WHAT WE WANT TO SEE FROM THE 2021 SANTOS TOUR DOWN UNDER

Words - James Raison
Race Images - CAuld Photos

July is near, which means the SANTOS Tour Down Under (TDU) course announcement is likely imminent. Now’s a good time then for me to return to an idea I had for an article immediately after this year’s TDU; a wishlist for how I’d like to see the race evolve under new director Stuart O’Grady in 2021.

This year’s race felt different. Smaller. The crowds seemed sparse on the road and at stage start/finishes. The Tour Village wasn’t crawling like it usually seems to, and multiple stallholders noted the same. I think the uncomfortable reality is the race has hit a stagnation point. It’s been tweaked a couple of times, like moving the Willunga Hill Queen stage to Sunday, but has largely existed in its current format for a decade. Each year runs to the same script of race design and outcome.

How can the race grow then? It’s critically important that crowd numbers don’t have a sustained drop. The race exists solely as a tourism showcase for South Australia and will get axed without sufficient return on investment. My wishlist below is a balance of wishful thinking and achievability. I’ll avoid deep navel gazing and how hard could it be-ism, and try to stick to actionable ideas.

HOW WE GOT HERE

Let’s have a quick refresher on how the TDU’s current format came to be.

Both the MTDU and WTDU exist to satisfy the early season needs of the professional teams. The stage lengths and parcours balance are largely designed to pile up racing kilometers in a way that pleases all disciplines of rider. There’s climbing, sprinting, and enough overall kilometers in a warm climate to be loved by the teams and riders. The riders really do love it.

I think the race template needs to change. I adore both riding my bike in South Australia and watching bike racing. I feel the TDU doesn’t do either of those things justice though. Here’s what I’d like to see then.

A PROPER CRESCENDO FOR WTDU

The mixed-parcours first 3 stages of the WTDU have made for some fantastic racing over the last couple of years but the race deserves better than finishing as a curtain-raiser for the mens’ prize money criterium on Sunday evening.

I get why it’s scheduled like this, and you can argue the massive crowd in the Adelaide CBD is worth it, but I feel it’s anticlimactic. I laud the race organisation and sponsor SANTOS for getting the race broadcast this and easily available to stream this year. That’s a great step forward. Now it’s time to raise the stakes and put in a proper Queen Stage.

The dream would be to have concurrent womens and mens races, but in lieu of that I’ll take a race more geared towards a big finale. The race needs a Willunga Hill, or better yet, a better hill finale. There’s plenty of better hills much closer to Adelaide. Willunga Hill doesn’t particularly stand out by Adelaide standards and has never really been one of my favourites. A Corkscrew Road finale starting at the bottom of Gorge Road with the race blow to pieces in a war of attrition would be a fantastic sight and crowds would come out to line the iconic switchbacks.

We’ve drawn some phenomenal talent to the WTDU and I’d love to see a big race.

GRAVEL

You’re goddam right I want more gravel! In both TDU races.

Adelaide is spoilt with gravel (we devoted an article to amazing gravel routes), frequently adjacent to the familiar tarmac roads used by the race. There was one small sector of gravel on the WTDU stage this year and it caught plenty of racers by surprise. Gravel has briefly appeared in the MTDU before on the section of Forktree Road that connects to Main South Road. It’s a couple of kilometers of mostly downhill. A former competitor told me it was only used once because a GC contender punctured, lost time, and complained. Goodbye gravel.

Gravel makes sense geographically, suits the cycling industry direction, and a booming segment of the consumer market. We really do have phenomenal gravel in Adelaide and it’s a shame to see it unused.

There’s such mystique and fascination with the Strade Bianchi. We may not be able to replicate that exactly in sunburnt South Australian January but we’re gravel rich enough for some spectacle. It could spice up the race and draw some more big-name Spring Classics talent.

MORE CLIMBING DAMMIT!

Adelaide is flush with amazing hills and yet the SANTOS Tour Down Under barely scratches the surface of what could be done. I want the MTDU to be a proper climbing race, not one that depends on mid-stage bonus seconds and how much daylight is behind Richie Porte on Willunga Hill. The TDU has recently been very close racing but only briefly good racing. There’s only several decisive minutes throughout the entire week and some of those happen mid-stage. The peloton needs to be blown apart to raise the spectacle.

The WTDU, by contrast, has seen some fascinating racing over the last couple of editions because it’s blown apart on undulating and climby stages. As I mentioned above, I’ve laid out my plan for a Gorge Road/Corkscrew Road finale which satisfies my desire for more climbing in that race.

Over on the MTDU, the Queen Stage on Willunga Hill is ripe for pumping full of verts. The Willunga area is stacked with awesome climbs that could mix up the stage without altering its location. I would love to see 5 ascents up Willunga Hill, or a mixture of Willunga Hill and nearby bergs like Wickams Hill Road, Taylors Hill Road, or the seriously tough Kings Hill Road which all run up the Western face of the Range. There’s some delicious gravel on those roads too.

More. Climbing. Please.

KANGAROO ISLAND

KI is one of our last tourism resources that the TDU hasn’t explored. It’s close enough to the city, and has flight/boat access to make it possible albeit logistically difficult. The idea has been bouncing around for much of this year so it’s not original on my part.

It aligns perfectly with the race’s tourism-focus and gives plenty of scope for dramatic helicopter shots of beautiful coastline. It won’t necessarily make for amazing racing with the island’s topography being quite flat but the wind could potentially spice things up.

The important thing is Kangaroo Island brings something new. That’s exactly what the race needs.

MORE LOCAL CLUB EVENT CREATIVITY

Let’s focus on race-adjacent activities now.

Without a doubt my three favourite events this year were the Cycling South Australia managed MAKER Festival & Trek Nightriders, and Port Adelaide Cycling Club’s Roller Frenzy. The local organisations understand the Adelaide cycling zeitgeist and always put on a great show. It’s crucial to note that these all happened, and were made great, because the SANTOS Tour Down Under threw their weight behind the local organisations. Many barriers can be removed by the clout of the TDU.

The Trek Nightriders was brilliant; elite criteriums for men and women in the beautiful Adelaide CBD at sunset. My camera is still full of drool as I tried, futily, to capture how freakin stunning the event looked. The racing was fantastic too with aggressive riders capitalising on the corner-heavy course to animate the racing.

Pure bike nerds bliss was found at MAKER.

MAKER is the best cycling showcase in Australia. You may sniff some bias because I handle the media side of the event but keep in mind I do it for free because I want to support these grass roots events. The last two editions gave some of Australia’s finest established and up-and-coming brands prime real estate within the TDU village. The exhibiting costs are miniscule compared to the opportunity because the event is run to benefit the industry. The idea is that the brands make money from MAKER and the event organisation takes a nominal amount. The MAKER/Tour Village bike expo could see out 2020 as the biggest cycling showcase in the calendar year.

The Roller Derby is a beautiful in its public cruelty!

Port Adelaide CC’s Roller Frenzy is just a glorious thing to watch, and the perfect balance to the oversubscribed trainer racing that’s on every night in multiple locations around the CBD. It’s a handicapped cadence frenzy where riders compete to turn their pedals as fast as possible until their allocated revolution count is finished. It all takes place in the TDU Village with a crowd and a giant screen.

Fingers crossed the TDU and locals combine forces to bring all of these events back, and see new events for 2021.

What do you want to see from the TDU? Drop your thoughts below or join the conversation on our Facebook page.