Everyone has their opinion on who is going to win the 2016 Santos Tour Down Under, but no-one is better educated on the topic than the pros themselves.
We spoke with Koen De Kort of Giant Alpecin, Thomas De Gendt of Lotto Belisol, Gediminas Bagdonas of AG2R La Mondiale, and race director Mike Turtur to see who they thought will win the 2016 Santos Tour Down Under.
A strong contingent of Australian riders lead the charge. Newly crowned Australian National Road Race Champion Jack Bobridge of Trek-Segafredo is a popular choice following one of the best rides ever seen on Australian soil.
BMC Racing Team duo Richie Porte and defending champion Rohan Dennis make a formidable combination, and no doubt Dennis is hoping to become the first rider to go back-to-back.
Perennial Tour Down Under favourite, Simon Gerrans of Orica-GreenEDGE, is once again a strong chance to take another title. Gerro showed good enough form at the National Road Race to suggest he has come to Adelaide with another ochre jersey in mind.
The man who has been involved in every edition of the race, Mike Turtur, suggests there could be up to ten riders that have a realistic chance of taking the 2016 Tour Down Under title.
Mike Turtur's hot tip - The steep Corkscrew climb will sort out the contenders from the pretenders.
Whatever the result, with so many riders capable of winning, we are guaranteed to see some red-hot racing.
