TDU - Stage 5 Snapper Pt to Willunga

The vibe of a stage start is awesome. Spectators have the opportunity to get up close to the cyclists, so the excitement is quite palpable. We were rewarded for our early start with a couple of great shots of Lance, George, Jens, and of David MacKenzie interviewing some of the Aussies for the live SBS coverage - Michael Rogers and Robbie McEwen.

The tour passed through the coastal village of Snapper Point twice more, but while most of the locals stayed put to soak up the atmosphere of the tour coming to their town, we make an escape to Wilunga Hill - after all that's where the race-winning escape may well come to pass.

I made my way to the top of the hill to an even more electric atmosphere. The top of the hill was packed with cycling fans. On the first pass there was a substantial breakaway with the young guns from Garmin and UniSA again making themselves known.

Somewhere on the second lap, things changed. It was exciting to see Cadel Evans lead the first breakaway up the climb for the last lap before the finish. What would happen next? HTC Columbia were still working hard to protect Andre's jersey...

We piled back into the Tarago for the trip back to Adelaide and found live radio coverage on ABC Grandstand. The commentators were beside themselves that Cadel might get the stage... and the tension filled the Tarago too... in the end, Luis Leon Sanchez, who'd tucked into the breakaway with Cadel and Alejandro Valverde, stole the victory.

Back to the Tour Village for more cyclist spotting. I scored the jackpot, getting photos with Matt White and Jens Voigt... what great guys!