Let’s Talk: Tour Down Under coverage, explanation of #TDU2024 – cycling, holiday, discovery and more

The Tour Down Under is special to me. I’ve attended every single stage of the race since its inception in 1999. It started as a bike race but it has become much more than that. It really is a festival of cycling in South Australia every January. I’m honoured and lucky to have seen it grow into what it is in 2024.
Every year many cycling stories are created in and around Adelaide and I was lucky enough to go back again for my 24th year (as, alas, I had to skip the pandemic years, 2021 and 2022)… but I’ll be there again to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the TDU.
This video offers some highlights and an explanation about RIDE Media’s (ongoing) coverage of an event that began big all those years ago and has achieved its remit. South Australia is a fantastic place for cycling. I know that now… thanks to the race.

– Rob

This video is part of my coverage of the Tour Down Under of 2024.

Presented by Plasmaide (see: plasmaide.com.au for more).

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www.ridemedia.com.au

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Race footage courtesy of South Australian Tourism Commission.

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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:51 Start of my last ride – an overview
01:15 Stage 1 Tour Down Under (Women) highlights
01:34 Stage 2 Tour Down Under (Women) highlights
02:16 Stage 3 Tour Down Under (Women) highlights
03:12 Back to #StoryOfMyRide
04:19 Big thanks to Plasmaide
05:11 Down Under Classic (Men) highlights
05:29 Stage 1 Tour Down Under (Men) highlights
05:35 Stage 2 Tour Down Under (Men) highlights
06:17 Stage 3 Tour Down Under (Men) highlights
07:01 Stage 4 Tour Down Under (Men) highlights
07:41 Let’s Talk… allow me to get a few things off my chest
15:56 Stage 5 Tour Down Under (Men) highlights
17:05 Stage 6 Tour Down Under (Men) highlights
17:29 Back to pack and go home…

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Music:

Fine Lines
SPARKZ
XB4FPDQKVV9H9WGA

Astrid
Elision
ZKXOSRVAP1MU6JIJ

Talk The Walk
Reveille
QVHN3MGCPJP6X7SY

Welcome [Applause] Let’s do that one last time so it’s the Monday after the tour Down Under And I’m going to try and provide a summary of what’s coming up on Ride media’s YouTube channel cuz there’s a bucket load of content that I’ve got to edit and share so that’s the purpose of today’s ride

Welcome to Adelaide South Australia and it is the center of the cycling universe as we get 2024 underway with the world tour and it’s the Kiwi that takes the Crown stage one to Alli walliston from AG Insurance ruga picking up another seven points in the race for the FX Queen of the mountains

Classification and she’s brought I think the whole Pelon with her Cecilia ludic the Great Dane is in with a chance for a great win in Sterling here she goes she opens up it’s the Roy in who is behind her but Cecilia has got some breathing space and a

Celebration put your hands together once more she’s liking the vibe here CES utri BL and so are we third and final day and the OCH jerseys up for grabs 25 Riders separated by just 10 seconds Reaction coming from the live ruler jao Team oh they are in the hurt box aren’t they they are experiencing why Sarah Gigante is one of the world class climbers and look at that Gap just opening up between the back wheel and the front wheel She Goes Again Matt she is the queen of Wanga Hill yes indeed she is And as well as Jubilation sense of relief also to Sarah I think it’s valid to uh you know try and tell the full story of all that went down in Adelaide during this hugely successful Festival of cycling so I’m going to sort of do a TDU

Diary and uh day 1 2 3 Etc and from that there’s a wealth of different things including scenery some travel and a little bit of traffic right now so I’ll tell you more about it when I’m on a park path which is like a few seconds from

When I spoke to last and uh I might just see if I an idol along uh the torren trickle it’s a joke for myself otherwise known as the torren river which uh you know runs top the guts of Adelaide and um is surrounded by bike paths and um pedestrian friendly

Networks I don’t think it’s quite a high tide so it could be better because uh you know that’s the way I see the ocean it’s always better when it’s uh lots of things to tell you but I will get this out of the way nice and

