Organisers of the Santos Tour Down Under have reported record crowds for this year’s event, with preliminary crowd figures up slightly on last year. According to the South Australian Tourism Commission the eight-day race attracted 772,000 spectators, compared to 770,500 last year.
“It was an honour to welcome such a high calibre of cyclists to South Australia and to see the next generation of Australian superstars, including this year’s winner, Cameron Meyer [Garmin-Cervélo], in action,” said Race Director Mike Turtur. “I want to thank the thousands of spectators who embraced the event, many of them travelling from interstate and around the world to attend the Santos Tour Down Under.”
On cyclist that Turtur singled out for thanks was Lance Armstrong (RadioShack); while the seven-time winner’s presence at the race has been overshadowed by the publishing of a number of allegations in US magazine Sports Illustrated – many of which are allegedly part of the current FDA investigation into Armstrong’s career – the subject has largely been off limits and Armstrong’s presence in the race has largely passed without incident.
In what is scheduled to be his last ever race outside the United States, Armstrong finished in 67th place, 6’42” behind Meyer.
“It was also wonderful Lance Armstrong chose the Santos Tour Down Under to be his last race on international soil,” said Turtur. “While we are sorry that it was his last ride we are looking forward to welcoming him and his family back to South Australia in a different capacity.”
As well as the Santos Tour Down Under itself, a number of support events were also declared a success. The Mutual Community Challenge, which invited amateur cyclists to ride routes of up to 135km, reported 7512 participants, while 220 children entered the Mutual Community mini tour for kids.
There was also apparently fierce competition in the Santos Best Dressed Town Competition for the towns along the race route, with Tailem Bend declared the winner.
According to Events South Australia General Manager Hitaf Rasheed, a record number of 20 towns have expressed interest in hosting a stage of the race next year.
“This year’s Tour has again been a huge success,” he said, “and work has already begun on the 2012 event and the exciting challenge of making it bigger and better again next year.”
Next year’s Santos Tour Down Under will be held between January 15th and 22nd next year.