Tour of Australia 2014: stage 16

Inspired by the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana, the Tour of Australia is a fictional three-week Grand Tour route created by David Blom and Matt de Neef to showcase some of Australia’s best cycling roads. This is the second year of the race and today we reveal stage 16 of the 2014 edition.

Route: Mordialloc to Melbourne CBD (ITT)
Distance: 34km
Climbing: 260m

Click here to see the route and profile at Ride with GPS.

Stage 16 of the 2014 Tour of Australia is the first and only individual time trial of the race with the riders taking to Melbourne’s most popular cycling route, Beach Road.

The stage starts at Mordialloc, probably the most popular turnaround point for cyclists coming from the city end of Beach Road. Following Beach Road northwest the riders pass through the waterside suburbs of Beaumaris, Sandringham Bright and St. Kilda.

From St. Kilda the riders follow Beaconsfield Parade and Beach Street to Port Melbourne where they head inland then back east on the approach to the CBD. Heading up Williamstown Road and Normanby Road in the closing kilometres of the stage, the riders then head down Queensbridge Street and finish on Queensbridge Square on the banks of the Yarra River.

stage16

The stage profile above might look pretty spiky but bear the y-axis in mind. While there are a few short rises along Beach Road, it’s generally very flat, rewarding the big, strong, powerful riders. This is a stage that suits the pure time-triallists, the likes of Tony Martin and Fabian Cancellara.

The general classification riders will be in the mix on this stage but don’t expect them to win it — this is no mountain time trial.

Fans of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour will recognise the location of today’s stage finish — it’s the same place the prologue for this year’s Sun Tour finished.

The third and final rest day in the 2014 Tour of Australia will be taken after stage 16.

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5 Replies to “Tour of Australia 2014: stage 16”

  1. Beach Road – yes!
    Could also detour via St Kilda Road for big crowds on the boulevard similar to Cadel Evans’ TDF homecoming 🙂

    P.S. Great work Matt & Dave

  2. Typo on the elevation gain – should be “m” not “km”.

    Love this Tour d’Oz idea, by the way 🙂

  3. #YesBeachRoad.

    The ride along the beach is a Melbourne institution. The finish along the Yarra would attract a big crowd. The chopper would highlight the Albert Park Lake, The MCG, Rod Laver Arena, The Arts centre and The Esplanade Hotel just for a start.

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