Tour Down Under Dates Announced for 2021
The Santos Tour Down Under race organisers have just announced that the 2021 event is scheduled to be held with the men’s event taking place on January 14 – 24 and the Women’s Tour Down Under being staged January 14 – 17.
The Tour Down Under men’s race will start with the Schwalbe Classic on 17 January 2021 and the six stages of road racing will be held 19 – 24 January 2021. The press release didn’t provide any further details on the women’s event and if the format is to change in 2021.
Australia is in a strong position as it relates to COVID-19 with only a handful of new infections reported each day. However, it remains to be seen how incoming border restrictions and quarantine regulations will affect an international events with seven months remaining until the 2021 Tour Down Under.
The race organisers said they will work to deliver a full program for the 2021 race and will monitor the situation as it relates to COVID-19.
The press release claimed that 779,362 spectators turned out in Adelaide to the 2020 Tour Down Under and attracted 44,801 event-specific visitors from interstate and overseas who travelled to South Australia to celebrate the Tour Down Under, generating an economic benefit of $66.4 million.
Hitaf Rasheed, Executive Director of Events South Australia said the Santos Tour Down Under is an event that continues to create jobs and drive visitation. She acknowledged that although the catastrophic bushfires of 2020 impacted overall results.
“In a difficult time for all Australians, we’re really pleased with the outcomes the 2020 event generated. These outcomes should be celebrated by those services and companies who contribute directly to the event. These include hundreds of volunteers, our state emergency services including SAPOL, CFS and SES, our event partners, including our naming rights partner Santos and host councils,” said Ms Rasheed.
“We were proud of the role the Santos Tour Down Under was able to play in a very difficult time for South Australia,” she said.
2020 marked Mike Turtur’s 22nd and final year in charge as Race Director and will be succeeded by Stuart O’Grady.
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