Project Overview
The Santos Tour Down Under is the first stop for the world’s best cycling teams and riders, and is the opening event of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) WorldTour. First held in 1999, the Santos Tour Down Under is the biggest cycling race in the southern hemisphere.
The 11-day event brings UCI WorldTour male professional cycling teams to race on the streets of Adelaide and regional South Australia each January. The event also plays host to a UCI Women’s 2.1-grade event (one level below Women’s World Tour status), which also attracts the cream of female cycling to Adelaide.
The event is watched by over 800,000 spectators across the greater Adelaide metropolitan and country regions.
Scope of Works
McMahon Services Events’ scope of works includes the build and dismantle of the Schwalbe Classic Stand with 624 premium seats and a 570m² rear deck, the Stage 6 King William Road Stand with 858 seats and a 990m² reach deck, and the 6m high Stage 5 Television Scaffold Tower. Works utilise McMahon Services Events’ Premium Grandstand and Ringlock scaffolding systems.
A crew of 16 work day and night shifts to erect the decks and towers over a six-day period leading up to the event, then dismantle in a single night to day shift. Equipment used includes Manitou telehandlers, forklifts and trucks.
A major challenge for the team is working in the heat as the event occurs during the peak of Australia’s summer, and working on major roads and in the vicinity of highly trafficked pedestrian areas. Set up and dismantle works are therefore timed so that the majority of the major works occur at night, when temperatures drop below 25oC and adjacent pedestrian and road traffic is at its minimal levels.
The original grandstand used was comprised of 80kg decks, which required the use of telehandlers to lift into place and remove after the event. For subsequent events, McMahon Services Events utilised our Premium Grandstand system with lighter deck elements which allowed for manual lifting and placing. This significantly reduced the plant and equipment required on site, improved work safety and shortened the build and dismantle programs.
McMahon Services Events has delivered grandstands and scaffolding for the Tour Down Under since 2017 and completed works for each year with zero health, safety and environmental incidents, and within the required timeframes.
