Kimberly Conte, race director for the women's Tour Down Under, which starts Thursday, said that keeping the stage through South Australia, which was damaged by the recent bushfires, for both the women and men will show tourists that they are still in business and help with the recovery ...

At a pre-race press conference at the Hilton Hotel in Adelaide on Wednesday afternoon, Conte said that while the race will continue on its currently scheduled route, the safety of all those involved in and watching the race is the top priority.

"These areas in particular, which we will pass through on stage 2 (Murray Bridge-Birdwood) and stage 3 (Nairn-Sterling), are areas that have been hit by fires. Our team did a great job making sure the route was safe. [We can show support and show people that these areas are, as they say, open for business. [It is heartbreaking to see so many families losing their homes, people losing their livelihoods, livestock, and wildlife being hit so hard. But despite the awfulness of the situation, here in the Adelaide Hills and in the affected areas, many people came together to see the best of Australia. We have seen the best of the Australian people." [In recent weeks, smoke from the fires on Kangaroo Island off Adelaide's west coast has been drifting across the state.

"We are grateful for the great team at SAPOL [South Australian Police] and SATC [South Australian Tourism] who are supporting us, but it is really hard to see what Australia has experienced over the last few weeks."

Women's Tour

The Women's Tour Down Under will run from Thursday, January 16 (starting in Hahndorf, southeast of Adelaide) through Sunday, January 19 (finishing with a circuit race in central Adelaide).