Studioz at the Tour Down Under – Stage 6 (final)

Tour Winner Cameron Meyer

Wow!  Stage 6 is the final stage of the TDU and always runs around a 4.5km closed off street circuit.  Each of the other years I’ve attended it’s been a non-event due to the winner of the entire Tour being known at the end of Stage 5.  However, with this year being so close, there were any one of 4 people that could have taken out the event – so it was very exciting.

The final result was that Cameron Meyer won the 6 day Tour by just 2 seconds.  This was the shortest winning margin in the 13 year history of the TDU.  Well done Cameron.

Lance Armstrong Farewells Australia

So it’s over for another year.  It’s always a bit sad when the event is over and, given that this is the last time we’ll ever see Lance Armstrong ride in Australia again, it’s got a touch more sadness.  Lance has sure got his critics – some argue he’s the greatest cyclist ever.  One thing is for certain.  Since Lance has been coming to race in the TDU (his third year this year) the number of people that are now attending the TDU and participating in the Mutual Community amateur ride, have jumped enormously.  Today the also announced that Adelaide will be opening Livestrong Cancer facility next year as Lance devotes his cause to help others fight against cancer.

For me each year is a bit different.  Emily and I have now come three times to the event, hopefully we can get the

Emily just loves the apples!

 whole family across next year.  For the kids this is an awesome event to introduce them to the concept of cycling and with the huge number of give-aways that they have along the way, it keeps them interested and excited.  When I was a kid all I did was ride my bike to have fun – now more and more kids just sit in front of the TV, play computer games and eat poorly.  Plus, at the TDU this year we had the opportunity to meet so manyworld champions and famous cyclists and, although Emily is too young to appreciate it, the older kids get such a buzz out of it.

Mike Turtur and his team put on such a great event every year.  Lance Armstrong mentioned in his farewell speech that the TDU is one of the best cycling events in the world.  He said you don’t get crowds like Adelaide outside places like the Giro and Tour de France and the riders love how organised the event is, how well they’re looked after.  This is only going to keep the big names coming back each year.  Awesome!!

Loved it….we’ll be back.