Two-time Giro d’Italia winner Gilberto Simoni was among the top names to underline his aims for the coming season a day ahead of the start of cycling's Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Australia, Monday.

The Italian joined local hope Stuart O'Grady, a two-time winner of the season's first stage event, Spaniard Isidro Nozal and Australian all rounder Cadel Evans in singling out the race as an increasingly significant date on the growing global calendar.

"I've noticed in the past that when McEwen and O'Grady compete here they tend to have successful seasons, do well at the Tour de France and even right up to the world championships," said the Lampre-Caffita rider.

O'Grady, who won track gold in the Athens Olympics last summer following a blistering first year with the French Cofidis team, is a hot favorite for honors here after six days of racing.

For the 31-year-old Adelaider, failure to deliver after missing out on the national title to Lotto rider Robbie McEwen a few days ago would not go down well.

"I'm here to try and win the Tour Down Under. Full stop. If I said I wasn't here to win I'd be lying. And I'd probably get shot," said O'Grady, who won here in 1999 and 2001.

The Tour Down Under, along with the Tour of Langkawi and the Tour of Qatar in February, is gaining in status as professional cyclists increasingly try to segue into the tough European season by getting plenty of kilometers into their legs.

It's a formula which has worked well for both O'Grady and McEwen in the past, and Simoni admitted the Aussies' head start on their European colleagues had got him thinking.

"I thought I would come here to try and begin my season earlier,” Simoni said. “I also wanted to experience the race."

Simoni could be taking a risk in doing so. From the hot and dry temperatures of southern Australia, the 33-year-old will return to a European spring of colder climes, wind and rain.

He made no reference to the frustration he experienced last year at the Giro d’Italia when Simoni lost to his own teammate Damiano Cunego, but it was clear that he is hoping to get a head start on the contenders for the Giro's pink jersey.

"It's true the conditions are a lot different. It's almost zero(C) degrees at home right now. But I hope to do the best I can here. It's part of a different approach for me leading up to the Giro," added Simoni, who admitted the Aussies had won his respect.

"The Australians are very good riders, they're among the top five ranked nations in the world (fourth), so I've got nothing to teach them."

Evans meanwhile is focusing his season on the Tour de France, a race which he has been tipped to win in the future having shown brilliant form at the Giro in 2002 before two years of relative obscurity with the T-Mobile team sidelined his ambitions.

"My role is just to be here for the team, and help Robbie (McEwen)," said the 27-year-old. "The Tour de France is very important for me and the team - I'm the only rider for the general classification so I will have a heavy race program leading up to July."