2010 Tour Down Under: Quick Overview
Posted: January 14, 2010 at 1:34 pm | Tags: Tour Down Under
The first big tour of the year, the Tour Down Under kicks off soon. If the only tour you can name is the Tour De France, or you can’t readily name another pro cyclist whose last name isn’t Armstrong, here is a guide to get you up to speed.
The Tour Down Under is a UCI ProTour Event. The UCI, or Union Cycliste Internationale (International Cycling Union in English) is the world governing body for international cycling events. Think of them as the NFL for world-wide cycling. The 2010 ProTour starts with the Tour Down Under and includes 15 other races which will all be set in Europe or Canada. The Tour De France is also part of the ProTour series.
This years tour will be 794Km (493 miles) over 6 stages in Southern Australia. Each stage is an individual race. The tour winner is the rider who completes all 6 stages in the least amount of time.
Since it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, the Tour Down Under tends to be hot although the course is relatively flat, especially compared to the mountainous courses in Europe. The tour will run from January 17 to the 24th.
