TOUR DOWN UNDER

Mr SIBBONS (Mitchell) (14:18): Will the Premier provide the house with an update on preparations for the 2011 Santos Tour Down Under?

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:19): I am very pleased to have had this most timely question. I met with Hitaf Rasheed yesterday for a briefing on the preparations. She has just returned from being at the start of the Tour de France and talking with the president of the UCI and others who are intimately associated with the Santos Tour Down Under. The preparations for 2011 are in full swing. Earlier this month I announced the race routes for the 2011 UCI Pro Tour event, which will head east of the River Murray for the first time, with a stage from Tailem Bend to Mannum.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: And thank you for that support. It is going to be terrific. The 2011 event will once again start with the Cancer Council Classic. Obviously, the members who have been here today promoting the great work of the Cancer Council Classic would also be pleased about the association between the Cancer Council and the Tour Down Under and, of course, with the associations that we also have with LIVESTRONG.

The Cancer Council Classic around Rymill Park will be on Sunday 16 January and will finish with the Adelaide City Council street circuit on Sunday 23 January. On the five race days between these dates, the tour will wind its way through some of the most picturesque areas of our state, with these images beamed into homes around the world.

Supporters of the Tour de France are, of course, well aware of how powerful television pictures can be in showcasing beautiful countryside, particularly in recent days as the Tour de France has been going through the Pyrenees; and, of course, we look forward to treating viewers worldwide to visions of the Adelaide Hills, the Barossa, McLaren Vale, the Fleurieu Peninsula and other very beautiful parts of our state, including, of course, our city in a park.

Tailem Bend, on the banks of the River Murray, will host its first ever race start, joining Mawson Lakes, Unley, Norwood and McLaren Vale as hosts of next year's stage starts. Communities hosting stage finishes in 2011 will be Angaston, Mannum, Stirling, Strathalbyn and Willunga. I want to acknowledge the member for Mawson, who has been, of course, a very keen protagonist of the Tour Down Under. I know that Willunga has been one of the features of every Tour Down Under, and I understand that huge celebrations are being planned in each town.

We look forward to the race returning in future years to regions such as the Clare Valley, which put on an outstanding display in this year's Santos Tour Down Under. I know that the member for Frome was very keen to have a stage start in the Clare Valley, which we are pleased to have done. I think that the township of Clare put on a great show, as did the valley.

This year's public ride, the Mutual Community Challenge Tour—which I hope that members around the chamber will join me in—features four distance options, all finishing in Strathalbyn, and early bird registrations close on 31 July. I waved off a record turnout of 8,099 riders in this year's public ride, and we are hopeful of an even stronger turnout in 2011. I just advise members that there are various distances which they can ride.

The highlight of next year's race will once again be the Skoda King of the Mountain duel on Old Willunga Hill, part of the Jayco stage 5 circuit from McLaren Vale to Willunga. Tour de France champion Alberto Contador won the stage in the 2005 Tour Down Under—a two-time winner of the Tour de France who is obviously the favourite this year, along with Andy Schleck—after coming back from a brain haemorrhage and brain surgery. He said about Willunga Hill, and this is after winning the Tour de France:

This was the most important victory of my life and it thrilled me the most.

That is when he was asked whether winning the Tour de France was his greatest achievement, so I am told. This demonstrates the high esteem in which our event is held. Cyclists and team managers who come to South Australia for the tour often comment on how highly—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Yes; it is a shame it could not get Pro Tour status. That is testament, of course, to the outstanding leadership and organisation of the Santos Tour Down Under from the team at Events South Australia under the leadership of Mike Turtur and Hitaf Rasheed.

The Santos Tour Down Under has repeatedly broken virtually every record for a sporting event here in South Australia, especially since achieving UCI Pro Tour status.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Okay; someone doubts that. Who is the brilliant person who doubts that there has been a difference? Okay. This year's event attracted crowds of 770,500, more than double the turnout before we achieved Pro Tour status, and brought 39,700 visitors specifically to the event, compared to 10,500 in 2007. Each year, we endeavour to attract the very best cyclists to compete at the Santos Tour Down Under, and let me just say that 2011 will not be disappointing. We have ongoing discussions with the leading teams and cyclists and work hard to attract the strongest line-up of riders.

I want to pay tribute to Stuart O'Grady who is a great ambassador for the race, and we know he speaks highly of our race to his teammates. Of course, negotiations are also continuing with one of the world's best known cycling names, Lance Armstrong. Obviously, we would love to have him back in South Australia in 2011, not only for the Santos Tour Down Under but also to inspect progress on the new $27 million Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer, incorporating the LIVESTRONG Cancer Research Centre. Construction work on the LIVESTRONG Research Centre will start next month and will be completed towards the end of 2011. I am delighted that this investment has opened up a new relationship between Flinders University, the Flinders Medical Centre and the FMC Foundation, and LIVESTRONG, Lance Armstrong's cancer foundation.

I understand that the first ever cancer survivorship conference being held at Flinders University on 11 September this year will include a live link with the team at LIVESTRONG in Austin Texas. The new centre will be a lasting legacy of Lance Armstrong's passion for helping cancer survivors and will provide a world-class home to more than 100 of Australia's leading cancer researchers. The centre will have a global importance in research on cancer prevention, early detection and innovative treatments. It is interesting that some members who are yelling out abuse about this—

The Hon. J.D. Hill: The member for Bragg.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: The member for Bragg. It is a shame that, given what I would have hoped today would have been support for the Cancer Council and the work that is being done, we would have comments as nasty as that. I want to thank the honourable member for the question, and I am very pleased to say that I think that 2011 will be the best yet.