Tour Down Under January 17, 2009

LANCE ARMSTRONG ARRIVES, TOUR COUNTDOWN BEGINS

The world's attention has turned to South Australia with the arrival of the greatest cyclist of all time, Lance Armstrong, to make his comeback to world cycling at the State Government's Tour Down Under.

Premier Mike Rann, Tourism Minister Jane Lomax-Smith and Tour Down Under Director Mike Turtur joined Lance Armstrong for his first media appearance in Adelaide this afternoon. The seven-times Tour de France winner arrived at Adelaide Airport last night. Lance Armstrong will now join other cyclists in preparing for the first event of the ProTour Tour Down Under - the Cancer Council Classic in the city's East End on Sunday 18 January.

The superstar's arrival coincides with the final figures for the Mutual Community Challenge Tour. A massive 7041 riders will take part in the event on Friday 23 January. That more than doubles last year's record of 3403 riders. There were 652 entrants in the first ever Challenge Tour in 2003. More than a quarter of riders are from interstate or overseas, including all States and Territories of Australia as well as New Zealand, the United Kingdom, USA, Japan, Singapore and Canada.

Premier Rann says the stage is set for the biggest and best ever Tour Down Under. "We expect this to be the largest sporting event in South Australian history," he says. "Not only are we anticipating record numbers of people to line our roads to watch the race, but our ProTour event will be beamed into more than 150 million homes around the world.

"The excitement begins today for every South Australian. Already we have smashed attendance records for every event at this year's Tour Down Under. "1900 tickets have been sold for the Legends' Night Dinner with Lance Armstrong compared to 740 last year."

Premier Rann says Lance Armstrong's arrival signals hope for everyone who has been touched by cancer. "Lance Armstrong's comeback on the bike is about so much more than riding the race of his life to thrill and inspire cycling fans," he says.

Official Website: http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/2009/