Karen Graham

Australia

24/01/2010

Just back from an awesome week with friends - enjoying the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. We ate locally-produced & mouth-watering gourmet food, sampled fine wines from the seemingly endless vineyards, and explored many historic villages. We also got on our bikes to explore the hills and challenge ourselves, which was the least we could do on a trip that was tailored around watching the pro cyclists in the Santos Tour Down Under!

Parade of Champions

The Tour Down Under is gaining in popularity each year, with thousands of fans filling the towns for the six days of cycling action. The calibre of cyclists is also improving with this year's event boasting the likes of Lance Armstrong, Cadel Evans, Allan Davis, Andre Greipel and Alejandro Valverde, to name but a few. http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/

Here are my photographic highlights of a wonderful week!

Cycling the Coast to Vines Rail Trail

The Coast to Vines Rail Trail is a 34 km ride, which features great ocean views of the Fleurieu Peninsula and the rolling hills of McLaren Vale, with vineyards and cellar doors adjacent to the bike path. http://bit.ly/8a6ug6

Tour Down Under Stage 2 finish - Hahndorf

Thousands of people lined the streets of historic Hahndorf (Australia's oldest German town) for the exciting sprint finish on Stage 2 of the Tour.

The whole town was decorated with the Tour colours (purple, green & orange) and the atmosphere continued to build until the riders appeared on the horizon. Then the crowd erupted as the cyclists whizzed past. On this day, Andre Greipel won the second of his three stage wins (all sprint finishes). He is seen here in the centre of the photo (wearing the Ochre Leader's Jersey), only 75m from the finish line.

Tour Down Under Stage 3 - Aldgate

Watching the riders (up close and personal) as they negotiated the roundabout at Aldgate. The route looped through this hilly section three times and it was great to see young Aussie rider, Simon Clarke in a breakaway group (until the peloton chased them down). Clarke ended up with the jersey for the 'most aggressive rider' this day. Look out for the black and yellow helmet of Lance Armstrong in the first picture.

Exploring the wineries

We checked out a few wineries, but my personal favourite was the Hahndorf Hill Winery where we tried the Chocovino. That's right, sampling chocolates that have been matched to the wine! Brilliant! http://www.hahndorfhillwinery.com.au/

Tour Down Under Stage 5 - Willunga Hill (King of the Mountain)

This was definitely the most exciting day with several breakaway groups.

It was fantastic to see Cadel Evans and Lance Armstrong (both in the shot below) on the first climb up Willunga Hill.

But the real excitement came on the second climb when Cadel Evans made his move and cycled ahead of the peloton. Evans was joined by three others just as he rounded the bend to where we were watching, including the two Spaniards also seen in this photo (Luis Leon Sanchez and Alejandro Velverde). Sanchez (yellow shoes) went on to win the stage.

Although we didn't see the final stage (around the streets of Adelaide) we got to see plenty of the eventual winner of the Tour Down Under - Andre Greipel seen below (second from front during Stage 4 in Mount Barker).

What a great week!

But I have to say the biggest highlight for me was definitely seeing Lance Armstrong racing in Australia. His book, 'It's not about the bike', is a truly inspirational read, as is his continued work in bringing awareness to the fight against cancer. Check out his website: http://www.lancearmstrong.com/

Can't wait for the 2011 Tour Down Under!

Posted by Karen Graham on 24 January 2010 - 10:23pm.
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