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Santos Tour Down Under guide

Your companion to the season-opener in Australia

The 2014 UCI WorldTour gets under way with six days of sun-drenched racing at the Santos Tour Down Under in Australia (January 21-26).

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Stage 2: Wednesday, January 22 - Prospect to Stirling - 150km | Report | Gallery Result 1 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida, 3:52:14
2 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-Green-Edge, same time
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC, st
4 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana, st
5 Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin, st
6 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky, st
7 Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC, st
8 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek Factory Racing, st
9 Javier Moreno (Spa) Movistar, st
10 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge, st
Selected other 70 Geraint Thomas (GB) Team Sky, st General classification 1 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge, 7:12:31
2 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida, +7sec
3 Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol, +11
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC, +13
5 Steele von Hoff (Aus) Garmin-Sharp, same time
6 Simon Geschke (Ger) Giant-Shimano, +16
7 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana, +17
8 Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin, st
9 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, st
10 Geraint Thomas (GB) Team Sky, st
Selected other
16 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky, +21 Stage 3: Thursday, January 23 - Norwood to Campbelltown - 145km | Report | Gallery Result 1 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC, 3:34:06
2 Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp, +15secs
3 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida, same time
4 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol, st
5 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge, st
6 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo, st
7 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC, st
8 Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC, st
9 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge, st
10 Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin, st
Selected other
13 Geraint Thomas (GB) Team Sky, st General classification 1 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC, 10:46:39
2 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge, +12secs
3 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida, +15
4 Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp, +27
5 Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin, +29
6 Geraint Thomas (GB) Team Sky, +29
7 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge, +33
8 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC, same time
9 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo, st
10 Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC, st
Selected other
11 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky, st Stage 4: Friday, January 24 - Unley to Victor Harbor - 148.5km | Report | Gallery Result 1 Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol, 3:33:07
2 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol, same time
3 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale, st
4 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge, st
5 Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp, st
6 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge, st
7 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale
8 Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff-Saxo, st
9 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ, st
10 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana, st
Selected other
13 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing, st
16 Geraint Thomas (GB) Team Sky, st General classification 1 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing, 14:19:46
2 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica Greenedge, +7secs
3 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida, +14
4 Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp, +23
5 Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin, +29
6 Geraint Thomas (GB) Team Sky, same time
7 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica Greenedge, +33
8 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC, st
9 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo, st
10 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky, st Stage 5: Saturday, January 25 - McLaren Vale to Willunga Hill - 151.5km The fifth day will have a big say on the overall winner of the race, with the first man to the summit finish on Willunga Hill putting himself in pole position to claim the ochre jersey. The course is made up of two circuits, with the riders being taken on three laps of a largely flat opening circuit, before negotiating two laps of a hilly concluding circuit each containing an ascent of Willunga Hill. Those with fresh legs may choose to attack on the first ascent, but it is second time around where the decisive moves are likely to be made. Anyone with seconds in hand from previous stages will need to be placed well towards the front to defend their advantage. - Live coverage on Sky Sports 1 from 12.30am-4.30am. Repeated on Sky Sports 3 at 12pm. Highlights on Sky Sports 3 at 5.30pm and 10pm. Stage 6: Sunday, January 26 - Adelaide to Adelaide - 85.5km The race's concluding day is left to the sprinters to battle it out over 18 laps of a 4.75km circuit in Adelaide city centre. The circuit is virtually pan flat, but a series of tight turns will spice things up. Expect a fast and furious finale to the race. Time bonuses could also come into play here. - Live coverage on Sky Sports 1 from 1.30am-4.30am. Repeated at 8am on Sky Sports 3, 12pm on Sky Sports 2 and 2.30pm on Sky Sports 4. Highlights at 6.30pm on Sky Sports 2.

The favourites

With hills being a prominent feature of the 2014 parcours, the favourites for this year's race appear to be the men who like going uphill. Richie Porte and Cadel Evans will be riding on home roads and the hilly route suits their styles, while Javier Moreno finished second overall last year and is likely to be a threat once again. Of the non-pure climbers, Simon Gerrans is a former winner of the race and victory in the Australian national road championship last weekend showed he has good form.

Brit watch

Andrew Fenn (Omega Pharma - QuickStep)
Luke Rowe (Team Sky)
Ian Stannard (Team Sky)
Geraint Thomas (Team Sky, pictured right)

Key stage

Stage five. The climb to Willunga Hill will create splits in the general classification and could well decide who takes overall victory.

The jerseys

- Ochre: General classification.
- Green polka dots: King of the mountains.
- Blue: Sprints classification.
- White and pink: Best young rider.
- Green: Most competitive rider.
- Red: Team classification.

