Tour Down Under

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (15:56): Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. The Tour Down Under will be back in January. It is an event that we all look forward to so much and it will be run, as it always is, very substantially through the beautiful Heysen hills. I am just thrilled at the prospect. The women's Tour Down Under will run from 10 to 13 January, and members will do well to remember that it is a 2.1 grade event, one level below women's world tour status. That will be followed immediately by the men's event, which, as members will know, was first held here in 1999. It is now the biggest cycling race in the Southern Hemisphere and a top-level world event nowadays, as is well known.

The UCI World Tour professional cycling circuit is one of great prestige. It has brought to South Australia many former Tour de France winners, including Oscar Pereiro, Andy Schleck, Alberto Contador, Carlos Sastre and, of course, all our well-known Australian legendary riders, including Simon Gerrans, a recent winner; Stuart O'Grady; Robbie McEwen; Cadel Evans; and Allan Davis, to name a few.

I could not be more proud because, apart from the men's event finishing on the famous Old Willunga Hill climb at the end of stage 6, through the men's and women's tour there will be several stages in which parts of the Adelaide Hills, particularly Heysen, will feature prominently. Stirling will host the tour stage finish in the women's stage 3, and the tour for both men and women will cover much of the beautiful Heysen hills.

I want to draw attention to two of the stages in particular. Firstly, men's stage 4 will pass through Stirling, Aldgate and Hahndorf and will have two sprints at Echunga. It will be a truly spectacular stage and one to remember, and I encourage anyone who will be around and about in the Hills during that period to come up and make a day of it.

Of course there are wonderful attractions, apart from the cycling, that should not be missed, including seeing the new butterfly sanctuary at Cleland Wildlife Park and visiting Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary at Mylor, where David and Narelle are doing some fantastic work. There is the SteamRanger Heritage Railway, that will travel from Mount Barker through the Hills to Strathalbyn, Goolwa and down to Victor Harbor; strawberry picking at Beerenberg Farm; and stopping in for a coffee at any one of the large number of wonderful spots throughout the Hills, including Red Cacao at Stirling or maybe the Meadows Bakery and Tearooms. To finish the day, I would encourage people to go to the Crafers Hotel, which was awarded the best pub in Australia this year.

In particular I want to mention stage 5, which this year, on the Saturday stage, will finish at Strathalbyn. The Strathalbyn Tour Down Under committee has been working very hard with the objective of becoming the Santos Best Dressed Town, to win that prize. We know that Peter Wadewitz and all at Peats Soil have been supporting that Best Dressed Town Competition over the last many years. They have put my corflutes to good use; the red and white banners will be out there being re-used. I will be riding this stage, so when the stage is described as having leg-burning climbs and coastal views, I hope that people will think of me on the bike and maybe come down to greet me at Strath at the end of the day.