At 35 kilometres south of Adelaide, McLaren Vale is surrounded by vineyards. The route is an exact copy of stages 5 in both 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Riders head in southeasterly direction for the first circuit, which is to be taken three times. Part of this round is a 8 kilometres section along the coast, meaning cross-winds could have their say.
The second circuit houses Willunga Hill, a 3 kilometres climb at 7%. Since the hill makes up the finale in today’s race it’s the perfect terrain to attack. It’s now or never for most riders eyeing up the overall, since tomorrow’s race is too short and too flat to make a difference.
Willunga Hill is crested for the first time with 22.4 kilometres left and after the second climb it is the finish line.
The riders will leave McLaren Vale at 11:10 am and the finish is expected around 3:02 pm – both local time. The fist three riders grab 10, 6 and 4 bonification seconds.
Earlier editions
Last two editions saw Richie Porte take the Queen Stage. In 2015 he fell 2 seconds short to take the leader’s jersey from Rohan Dennis, who finished second.
In 2013 it was Simon Gerrans powering to glory at Willunga Hill, outsprinting Tom-Jelte Slagter, who took over the GC-lead from Geraint Thomas, which he treasured on the last day.
Tour Down Under 2016 stage 5: Route maps, height profiles, and more
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