Early big big big thank you to plasmid who uh gave me a little sponsorship for this trip um and I meant to do a hell of a lot more but I will include in my uh review an explanation from Steve allend who talks about plasmid which is a pine

Bark extract that you comes in a little Satchel that you have a little bit before your ride and um he’ll tell you why there are benefits for the human human body for consuming some Pine Buck extract might sound weird but trust me it seem it makes sense when

He tells the story and I’m not going to try and paraphrase it Today it is Wells it on the line signing on right now well this could be the winning move he’s coming up to the final left hand B and hesitation behind so deloro he’ll be loving this well as they come now they build up the Sprint behind the K is not in on this

One as it is Israel oh he’s done it right on the line so daring so strong All right I’m going to find a little uh quiet spot where I don’t get interrupted and uh explain what I what I’ve done down Here it looks as though they’re going to be do it and they have put a number on him they move don’t they he’d actually be doing 35 40K an hour easily cruising alongside the peleton this is the kick for the line a look over the shoulder wellsford does it

Again okay revenge is sweet he can’t believe it and tailed in the backdrop there is ky buan Sam welsford now we can confirm the results Anna and here we are with the heal partner stage Three it is day four of this race in South Australia now as we ride a new start position from muray bridge welcome to the fua peninsula the blue jersey coming now wford wford sees the Finish he looks over his shoulder happy birthday Sam 28 today well it’s a hattrick for his

Birthday for Sam wellsford they got a little bit unorganized but wellsford he never panicked he let it all play out in front of him okay it’s not the most pictures setting that I’ve seen this morning but I’m going to use it because it’s an uninterrupted spot in other words

There’s not too much foot traffic and I can just try and get my thoughts Out So two down under a 2024 for me it was um a great experience there was no issues no uh no emotional overloads no conflict and plenty to learn see and do and I’ve mentioned over and over and over again that this is something of an annual tradition it is I skipped um 2021

And 2022 but I returned in 2023 to maintain my um my record of attending every single stage of the tour down under since 1999 since the Race’s Inception I’ve watched uh over the years as uh as many people have come to realize that South Australia is a great

Place to visit certainly in January certainly if you like riding a bike and certainly if you like watching some worldclass bike racing um the evolution of the event continues and we’ve now seen a couple of fantastic races actually three fantastic races if you want to include the gravel event that

Was managed by Tiffany cronwell and valter botas and Karen Jones who basically put on a show which was experimental when it was first uh muted and I’m pretty sure that that’s going to become a regular feature of the event I do have a tiny little interview with Karen I didn’t catch up with

Tiffany or valry I saw them around and they were certainly uh getting plenty of attention so uh chances are you’ve heard about uh the success of that event but really otherwise it’s the the tour down under for women and the tour down under for men that was the reason I came to

The city well I was here I I did many many interviews I spoke with hundreds of people I got many compliments from from viewers and readers and people who have seen my work over the years so if you were one of those people who chimed in

And said Rob thanks very much for doing what you do I can tell you thank you very much for for telling me that you like what I do because it is a small operation ride media isn’t a big media conglomerate it’s just me a couple of cameras and a computer and my thoughts

And my observations my history and my experience in in a sport and an activity that I have always uh loved and always done and always will continue to do and always will continue to push and why I say all of that is that I think that the thr down under has

Introduced so many people to cycling and it did so again this year and it might be that gravel Revolution that’s sort of building it’s totally mainstream now it’s totally fantastic it’s totally liberating to get out on the roads and ride without the bother of traffic which is something that I harp on about

But the gravel scene is emerging I saw roads out near uh Port Elliot which just begged me to come back and explore I haven’t got my gravel bike here but I’m coming back at some point and I’m just going to go on Rome like I’ve done in the

Past and and just really discover myself on on on quiet Country Roads and fantastic setting for bike riding and Adelaide and surrounds offers that even on a road bike even when traffic because there’s a push to make cycling as big as it can be and it’s and it

Should be applauded it’s got bipartisan support from all levels of government it’s heavily backed by South Australian tourism it’s heavily backed by the south Australian government and it’s not an event that could be transplanted elsewhere because this is made in South Australia sorry for the long monologue but I just I’m trying to

