Tour Down Under 2024 Route stage 5: Christies Beach - Willunga Hill

With a total elevation gain of 1,791 metres the Willunga Hill stage is not the hardest race on the Tour Down Under. But time gaps are inevitable, as the last 3 kilometres are so tough.

Starting in picturesque Christies Beach, the route winds its way through the enchanting seaside locales of Port Willunga and Aldinga Beach. This section is part of the first of two circuits. The first one is raced two times and takes in an 8 kilometres section along the coast. There’s always a threat of teams blowing the race apart in the cross winds, although it never happened.

The second circuit is tackled twice as well. It is centered around Willunga Hill, a 3 kilometres climb at 7.4% and with a maximum gradient of 15.6%. The summit is crested for the first time with 22.4 kilometres left before it’s all systems go in the puncher’s dream of a finale.

Richie Porte dominated Willunga Hill in the years 2014-2019 before he was bested in 2020 by Matthew Holmes. Both riders have retired from pro-cycling, so we’ll welcome a new King of Willunga Hill on the 20th of January.

Two intermediate sprints come with 3, 2 and 1 seconds each, while the first three riders on the finish line take time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds.

Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 5.

Another interesting read: results 5th stage 2024 Tour Down Under.

Tour Down Under 2023 stage 5: route, profile, more

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