2011 Tour Down Under

Overall favourites

The 2011 Tour Down Under was a very exciting race this year as Mark Cavendish of marked his first appearance ever. Germany's André Greipel left Mark Cavendish's team of in 2010 and joined , creating a rivalry between two top sprinters. Greipel, the leader of tried to take full advantage of his captaincy and win his third Tour Down Under.

Although he was not expected to be an overall contender, the 2011 Tour marks Lance Armstrong's last race outside the U.S. as a professional cyclist.

Participating teams

Main article: List of teams and cyclists in the 2011 Tour Down Under

As the Tour Down Under was a UCI World Tour event, all UCI ProTeams were invited automatically and obligated to send a squad.

UCI ProTeams:

Teams awarded a wildcard invitation:

• Uni SA-Australia

Schedule

Stages

Stage 1, Mawson Lakes to Angaston

|| |General Classification after Stage 1

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Stage 2, Tailem Bend to Mannum

|| |General Classification after Stage 2

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Stage 3, Unley to Stirling

|| |General Classification after Stage 3

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Stage 4, Norwood to Strathalbyn

|| |General Classification after Stage 4

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Stage 5, McLaren Vale to Willunga

|| |General Classification after Stage 5

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Stage 6, Adelaide to Adelaide

|| |Final General Classification

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Classification leadership

In the 2011 Tour Down Under, six different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers on each stage and in intermediate sprints, the leader received an ochre jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the Tour Down Under, and the winner was considered the winner of the Tour.

Additionally, there was a sprint classification, which awarded a blue jersey. In the sprint classification, cyclists earned points for finishing in the top three in a stage or intermediate sprint, with the top three finishers in the stage getting 8, 6, and 4 points respectively, and the top three in the intermediate sprints getting 6, 4, and 2.

There was also a mountains classification, which awarded a white jersey. In the mountains classifications, points were won by reaching the top of a mountain before other cyclists. Unlike most other cycling events, there was no categorization of climbs as each awards the same points (16, 12, 8, 6, and 4) to the first five riders past the summit.

The fourth jersey represented the young rider classification. This classification awarded a black jersey.

Due to UCI rules limiting the number of jersey awards to four, the above are the only jerseys awarded to riders which were then worn the next day during the stage. But there were two other jerseys. The first was the red jersey for the most aggressive rider. This award was comparable to the combativity award of the Tour de France. While the rider received a red jersey on the podium after the stage, he wore his normal jersey (unless holding one of the above four) in the next stage, with the aggressive rider award indicated by a red bib number.

The sixth and final jersey was for the teams classification. This jersey was not presented on the podiums daily, but it was awarded to the winning team at the end of the Tour. The teams classification was calculated by adding the times of each team's best four riders per stage per day. The jersey was blue.

References

References

1. "2011 Map of all Routes - Santos Tour Down Under - UCI World Tour".
2. "Cancer Council Classic – Santos Tour Down Under – UCI World Tour".
3. (23 January 2011). "Cameron Meyer wins Tour Down Under as Ben Swift takes final stage". [[The Guardian]].
4. (23 January 2011). "Meyer wins, Armstrong bows out". Independent Online.
5. "Welcome Cavendish, Sky Pro Cycling, BMC Racing Team, Lampre-ISD, Team Katusha – Santos Tour Down Under – UCI World Tour".
6. "Preview – Santos Tour Down Under".
7. "Lance Armstrong boosts ride numbers – Santos Tour Down Under – UCI World Tour".