar, and creates the potential problem whereby riders targeting success at the TDU risk peaking too early to be successful in subsequent races during the early-to-mid parts of the season.
This year we saw Andre Greipel, the most prolific stage winner in the TDU’s history, skip the event to focus on his form for the Spring Classics in March and April.
However, following a two-year review of the calendar, the UCI recently concluded that the Tour Down Under should remain in January as the season’s opening event.
And it’s not hard to see the reasons for this decision. The race’s profile has continued to grow over recent years, with the South Australian government reporting that over 780,000 visitors lined the route of this year’s event.
It is becoming an increasingly popular race, not only among spectators, but also with riders and teams. There was an overwhelming consensus among the riders I spoke with at this year’s race that, apart from dealing with the unavoidable long-haul flight and vagaries of the Australian summer weather, teams look forward to racing at the TDU, with many telling me it’s a race like no other.
There’s no doubt that the timing of the race, during the January school holidays, has much to do with the event’s popularity and growing success. Race director Mike Turtur has pointed out that this is a formula which is also followed by the Tour de France (which takes place in July, during the northern summer holidays).
Being situated in the school holidays has enabled the TDU to attract larger crowds, greater media interest, and become not only a world-class bike race, but also a highly successful tourism event for South Australia. And with the TDU being partially funded by the state government, which this year announced a further $6 million investment over the next four years, the event’s ability to attract these tourism dollars is important to maintaining its financial backing.
So if the TDU’s time slot is currently working well for financial stakeholders, teams and cycling fans alike, how should we deal with the problem of the gaping hole in the WorldTour calendar between January and March?
One possibility would involve the UCI promoting a 2.HC race currently taking place in February, such as the Dubai Tour or the Tours of Qatar or Oman, to WorldTour status. The concept of one of these races being promoted isn’t too far-fetched: the Tour of Oman seems to be a particularly popular contender among cycling fans to get the upgrade from the UCI, and the Dubai Tour has already stated its intentions to attain WorldTour status.
With regards to the TDU, the phrase ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ is apt. The race has found a formula that works well, and the solution won’t lie in changing it. In any case, the UCI’s recent affirmation that the event should remain in its existing timeslot will most likely quell calls to move the race for some time to come.
Promoting one of the 2.HC Gulf State races following the TDU may be the way to promote greater coherency within the WorldTour calendar. But the solution, at least for now, does not lie in moving the TDU.