The 2006 Tour Down Under was held from 18 to 22 January 2006 in and around Adelaide, South Australia. The eighth edition of the Tour Down Under was a stage road cycling race that took part over five stages with a total of , and was part of the 2005–06 UCI Oceania Tour. The 2006 Down Under Classic was the official warm-up race for the event.
The race was won by Australian rider Simon Gerrans of . The event was awarded the Australian Sport Tourism Award of the year at the Australian Sport Awards in February 2006, having attracted 495,000 spectators and more than 11,670 visitors to South Australia.
Teams
Liberty Seguros-Würth Team Credit Agricole Ag2r Prevoyance Davitamon-Lotto Team Milram Liquigas-Bianchi Bouygues Telecom Chocolade Jacques-T Interim Navigators Insurance Cycling Team South Australia.com-AIS Cycling UniSA-Australia United Water-Australia U/23
Stages StageDateRouteDistanceTypeWinner119 JanuaryMawson Lakes to AngastonHilly stage220 JanuaryStirling to HahndorfHilly stage321 JanuaryStrathalbyn to YankalillaHilly stage422 JanuaryWillunga to WillungaHilly stage523 JanuaryAdelaideFlat stageTotal
Men's stage summary Stage Date Stage Top 3 Leading Top 3 Time 1 18 January Simon Gerrans Luis León Sánchez Robbie McEwen Simon Gerrans Luis León Sánchez Robbie McEwen 3:38.24 + 0.07 + 0.18 2 19 January Allan Davis Paul Crake Eladio Sanchez Prado Simon Gerrans Luis León Sánchez Robbie McEwen 7:12.55 + 0.07 + 0.18 3 20 January Carlos Barredo Daniel Becke Cadel Evans Simon Gerrans Luis León Sánchez Robbie McEwen 11:11.32 + 0.07 + 0.18 4 21 January Russell Van Hout Paul Crake Rony Martias Simon Gerrans Luis León Sánchez Robbie McEwen 14:47.07 + 0.07 + 0.18 5 22 January Allan Davis Robbie McEwen Simone Cadamuro Simon Gerrans Luis León Sánchez Robbie McEwen 16:36.54 + 0.07 + 0.14
Other leading top threes Stage Mountains Pts Sprint Pts Under 23 Pts Teams Time 1 Samuel Dumoulin Cadel Evans Gene Bates 16128 Simon Gerrans Russell Van Hout Luis León Sánchez 1466 William Walker Simon Clarke Eros Capecchi 3:39.10 + 2.33 + 4.03 UniSA–Australia Southaustralia.com–AIS Liberty Seguros-Wurth Team 11:05.08 + 10.37 + 11.54 2 Samuel Dumoulin Gene Bates Cadel Evans 322020 Simon Gerrans Allan Davis Hilton Clarke 141212 William Walker Simon Clarke Eros Capecchi 7:13.41 + 2.33 + 4.03 UniSA–Australia Liberty Seguros-Wurth Team Southaustralia.com–AIS 21:41.31 + 5.22 + 12.37 3 Cadel Evans Samuel Dumoulin Gene Bates 363220 Daniel Becke Simon Gerrans Allan Davis 181412 William Walker Simon Clarke Eros Capecchi 11:12.18 + 2.33 + 4.03 UniSA–Australia Liberty Seguros-Wurth Team Southaustralia.com–AIS 33:29.50 + 3.42 + 18.01 4 Cadel Evans Samuel Dumoulin Russell Van Hout 363220 Russell Van Hout Daniel Becke Simon Gerrans 181814 William Walker Simon Clarke Eros Capecchi 14:47.53 + 2.33 + 4.03 UniSA–Australia Liberty Seguros-Wurth Team Davitamon Lotto 44:11.09 + 7.40 + 23.18 5 Cadel Evans Samuel Dumoulin Luca Paolini 403832 Allan Davis Russell Van Hout Daniel Becke 201818 William Walker Simon Clarke Eros Capecchi 16:37.40 + 2.33 + 4.07 UniSA–Australia Liberty Seguros-Wurth Team Southaustralia.com–AIS 49:40.44 + 7.26 + 23.27
Men's top 10 overall Pos Rider Time 1 Simon Gerrans16:36.54 2 Luis León Sánchez+ 0.07 3 Robbie McEwen+ 0.14 4 William Walker+ 0.46 5 Gene Bates+ 1.48 6 Samuel Dumoulin+ 2.42 7 Russell Van Hout+ 3.00 8 Simon Clarke+ 3.19 9 Chris Jongewaard+ 3.1910 Glenn d'Hollander+ 3.31
Women's stage summary Stage Date Start Finish Distance Stage Top 3 Leading Top 3 Points 1 16 January East end Adelaide street race 30 mins + 1 lap Jenny MacPherson Emma Mackie Belinda Goss Jenny MacPherson Emma Mackie Belinda Goss 40 38 36 2 17 January Tanunda Street Circuit 30 mins + 1 lap Belinda Goss Petra Mullens Bridgette Evans Belinda Goss Jenny MacPherson Petra Mullens 767470 3 20 January Snapper Point (Aldinga Beach) Criterium 30 mins + 1 lap Jenny MacPherson Belinda Goss Petra Mullens Jenny MacPherson Belinda Goss Petra Mullens 114 114 106
References
Official website Cyclingnews.com Tour Down Under 2006 site