Get all of my my thoughts out before I jump back on the plane and then um settle into editing some of the work that I’ve collected I really am trying to highlight the fact that uh I would have liked to have shared more uh of the content that I’ve collected during the

Event and I just didn’t have that opportunity it is only me and um the trickle of uh of content will continue for a little while yet because I’ve got interviews with Chris Harper with Ruby Roseman Ganon with um Lawrence pissy with I’m just now trying to think of

Everyone that I’ve uh recorded Jack ha um with uh weal of other bike riders who uh were very uh obliging with their time I’ve also caught up with some uh bike industry people including Rob gellis from Factor who tells me a little bit about the details of the new

Uh Australian team track bike Team Pursuit track bike not Sprint bike uh and a whole bunch of other stuff you’ll just keep tuning into Rod media on YouTube and you’ll see a whole lot of content you’ll also see a number of stories of my ride which are at times

Flippant at times I like to think a little bit humorous it’s certainly it’s my take on the things that I see and do and it’s not necessarily uh anything formal other than just having a bit of fun on the bike and and that’s what I

Had what I have been able to do while I’m down here and it’s just something that I’d encourage everyone to do just to find some time to free their mind to get some exercise to feel liberated to see the world from two wheels because it’s yeah it it’s just a terrific way to

Get around and a terrific way to explore and um I feel honored to have been in a predicament where I can do that and call it my job so uh yeah I think that’s probably pretty much it that it’s not scripted none of the work

That I do is scripted I just um go for a pedal and um and then start talking I think that’s pretty obvious a lot of the time but I do know this sport I do know bike riding I do know procycling and I do hope that um you enjoy uh some of the

Things that I I share with you so please leave a comment please if you’ve got any questions don’t be shy pop a pop them down below and I’ll see if I can get back to you I do my best there’s quite a few things uh coming up there’s some

Plans that I have to continue writing but um for now it’s just about reflecting on the week that was 10 days away which has uh served me very very well but I do miss my family and I’m looking forward to getting back to um back home um I’m motiv moated to

Continue telling stories about procycling and about bike racing but that’s not the only thing that ride meia is about it’s about cycling it’s about the vibe it’s about the enjoyment it’s about um thinking outside the square about getting outside of your uh box um leaving the car behind and just discovering new things

And new places and new people and so on and so forth so yeah okay that’s it going take in the view one more time and then I’m going to set off okay thanks very much for watching I don’t know if any of that will get broadcast but I’ve recorded it nonetheless

And now it’s time to go and pack Bo Ali on the weekend has begun in South Australia it is stage five and the penultimate day of the Santos tour down under there is the O Jersey he doesn’t look a bit out of puff at all 20 years

Of age first year professional in his first uh World Tour race and he’s pulled on the leaders jersey on the second deck alip alip I can’t believe Al FIP is lynched on there but they’ve got the ochre on the back wheel just for the moment he’s just lost ground I thought

You would have couldn’t believe it only coming back at him now and Al Filip I hope Al Filip didn’t go for the wrong line there he might have done this is on Le Robin Mur said he could be the surprise and the surprise he is Oscar

Onley the king of Al longren 2024 Stevie Williams he just what could have been your new race leader with a day to go Steven Williams for Israel Premier Tech Two Riders top the leaderboard equal on time but that will change today 200 me to go

Del Williams is going to go for this and take it out in style in the leaders jersey he wins the stage on Mount lofty what a way to Crown a winner of the Santos tore down under they got not going to catch him he’s got the victory in ochre now that is Class all right I’m I’m going to go back into town along the the torr Trinkle and um son off with smile I tried come for the bike race stay for the scenery take in the serenity at times stand under loudspeakers c pro cycling garage bike catch the vibe see some Nature explore get lost discover it’s South Australia yeah I love that this is happening again and um I’ll see you here next year okay cool adios by uh yeah to scenes well there we have it as the race wraps up the Santos T Down Under for 2024 the OCH Jersey and the winner

Steven Williams from Israel premere Tech the Welshman he holds them all off