Devil´s Tour of Tasmania   

The Devil´s Tour of Tasmania is a race situated in City of Hobart and surrounds, the capital and most populous city of Tasmania. Hobart is Australia's second-oldest capital city, founded in 1804 as a British penal colony. Prior to British colonisation, the land had been occupied for as long as 40,000 years by local First Nations people, where lower sea levels allowed Tasmania to connect to the mainland of Australia as a penin...

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The Devil´s Tour of Tasmania is a race situated in City of Hobart and surrounds, the capital and most populous city of Tasmania. Hobart is Australia's second-oldest capital city, founded in 1804 as a British penal colony. Prior to British colonisation, the land had been occupied for as long as 40,000 years by local First Nations people, where lower sea levels allowed Tasmania to connect to the mainland of Australia as a peninsula. Hobart is located on the estuary of the River Derwent with its harbour forming the second-deepest natural port in the world. Hobart’s skyline is dominated by the 1,271-metre mountain kunanyi/Mount Wellington, which also dominates this race.

The Devil´s Tour of Tasmania is 236 km circuit around the City of Hobart and surrounds, before commencing the final climb with the finish line on the summit of kunanyi/Mount Wellington. Rolling out of Constitution Dock in the centre of Hobart, the race heads south along the banks of the River Derwent through Sandy Bay to Taroona where a series of smaller climbs will allow for those that want to test their chances in a breakaway to slip away. Similar periods of flat and rolling terrain greets the riders as they continue south along the Channel, through Kingston, Snug, Kettering and Flowerpot. Rounding the Mountain Creek conservation area, the riders turn north, following the Huon Rider up through Cygnet and Huonville, now riding in the lush Huon Valley surrounded by many apple orchards that gave Tasmania the nickname of The Apple Isle.

The road gets steeper as the riders head up the Huon Highway over the saddle at Longley and the southern outlet, a series of climbs with pinches up to 9% will shake up the peloton at the halfway mark. Descending into Hobart, the race heads west over the Tasman Bridge, out to Cambridge before turning north to the historic town of Richmond, a mix of rolling terrain with some flat road. The race heads northwest through the towns of Tea Tree and Dromedary, following the River Derwent to New Norfolk. The race then heads inland, with another climb testing the legs to Glen Lusk, allowing a final opportunity to escape before the final kunanyi/Mount Wellington summit, before descending back to the River Derwent. South past MONA and allowing a chance for rest before the finale, the kunanyi/Mount Wellington ascent, which has been looming over the race since the start.

The riders commence the southern gentle slopes of South Hobart and the Cascades on their way to the start of kunanyi/Mount Wellington proper, a 17.7km climb at an average grade of 6.7%. A small respite around 4.5km in, the road kicks up again as the right-hander at Fern Tree approaches. A few hairpins around the halfway mark of the final climb sees the road hit grades of 11-12%, with the road heading north along the eastern face of the mountain and its predominant dolerite “organ-pipe” columns, and a long stretch where riders can see the remnants of the break (if they’ve made it this far) or those that may have attacked earlier on the lower slopes. Strong winds may start to impact the riders here. 4km to go and the road turns to the west, before doing a 180 degree turn and into the final kilometre, still climbing. If you haven’t arrived here solo, you’ll have needed to time your ride perfectly to have something left in the tank to take the honours. Riders are greeted to spectacular views at the top and will need a lot of recovery time before they can enjoy it.