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Extreme heat has forced the shortening of the opening stage of the 2017 Santos Tour Down Under cycling race.

The race’s first stage had been scheduled to finish with three laps of a 26.5 kilometres circuit through South Australia’s famed wine-growing region, but on the first of those laps, Race Director Mike Turtur and rider representative Adam Hansen (Lotto Soudal) conferred and agreed to remove one lap of the finishing circuit because of the intense heat.

Temperatures approached 40ºC throughout the stage and the pace in the peloton was slow as a result. At the start of the closing circuits, the riders were half an hour behind schedule.

As a result the stage was reduced from 145 kilometres to 118.5 kilometres.

Turtur explained “the safety and welfare of the riders, spectators and everyone involved with the race is always our primary concern.”

First held in 1999, the week-long Tour Down Under has grown to become the biggest cycling race in the southern hemisphere. It attracts riders from all over the world. In 2005, the event was promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to the highest ranking outside Europe.

In 2008, the Tour Down Under became the first UCI ProTour in Australia, and the following year it became the inaugural event of the UCI World Ranking calendar.

The race has grown so big that Qantas advised customers heading to Adelaide in advance of the event to get to the airport earlier than usual “in case of delays at check-in if there are a large number of bikes”.

Qantas has advised its customers that up to 22nd January 2017, “Qantas is anticipating a large number of customers travelling with bikes for the Santos Tour Down Under cycling event.

“Due to the aircraft’s limited cargo capacity and the large volume of sporting equipment requiring transport at this time, Qantas cannot guarantee the bike will travel on the same flight as the customer.

“All customers are encouraged to register their intent to travel with a bike to help Qantas cater for the demand.

“We also encourage you to let customers know to get to the airport for check-in earlier than expected in case of delays at check-in if there are a large number of bikes.”

Image: Competitors in the Santos Tour Down Under. Courtesy of Cor Vos.

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