Time bonuses

- 10, 6 and 4 bonus seconds will be awarded to the first three finishers on each stage.
- 3, 2 and 1 bonus second will be awarded to the first three riders over the line at intermediate sprints.

Teams and riders

Ag2r-La Mondiale: Julien Berard (Fra), Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra), Maxime Bouet (Fra), Maxime Daniel (Fra), Axel Domont (Fra), Damien Gaudin (Fra), Sebastien Turgot (Fra). Astana: Lieuwe Westra (Ned), Enrico Gasparotto (Ita), Valerio Agnoli (Ita), Francesco Gavazzi (Ita), Andriy Grivko (Ukr), Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita), Evan Huffman (USA). Belkin: Robert Gesink (Ned), Graeme Brown (Aus), Bram Tankink (Ned), Stef Clement (Ned), Jack Bobridge (Aus), David Tanner (Aus), Rick Flens (Ned). BMC: Cadel Evans (Aus), Brent Bookwalter (USA), Ben Hermans (Bel), Amael Moinard (Fra), Steve Morabito (Swi), Danilo Wyss (Swi), Rick Zabel (Ger). Cannondale: Elia Viviani (Ita), Cameron Wurf (Aus), George Bennett (NZ), Guillaume Boivin (Can), Matthias Krizek (Aut), Matej Mohoric (Slo), Alberto Bettiol (Ita). Drapac: Jonathan Cantwell (Aus), William Clarke (Aus), Darren Lapthorne (Aus), Robbie Hucker (Aus), Travis Meyer (Aus), Wesley Sulzberger (Aus), Bernard Sulzberger (Aus). Europcar: Perrig Quemeneur (Fra), Kevin Reza (Fra), Jerome Cousin (Fra), Angelo Tulik (Fra), Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn), Bjorn Thurau (Ger). FDJ: Arnaud Courteille (Fra), Geoffrey Soupe (Fra), Jussi Veikkanen (Fin), William Bonnet (Fra), Anthony Roux (Fra), Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier (Fra), Kenny Elissonde (Fra). Garmin-Sharp: Rohan Dennis (Aus), Jack Bauer (NZ), Thomas Dekker (Ned), Nathan Haas (Aus), Lachlan Morton (Aus), Steele von Hoff (Aus), Caleb Fairly (USA). Giant-Shimano: Niklas Arndt (Ger), Johannes Frohlinger (Ger), Simon Geschke (Ger), Thierry Hupond (Fra), Marcel Kittel (Ger), Koen de Kort (Ned), Tom Peterson (USA). Katusha: Egor Silin (Rus), Maxim Belkov (Rus), Marco Haller (Aut), Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus), Alexandr Porsev (Rus), Eduard Vorganov (Rus), Pavel Kochetkov (Rus). Lampre-Merida: Diego Ulissi (Ita), Luca Wackermann (Ita), Manuele Mori (Ita), Matteo Bono (Ita), Davide Cimolai (Ita), Roberto Ferrari (Ita), Rafael Valls (Spa). Lotto-Belisol: Andre Greipel (Ger), Adam Hansen (Aus), Jens Debusschere (Bel), Olivier Kaisen (Bel), Jurgen Roelandts (Bel), Marcel Sieberg (Ger), Stig Broeckx (Bel). Movistar: Javier Moreno (Spa), Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Spa), Imanol Erviti (Spa), Ruben Plaza (Spa), Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa), Juan Jose Lobato (Spa). Omega Pharma - Quick-Step: Julian Alaphilippe (Fra), Jan Bakelants (Bel), Andrew Fenn (GB), Serge Pauwels (Bel), Mark Renshaw (Aus), Matteo Trentin (Ita), Carlos Verona (Spa). Orica-GreenEdge: Daryl Impey (RSA), Luke Durbridge (Aus), Matthew Goss (Aus), Mathew Hayman (Aus), Michael Matthews (Aus), Simon Clarke (Aus), Simon Gerrans (Aus). Team Sky: Richie Porte (Aus), Nathan Earle (Aus), Geraint Thomas (GB), Philip Deignan (Ire), Bernhard Eisel (Aut), Luke Rowe (GB), Ian Stannard (GB). Tinkoff-Saxo: Rory Sutherland (Aus), Nikolay Trusov (Rus), Jay McCarthy (Aus), Christopher Juul-Jenson (Den), Michael Andersen (Den), Michael Kolar (Svk), Nicki Sorensen (Den). Trek: Calvin Watson (Aus), Frank Schleck (Lux), Jens Voigt (Ger), Fabio Felline (Ita), Danny van Poppel (Ned), Boy van Poppel (Ned), Laurent Didier (Lux). UniSA-Australia: Caleb Ewan (Aus), Campbell Flakemore (Aus), Jack Haig (Aus), Bradley Linfield (Aus), Mark O'Brien (Aus), Anthony Giacoppo (Aus), Neil van der Ploeg (Aus).

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