Cannondale-Drapac announce team for Tour Down Under

American Cannondale-Drapac team will be led by Michael Woods and Tom-Jelte Slagter at the Tour Down Under (January 17-22) - British sports director Tom Southam makes WorldTour debut behind the wheel

Michael Woods on stage 3 of the 2016 Tour Down Under

(Image credit: Graham Watson)

Dutchman Tom-Jelte Slagter and Canadian Michael Woods will be co-leaders for the Cannondale-Drapac team at the opening WorldTour race of the 2017 season: the Tour Down Under in Australia from January 17-22.

Slagter won the race overall in 2013 while riding for the Belkin team, and is joined by Woods as joint team leader in the six-stage event. Woods was one of the revelations of last year's race, having placed fifth overall as a neo-pro in the squad.

“Last year I knew I was in really good form and Jonathan Vaughters [team manager] told me, ‘we're going to make you the guy for Down Under'," said Woods.

>>> Tour Down Under 2017 start list

"I was super-stoked about that. In retrospect, that was crazy that JV just was like, "Dude I'm going to give this rookie a shot at a WorldTour race’ with no experience whatsoever, but it panned out awesome.

"I think when the guys saw my name as one of the leaders in the pre-race email they were probably thinking, ‘Um, this is a really bad idea'."

Slagter and Woods will be joined by New Zealander Patrick Bevin, American Alex Howes, Australians Brendan Canty and Will Clarke, and Belgian Tom Van Asbroeck – with the latter three making their debut for the American team at the TDU.

The same team will also contest the one-day People's Choice Classic on January 14 and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race on January 29, all in Australia.

The Tour Down Under is the first WorldTour outing for British sports director Tom Southam, who joins Cannondale-Drapac from the Drapac Professional Cycling team for 2017.

“You could say it's like being given the keys to your older brother's sports car for the first time,” said Southam.

>>> Tour Down Under 2017: Latest news, info and reports

“First thing you want to do is drive it fast, you also need to be cautious that you don't plough it in to a wall. But at least you know someone somewhere trusts you enough to leave you in charge.”

The Tour Down Under takes place in and around Adelaide, South Australia, from January 17-22. Last year's edition was won for a fourth time by Simon Gerrans (Orica-Scott). Along with Gerrans, leading challengers for the race include Richie Porte (BMC), Sergio Henao (Sky), Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) and Geraint Thomas (Sky).

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Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.