2009 Tour Down Under - Adelaide Criterium 'Cancer
Council Classic'
Preview of the tour prelude of the Down Under Classic opener. Team Rosters & Bib
Numbers.
All eyes are on Australia for the next week, as the Tour Down Under kicks off
the much maligned Pro-Tour season. Mistakenly, it isn't the event that kicks off
the professional season; that honour goes to the Cancer Council Classic, a
Criterium race around Adelaide's Rymill Park on Sunday. This race has been the
curtain-raiser of the season for the last few years, though the race title has
simply been the Down Under Classic. The 2008 race was in Glenelg instead of
Adelaide, though the race has moved back to its more traditional home this year.
The Route
Along with the new name, the other slight change to the Adelaide race is the
route. In previous years, the circuit around the Rymill Park measured 2km. For
2009, it is down to 1.7km, with the removal of a short section along the East
Terrace, which contained a tight hairpin bend and actually took the riders
outside the Park area.
The now parallelogram-esque circuit is completely flat, and and with the
exception of a difficult bend that takes the riders along the Dequetteville
Terrace, there is nothing to worry the peloton.
With a slightly smaller circuit for 2009, the race will run over 30 laps, as
opposed to 25, and measure 51km in length – 1km more than last year. The Classic
begins at 7pm local time, with organisers predicting a race time of
seventy-minutes. The 2007 race was completed in 1hr3minutes. A sprint
competition will run alongside the honour of winning the race; four sprints at
the end of laps 5,10,15 and 20 will give points to the first rider across the
finish line.
The Riders
Robbie McEwen (Team Katusha), Mark Renshaw and Andre Greipel (both Team
Columbia) – the last three victors in this race –are riding, though Greipel's
victory came in Glenelg, which was the closest city to the start of the 2008
Tour Down Under. Ironically, Renshaw and McEwen both trailed Griepel in 2008,
who was also the dominant sprinter in the subsequent stage race. Another
Columbia rider, Bernhard Eisel, is likely to form part of the sprinters'
lead-out train, but is a fast finisher himself.
Unless you've been hiding in cave for the past six months, Australia is the
country in which Lance Armstrong makes his professional comeback. He has already
discounted winning the week long stage race that follows the Cancer Council
Classic, though the title of this Criterium fits perfectly with his ambitions
for 2009.
Another former Tour de France winner, Oscar Pereiro, is also making his
comeback. The Spaniard suffered a leg break on the descent of the Col de Agnel
on Stage 15 of last year's Grande Boucle, so is likely to use this and the Tour
Down Under to acclimatise to racing again.
Australian sprinter Graeme Brown (Rabobank) Milram's Christian Knees and
Allan Davis (4th in 2008, now riding for Quick Step) are also likely to
challenge for the honours.
Tour Down Under
Teams, Riders & Bib Numbers
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Team Columbia (Usa)
1. Andre Greipel Ger
2. George Hincapie Usa
3. Michael Rogers Aus
4. Bernhard Eisel Aut
5. Mark Renshaw Aus
6. Greg Henderson Nzl
7. Adam Hansen Aus
Astana (Lux)
11. Lance Armstrong Usa
