The Tour Down Under becomes a different race at the weekend, the sprinters’ chances are over and the battle for overall victory will play out on Willunga Hill and then Mount Lofty.
The double whammy of hilltop finishes has led to some calling it the hardest finale ever seen at the Tour Down Under.
Saturday’s fifth stage features Willunga Hill twice with the finish atop the iconic South Australian climb. Sunday’s final stage climbs Mount Lofty three times.
Both climbs are short and not overly steep but will surely be raced hard, with time bonuses for the top three on each stage perhaps deciding the winner of the ochre-coloured leader's jersey.
Willunga Hill is listed in the race technical guide as a 3 kilometre ascent at an average gradient of 7.4% and maximum of 15.6%. As Richie Porte proved on six occasions at the Tour Down Under, it is a seven-minute effort, with positioning and protection from teammates vital in the kilometres before it. As we saw in the Women’s Tour Down Under, the wind in the exposed valley roads and on the climb can be a decisive factor but raw power and speed decide who rules Willunga Hill.
Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) won alone to take overall victory, attacking multiple times from the bottom and dropping her rivals with just over 2km to go. Will anyone try a similar move in the men’s race, with Mount Lofty to race the day after?
The final stage is only 128 km long but includes significantly more climbing than stage 6 due to the triple ascent of Mount Lofty. Positioning is again vital before the 1.3km climb, with the testing roads in the hills overlooking Adelaide, more difficult to master.
The race for overall victory will begin after just 50km, as the stage enters the Adelaide hills, with the three climbs and shaded descents making the stage akin to an Ardennes Classic fought in the Australian heat.
Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) took the stage honours atop Mount Lofty last year, just ahead of Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) but the Australian won overall thanks to riding a better opening time trial.
This year the overall classification is closer and packed with overall contenders after Sam Welsford and the sprinters dominated the opening four stages.
Neo-pro Isaac Del Toro won stage 2 to Lobethal with a powerful late solo attack and he and UAE Team Emirates have carefully defended the ochre jersey since.
The 20-year-old Mexican leads Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) by one second, with Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) at two seconds.
Del Toro’s biggest rivals sit just a few seconds back but within reach if they can win either stage 6 or 7 and take a few bonus seconds.
Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) is just seven seconds down on Del Toro, Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers) is at ten seconds and then a pack of 56 riders are all at 11 seconds. These include Adam Yates (Jayco AlUla), fellow Briton and talented climber Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), Archie Ryan (EF Education-EasyPost), Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious), Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-Quick Step) and Canada’s Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech).
Gee stands out as a contender after setting the fastest time in training on Willunga Hill. Porte’s official Strava record of 6:34 could be beaten on Saturday.
The Mexican can count on Diego Ulissi who was second overall in 2020 and Kiwi Finn Fisher-Black. However, he faces the biggest opportunity of his career as he makes his WorldTour debut.
He does not seem to be feeling the stress, admitting that he dropped off the back of the peloton during stage 4 to “feel a little bit more stress in the legs.”
“I made a little bit of a sprint, to check the legs for tomorrow (stage 5). I feel good. I'm a little bit nervous, but I feel good," said Del Toro.
Del Toro went to see Willunga Hill before the Tour Down Under and seemed to like it.
“I rode in training and it's a good climb. I hope to race well," he said.
The 20-year-old's rivals are hoping he will perhaps feel the pressure, the heat and the fatigue of racing at WorldTour level for the first time during the final weekend in the Tour Down Under hills.
