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2017 Tour Down Under: Stage 2 preview

The peloton finish Stage 4 on the coast. (AAP Image/Dan Peled)
Roar Guru
17th January, 2017
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While the stage finishing atop of Willunga Hill is considered to be the ‘Queen stage’ of the Santos Tour Down Under, Stage 2 from Stirling to the hilltop finish in Paracombe may be the most difficult one that race director Mike Turtur has ever produced.

The 148.5 kilometres from Stirling to Paracombe, which consists of nearly 3000 metres of climbing will most likely provide the base for a series of stunning attacks on the final climb up Torrens Hill Road.

Keen followers of the Tour Down Under will be familiar with the five loops around Stirling, with the loops being a regular feature in recent editions of the race. Usually, the race finishes on the uphill climb into town, however, this year, more pain is to come.

The main difficulty of the Stirling loop are two sections of climbing, most notably the final 2.4 kilometres of the lap which average at just under four per cent. Though, it is at it’s steepest halfway to the top, with gradients above seven per cent.

The loop will have both intermediates sprints in the town of Heathfield after 24 and 66 kilometres respectively.

The fifth time through Stirling signals the start of the race proper, with the riders now only 60 kilometres to the line.

It is then onto lumpy riders until we get to the technical descent of Norton Summit. Positioning will be at the top of the descent, as the fast flowing first few kilometres will soon disappear before a final two kilometre sequence of switchbacks and 90 degree corners.

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At the bottom of the descent, the riders will be happy to know that they are within the final 25 kilometres, with the next 15 kilometres being flat as the riders find their way to Gorge Road.

The ‘ten kilometres to go’ sign signifies the start of the climbing, and some fairly familiar roads as the riders head towards, and then past the turn off to Corkscrew Road.

When the Corkscrew Road climb has been used in the event, they have descended down to Corkscrew Road then headed up the climb. This year though, the riders will climb up Gorge Road, making the stage a day for the general classification riders and potentially, the first stage in the races history which truly suits the real climbers.

As the riders pass through Corkscrew Road, they will be inside the final 8 kilometres and the climbing will start sharply with the Kangaroo Creek climb being two kilometres at five per cent, with sections above ten per cent. This will be the perfect place for the opportunists to try their luck.

As they crest the climb of Kangaroo Creek, the road continues to rise for the entirety of the final five kilometres.

There is only one categorised climb on the day’s route, that of the category one climb of Torrens Hill Road, which averages out at 9.4 per cent for 1.2 kilometres, with sections above 13 per cent. Its only use in the races history was back in 2015, where Rohan Dennis sprinted away over the crest of the climb to take stage honors.

The climb finishes with a few hundred metres to go, as the road shapes to the left to head into town for the long drag up to the line.

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Orica-Scott will have the responsibility to chase with Caleb Ewan taking yesterday’s stage, and the leaders jersey, while also having potential general classification threats, Simon Gerrans and Esteban Chaves in their ranks.

The climbs will be too difficult for Gerrans, especially the final climb up Torrens Hill Road, however he looked in good form at Nationals, even though he went into the race with illness.

Chaves for mine will be the rider that Orica should back, however, this is the earliest start to a season that the Colombian has ever made, so his form here will be a question mark.

BMC will have the main favourite in my opinion for today’s stage, with Tasmanian Richie Porte looking to be the favourite for overall honors this year. He will have a strong team behind him, including Damiano Caruso and current Australian National Time Trial champion, Rohan Dennis.

As mentioned previously, Dennis took the win into Paracombe back in 2015, and could do the same thing again this year, however, with the stage much more selective this time around, it will be less likely that he will get the opportunity to go it alone.

Team Sky come to the race with the strongest set of climbers out of any of the teams that have made the journey to Adeladie. Sky has two main contenders for the overall, with Sergio Henao, who finished on the podium last year, and Geriant Thomas, who took out Paris Nice last year.

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In the wings helping them on the climbs will be Sergio’s younger brother Sebastian and new recruit, Frenchmen Kenny Ellisonde.

Henao would be the rider to back out of this team, with the steeper climbs more up his ally, compared to Thomas turbo engine.

Other riders to look out for today include: Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale), Giovanni Visconti (Bahrain-Merida), Jay McCarthy (Bora-Hansgrohe), Tom-Jelte Slagter and Michael Woods (Cannondale-Drapac), Tiago Machado (Katusha-Alpecin), Rafael Valls (Lotto-Soudal), Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana), Gorka Izaguirre (Movistar), Gianluca Brambilla and Dries Devenyns (Quick-Step Floors), Nathan Haas and Lachlan Morton (Dimension Data), Robert Gesink (Team Lotto-Jumbo), Wilco Kelderman and Simo Geschke (Team Sunweb), Jarlinson Pantano (Trek-Segafredo) and Louis Meintjes and Diego Ulissi (UAE Abu Dhabi).

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