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A world-class peloton will line up in Australia to kick off the 2019 season at the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Women's Tour Down Under from January 10-13. 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Amanda Spratt returns to the race with her 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Mitchelton-Scott team in an attempt 𝐆to defend her title ꦅfor a third consecutive time against what is being billed as the toughest field in the history of the race.

"Returning to a race as defending champion is great – even 𒊎more so when it's in Australia in front🦂 of a home crowd," she said. "I haven't returned to many races as a defending champion, so it definitely makes this Tour Down Under even more special for me."

There will be a total of 15 teams lining up for a start in Hahndorf that include some of the top-ranked෴ squads in the world: Mitchelton-Scott, CCC-Liv, A🍬le Cipollini, Astana, Tibco-SVB, Rally UHC, BePink and the newly launched Trek-Segafredo.

The event will embark on its fourth edition. Retired rider Katrin Garfoot won the inaugural race 2016 and Spratt won two overall titles in 2017 and 2018, all un🌃der the Mitchelton-Scott out🍒fit.

Mitchelton-Scott director Martin Vestby said that he expects one of the strongest fields in the history of the event and tꩲhat will make for an exciting four-day race.

"With some new big teams at the start line, I expect the Tour Down Under to🦂 be a great race with strong competition, and we could see different scenarios this year that will make our title defence more 🥀difficult.

"But we have a strong team at the start, and more cards to play. 'Spratty' will for sureꦯ be one of our leaders, and the course suits her, but she isn't our only opt൩ion, which will keep teams guessing."

Mitchelton-Scott will line ✱up with a dominant team that includes Spratt along with Lucy Kennedy, Gracie Elvin, Sarah Ro♒y, Grace Brown and Georgia Williams.

The Australian-based outfit will face CCC𓆉-Liv's team of Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, who will be one of the Sprat𝔍t's biggest GC threats, along with Jeanne Korevaar and Riejanne Markus.

Trek-Segafredo bring strong climbers in Ruth Winder and Elisa Longo Borghini, along with 🔯sprinters Lauretta Hanson and Lotta Lepistö.

168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Ale Cipollini arrive with top sprinter 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Chloe Hosking. She is a former stage winner at the Tour Down Under, and has shown strong early-season form after 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:winning a stage of the Bay Crits last week.

American outfits Tibco-SVB and Rally UHC will also be conten🀅ders for the overall titles. Tibco arrive with last year'🐲s runner-up Lauren Stephens, along with two Australians – Brodie Chapman and Shannon Malseed. Rally UHC come from a mini training camp in California and include contenders Sarah Bergen and Kristabel Doebel-Hickok, while Astana bring a contender in Arlenis Sierra and BePink's team includes sprinter Rachele Barbieri.

There will be a series of Australian-based teams: UniSA-Austr𒀰alia with Rachel Neylan and Lauren Kitchen, Specialized with Amy Cure, Gusto StepFWD with Jess Mundy and Sydney University with Georgia Whitehouse. New Zealand will also field a national team led by Deborah Paine.

The four-day race will have something for all types of 💧racers with spr🌱int stages, a hilltop finish, and a downtown circuit race.

"The course set for the 2019 Santos Women's Tour Down Und𒁃er will take the riders through some of South Australia's most picturesque locations in the Adelaide Hills and Barossa regions," said David Ridgway, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment.

"With equal prize money up for grabs, we know the elite women ri💝ders will be battling hard over the 376km covered across the four stages to put on a great show for cycling fans," said Minister Ridgway.

Mengler Hill sets the tone for GC

The race will begin with stage 1 on January 10 in Hahndorf where th🌄e women will race for 112.9km before finishing in Birdwood. There's one intermediate sprint in Gumeracha along with two QOM ascents in Forreston and one in Charleston.

"It's definitely a challenging opening stage," race director Kimberley Conte told Cyclingnews. "It's not incredibly technical, but it is very up and down, and so finding your rhythm – especially in what is for many riders their first race o🦄f the season – could be a struggle for so🌱me.

"I always hope that we set a course that is backbone to the race, and then it's in the hands of the riders to see where they take that," said Conte. "I think it's a great opening sꦕtage, and it'll be exciting to see what should be a big bunch sprint𓄧 in Birdwood for the first time that we're finishing a stage there."

Stage 2, on January 11, will be one for the climbers with a start in Nuriootpa and a hilltop finish on Mengler Hill in Angaston. The women will race 116.7km with an intermediate sprint in Angaston follo𒐪wed by a QOM atop Three Cols Climb. The race loops back through Eden Valley for a second intermediate sprint in Angaston and then heads toward the finale on Mengler Hill.

"I'd expect to see the race open up here on stage 2," Conte said. "The course before Mengler Hill is quite flat, with some rolling roads, but it will really come ♊alive once we get to the bottom of the climb.

"Those who have been to Mengler Hill before will know that it's quite open and exposed, which, if it's hot, or windy – or, like last year, foggy and rainy, which was quite unusual – will make it exciting. You just don't know what's going to🌳 get thrown at you, but I'd expect to see a really strong pe💃rformance from a rider like Spratt, although she'll certainly have competition from the other teams."

Stage 3, on January 12, will start in Nairne and finish 104.5km later in Stirling. There'll 🌺be an intermediate sprint in Echunga and a QOM at Red Gum Hill in Greenhills Range.

"The beautiful and technically challenging stage 3 route, finishing in Stirling, incorporates part ܫof the famous circuit used frequently on the men's race. Riders who know t💫he area well may be able to put their local knowledge to the test and emerge as the victor on this stage," Conte said.

"We're using a small, narrow road called Aldgate Valley Road on the circuit, which is absolutely stunning and beautiful, but from a racing perspective, it's quite shaded, and there are a lot of twists and turns, so if you're able to attack at the bottom of the climb – which is quite a gradual climb up to Stirling, but also quite long – then you have the opportunity to stay away. You're kind of out of sight, out of mind," she told Cyclingnews.

"After going through Stirling for the first time, the riders face a technical descent all the way back down to the start of the climb, which they'll come up once more to the finish line. There are real opportunities for the rouleurs or even the sprinters, like Chloe Hoksing, as we've seen sprinters win the men's stages 𝄹here before," Conte said, with Caleb Ewan a prime example in 2018.

The race will end on January 13 with stage 4 in Adelaide. The peloton will compete in a 42.5km race held on a closed city circ🍨uit that starts and finishes on Bartels Road.

"We expect a fast and furious sprint finish for stage 4 around the Adelaide East End Circuit, 🌸immediately before the Down Under Classic, with huge crowds antici💜pated to cheer on some of the best female athletes in the world on their final day of racing," Conte said.

"It's a great way to finish things off, and spectacular to see this level of racing on that last stage. And we're back to the old, classic ci🌠rcuit: a little bit shorter, tighter and faster, which means that the riders definitely can't let their guard down."