12. Assan Bazayev Kaz
13. Jesus Hernandez Esp
14. Michael Schar Sui
15. Maxim Iglinskiy Kaz
16. Steve Morabito Sui
17. Jose Luis Rubiera Esp
Ag2r La Mondiale (Fra)
21. Martin Elmiger Sui
22. Sebastien Hinault Fra
23. Vladimir Efimkin Rus
24. Alexandr Pliuschin Mda
25. Nicholas Roche Irl
26. Rene Mandri Est
27. Alexander Efimkin Rus
Silence - Lotto (Bel)
31. Mario Aerts Bel
32. Glenn D'hollander Bel
33. Pieter Jacobs Bel
34. Olivier Kaisen Bel
35. Jonas Ljungblad Swe
36. Matthew Lloyd Aus
37. Tom Stubbe Bel
Team Katusha (Rus)
41. Robbie Mcewen Aus
42. Gert Steegmans Bel
43. Kenny De Haes Bel
44. Juan Horrach Esp
45. Stijn Vandenbergh Bel
46. Sergey Klimov Rus
47. Nikolay Trusov Rus
Team Saxo Bank (Den)
51. Stuart O'grady Aus
52. Jens Voigt Ger
53. Nicki Sorensen Den
54. Kasper Klostergaard Den
55. Matthew Goss Aus
56. Frank Hoj Den
57. Anders Lund Den
Bbox Bouygues Telecom (Fra)
61. Matthieu Sprick Fra
62. Mathieu Claude Fra
63. Vincent Jerome Fra
64. Laurent Lefevre Fra
65. Rony Martias Fra
66. Alexandre Pichot Fra
67. Perrig Quemeneur Fra
Cofidis (Fra)
71. David Moncoutie Fra
72. Mickael Buffaz Fra
73. Aliaksandr Usau Blr
74. Guillaume Blot Fra
75. Florent Brard Fra
76. Julien El Fares Fra
77. Rein Taaramae Est
Francaise Des Jeux (Fra)
81. Mikael Cherel Fra
82. Remy Di Gregorio Fra
83. Timothy Gudsell Nzl
84. Jussi Veikkanen Fin
85. Yoann Offredo Fra
86. Jeremy Roy Fra
87. Wesley Sulzberger Aus
Caisse
d'Epargne (Esp)
91. Oscar Pereiro Esp
92. Luis Leon Sanchez Esp
93. Jose Rojas Esp
94. Pablo Lastras Esp
95. Mathieu Perget Fra
96. Imanol Erviti Esp
97. Mathieu Drujon Fra |
Quick Step (Bel)
101. Allan Davis Aus
102. Matteo Tosatto Ita
103. Dries Devenyns Bel
104. Davide Malacarne Ita
105. Francesco Reda Ita
106. Hubert Schwab Sui
107. Kurt Hovelijnck Bel
Euskaltel - Euskadi (Esp)
111. Josu Agirre Esp
112. Pablo Urtasun Esp
113. Inaki Isasi Esp
114. Andoni Lafuente Esp
115. Markel Irizar Esp
116. Sergio De Lis Esp
117. Aitor Hernandez Esp
Milram (Ger)
121. Christian Knees Ger
122. Luca Barla Ita
123. Martin Muller Ger
124. Markus Eichler Ger
125. Willem Stroetinga Ned
126. Thomas Rohregger Aut
127. Ronny Scholz Ger
Lampre -
N.G.C (Ita)
131. Matteo Bono Ita
132. Emanuele Bindi Ita
133. Andrea Grendene Ita
134. Mauro Santambrogio Ita
135. Vitaliy Buts Ukr
136. Volodymyr Zagorodniy Ukr
137. David Loosli Sui
Rabobank (Ned)
141. Graeme Brown Aus
142. Stef Clement Ned
143. Mathew Hayman Aus
144. Jos Van Emden Ned
145. Rick Flens Ned
146. Tom Leezer Ned
147. Kai Reus Ned
Liquigas (Ita)
151. Maciej Bodnar Pol
152. Cladio Corioni Ita
153. Gianni Da Ros Ita
154. Gjacopo Uarnieri Ita
155. Aliaksandr Kuchynski Blr
156. Francesco Chicchi Ita
157. Frederick Willems Bel
Garmin -
Slipstream (Usa)
161. Julian Dean Nzl
162. Trent Lowe Aus
163. Timmy Duggan Usa
164. Chris Sutton Aus
165. Cameron Meyer Aus
166. Ryder Hesjedal Can
167. Christian Meier Can
Fuji - Servetto (Esp)
171. Daniele Nardello Ita
172. Ermanno Capelli Ita
173. Hilton Clarke Aus
174. Javier Megias Esp
175. Davide Vigano Ita
176. William Walker Aus
177. Ivan Dominquez Usa
Unisa - Australia (Aus)
181. Baden Cooke Vic
182. Aaron Kemps Qld
183. Scott Davis Qld
184. Travis Meyer Wa
185. Jack Bobridge Sa
186. Simon Clarke Vic
187. Matthew Wilson Vic
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