Tour Down Under
| Tour Down Under | |
|---|---|
| General | |
| Established | 1999 |
| Held | January |
| Country | Australia |
| Region | South Australia |
| Type | Stage Race |
| Data | |
| Editions | 7 |
| First Winner | Stuart O'Grady, AUS |
| Most Recent | Luis Sanchez, ESP |
| Most Wins | Stuart O'Grady, AUS: twice |
The Tour Down Under is a cycling race held in picturesque Adelaide, South Australia, and the surrounding area. The race starts on the third Tuesday of January each year, and it attracts esteemed riders from across Australia and around the world. In 2005, the Tour Down Under was promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale to the international rating of Hors Classe 2, making it the largest and highest ranking cycling event outside of Europe.
The 2005 Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under is a six-day tour that was staged from January 18 to January 23, 2005, and covered a total of 728 kilometres (449.3 miles). Luis Sanchez from Spain was the overall winner.
The race starts with a circuit race stage in the East Parklands and finishes with a circuit in the North Parklands. The other four stages are road stages usually including visits to the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Victor Harbor and Adelaide Hills.
Terminology
Terms used in the Tour Down Under and other cycling events include:
- attack - an attempt by one or more riders to quickly pull ahead
- breakaway - a group of riders who have escaped the peloton
- cadence - the rate at which a cyclist pedals (in revolutions per minute)
- caravan - the team cars following behind the peloton in support of their racers
- domestique - a rider whose primary role is to support the team leader, as opposed to winning individual honors
- drop - to leave a rider behind
- etape - a race stage
- yellow jersey - the jersey worn by the overall first-place rider
- parcours - the race route
- patron - the winner of the race from the year before
- peloton - the large main group of riders