2019 Tour Down Under

As the Tour Down Under was a UCI World Tour event, all eighteen UCI WorldTeams were invited automatically and obliged to enter a team in the race.[11] One other team was given a wildcard entry into the race: UniSA–Australia.[12] Each team was due to enter seven riders, for a total of 133 participants.[13]

Among the field were six previous winners of the race, two of whom – Cameron Meyer, and defending champion Daryl Impey – were racing for the Mitchelton–Scott squad.[14] Other previous winners in the field were Luis León Sánchez (Astana), Bahrain–Merida rider Rohan Dennis, Tom-Jelte Slagter of Team Dimension Data, and Trek–Segafredo's Richie Porte.[13]

Alongside Meyer and Impey at Mitchelton–Scott was Mathew Hayman, who announced in September 2018 that he would retire from professional racing after the 2019 Tour Down Under.[15]

The route of the 2019 Tour Down Under was announced at the beginning of August 2018 and centred around the city of Adelaide in South Australia. There were six mass-start road stages and no time trials,[16] with the race concluding with a summit finish at Willunga Hill for the first time.[16] Two days before the start of the Tour, there was a flat criterium race, the People's Choice Classic, which took place in Rymill Park and which was suited for the sprinters.[17] It was won by Caleb Ewan (Lotto–Soudal) in a sprint finish.[18][19]

After the People's Choice Classic, it was announced that the second stage would be shortened due to forecasted high temperatures.[20] Initially scheduled for 149 kilometres (93 miles),[21] the stage was reduced to 122.1 kilometres (75.9 miles); a section of the route between Mount Pleasant and Springton via Williamstown was re-routed to bypass Williamstown altogether.[22] The following morning, a minor adjustment was made to the finish of the opening stage in Port Adelaide, as a 3.4-kilometre (2.1-mile) finishing circuit was removed due to expected strong winds.[23]

Stage schedule

Stage	Date	Route	Distance	Type		Winner
1	15 January	North Adelaide to Port Adelaide	129 km (80.2 mi)[lower-alpha 1]		Flat stage	Elia Viviani (ITA)
2	16 January	Norwood to Angaston	122.1 km (75.9 mi)[lower-alpha 2]		Flat stage	Patrick Bevin (NZL)
3	17 January	Lobethal to Uraidla	146.2 km (90.8 mi)		Hilly stage	Peter Sagan (SVK)
4	18 January	Unley to Campbelltown	129.2 km (80.3 mi)		Hilly stage	Daryl Impey (SAF)
5	19 January	Glenelg to Strathalbyn	149.5 km (92.9 mi)		Flat stage	Jasper Philipsen (BEL)
6	20 January	McLaren Vale to Willunga Hill	151.5 km (94.1 mi)		Medium-mountain stage	Richie Porte (AUS)

In the 2019 Tour Down Under, four different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers at intermediate sprints and at the finish of mass-start stages, the leader received an ochre jersey.[39] This classification was considered the most important of the 2018 Tour Down Under, and the winner of the classification was considered the winner of the race.

Additionally, there was a sprints classification, which awarded a blue jersey,[39] a change from green in 2018. In the sprints classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 10 in a stage. For winning a stage, a rider earned 15 points, with one point fewer per place down to 6 points for 10th place. Points towards the classification could also be accrued at intermediate sprint points during each stage; these intermediate sprints also offered bonus seconds towards the general classification. There was also a mountains classification, the leadership of which was marked by a white jersey with navy polka dots.[39] In the mountains classification, points were won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs.

The fourth jersey represented the young rider classification, marked by a white jersey.[39] This was decided in the same way as the general classification, but only riders under the age of 26 were eligible to be ranked in the classification. There was also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added together; the leading team at the end of the race was the team with the lowest total time.[39] In addition, there was a combativity award given after each stage to the rider(s) considered, by a jury, to have "instigated the most attacks, breakaways or assisted their teammates to the best advantage". The winner of the award wore a red number bib in the following stage.[39]

Stage	Winner	General classification	Mountains classification	Sprint classification	Young rider classification	Most competitive rider(s)	Team classification
1[40]	Elia Viviani	Elia Viviani	Jason Lea	Elia Viviani	Michael Storer	Patrick Bevin	UAE Team Emirates
2[41]	Patrick Bevin	Patrick Bevin			Caleb Ewan	Mathieu Ladagnous
3[42]	Peter Sagan			Peter Sagan	Michael Storer	Manuele Boaro
4[43]	Daryl Impey			Patrick Bevin	Chris Hamilton	Thomas De Gendt
5[44]	Jasper Philipsen				Ryan Gibbons	Mathieu Ladagnous
6[45]	Richie Porte	Daryl Impey			Chris Hamilton	Danny van Poppel
Final[45]		Daryl Impey[1]	Jason Lea[8]	Patrick Bevin[7]	Chris Hamilton[9]	No final award	UAE Team Emirates[45]

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