New season set to begin in searing heat Down Under

It's hard to believe that here we are on the verge of another season on the road for cycling's finest. While I'm down in my basement punching out 30 to 45 minute sessions on my turbo in the hopes of generating some kind of base fitness, the best in the World are ready and set to go racing, starting with the Tour Down Under this weekend.

It hardly seems like anytime since the last season ended and yet here we are, about to go again. That's the way of it in the modern day of sport however. With money to be made there is no time to sit around wasting months of an off season when you can run out the old season on late and drag them back for a new season early. Look at Football, it barely stops -- certainly not in a World Cup year. Likewise the Formula One season now finishes in late November and starts up again with winter testing in February.

Australia are in the thick of their summer right now and so it's understandable that they'd have this race now. Currently the country is enjoying one of its hottest summers on record, highlighted by the conditions at the Australian Open tennis tournament taking place at the moment. Temperatures have soared so high that water bottles have melted, some players have collapsed, and the rest left to complain about it.



I don't expect the same from the cyclists. They had equally daunting temperatures at last years Tour of California. All they will do is tame the pace a little. Coupled with it being a very early season race and those temperatures, I wouldn't expect record setting average speeds. Still, the racing will be competitive when it matters and while plenty are there to use it as a race to ride themselves into shape, others are there to win it. This is a World Tour race after all; the prize money is good and the points valuable. 100 points for the winner ... no different than the Paris-Nice or Tour de Suisse, for example, or the Monument Classics for that matter.

Besides Australia recently had their National Championships and so a number of the local riders -- Simon Gerrans, Richie Porte, Rohan Dennis and Cadel Evans -- will be in decent shape and looking to make their mark on home turf. It was Tom-Jelte Slagter who won it last year and Gerrans the year before, so don't let the time and conditions deter your viewing, you can be sure of some competitive racing starting Saturday.

As for who will win? Well, pick a name. Predicting winners is hard enough when you have an idea of the form riders are in, never mind when it's the first race of the year and you have no clue as to who is feeling good and who is targeting the event for competition or intense training. But for the sake of fun, I should pick someone, so why not Simon Gerrans to win back the title he lost last year?