The term Down Under is a colloquialism which is variously construed either to refer to Australia and New Zealand, or Australia alone. The term comes from the fact that these countries are in the Southern Hemisphere, 'below' many other countries on the globe.

The persistence of the media use of the term has led to its wide embrace and usage. The Men at Work song "Down Under" became an instantly recognisable, patriotic rallying song. The famous Australian boxing champion Kostya Tszyu was nicknamed "The Thunder from Down Under".

According to Roger Ebert's tongue-in-cheek Glossary of Movie Terms, the Down Under Rule "No film set in Australia is allowed to use the word Australia in its title where "Down Under" is an acceptable alternative. For example, we don't get The Rescuers in Australia or Quigley in Australia."

Cadel Lee Evans (/kəˈdɛl/, born 14 February 1977) is an Australian professional racing cyclist and winner of the 2011 Tour de France. Early in his career, Evans was a champion mountain biker, winning the World Cup in 1998 and 1999 and placing seventh in the men's cross-country mountain bike race at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

Evans turned to full-time road cycling in 2001, and gradually progressed through ranks. He finished second in 2007 and 2008 Tours de France. He became the first Australian to win the UCI ProTour (2007) and the UCI Road World Championships in 2009. Finally, he won the Tour de France in 2011, riding for BMC Racing Team, after two Tours riddled with bad luck. At 34, he was among the five oldest winners in the race's history.

Cadel Evans was born on 14 February 1977 at the Katherine Hospital, Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia, to Helen Cocks, a bank manager, and Paul Evans, a council foreman. He spent his early childhood in the small Aboriginal community of Barunga, 80 km east of Katherine. At the age of seven, he was hit in the head by a horse, and spent seven days in an induced coma. In 1986, his parents separated and he first moved with his mother to Armidale, New South Wales, and then to Eltham, Victoria, where his mother still lives. Evans attended Newling Public School in Armidale, and Eltham High School in Melbourne.Skateboarding was one of his teenage interests. His father describes him as a good student, but otherwise just an ordinary kid who would leave his toys around; "Not in [my] wildest dreams" would he imagine that his son would become a top world athlete. Cadel maintains his current Australian home in Barwon Heads, Victoria just outside of Melbourne.

Richard Julian "Richie" Porte (born 30 January 1985 in Launceston, Tasmania) is an Australian professional road bicycle racer on Team Sky. In his first year at ProTour level, Porte won the young rider classification at the 2010 Giro d'Italia, and featured prominently in the general classification at several stage races. The arrival of Alberto Contador at Saxo Bank-SunGard in 2011 meant Porte played a supporting role, helping his leader to overall victory in the Giro, which was later removed from Contador by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Porte moved to Team Sky for the 2012 season, and quickly made an impact, winning the Volta ao Algarve.

Porte started cycling in 2006 when he was 21 years of age. He comes from a triathlon background, having competed in the sport since 2003. He raced with a Tasmanian UCI Continental team, Praties, in 2008 and 2009, and under the eye of Andrea Tafi on the Monsummanese Grassi Mapei amateur Italian team in 2009.

His performance at the 2009 Baby Giro, where he won the individual time trial, brought him to the attention of the professional teams and at the end of the season, Porte signed a two year contract with Team Saxo Bank. His coach at Team Saxo Bank was a fellow Australian, Bradley McGee. McGee is a former professional cyclist and world track champion, who won an Olympic gold medal in 2004 and 3 Grand Tour stages.

Jens Voigt (born 17 September 1971 in Grevesmühlen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, East Germany) is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam RadioShack-Nissan-Trek. Voigt is known for his propensity to attack, and for his positive racing attitude. He is capable of repeated attacking, holding a high tempo, and breaking away from the peloton. He has worn the yellow jersey of the Tour de France twice, though he has never challenged for the overall title due to his lack of ability in the mountains. In cycling folklore, he is considered as one of the best rouleur riders to this day.

He is the riders' representative on the UCI ProTour council, for the Cyclistes Professionels Associés (CPA), and Voigt has spoken against doping.

Voigt is generally popular with cycling fans, both for his riding style and his affable, forthright and articulate style in dealing with the public and media.

Voigt and his wife Stephanie have six children, the youngest being born January 2011.

Jens Voigt was born in a small town about 100 km north-east of Hamburg, in the same area as Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich. Jens was encouraged by his parents to participate in sports, since he often got into troubles as a youngster thanks to his excessive energy. His early performance indicated he had good endurance potential, and he joined a national sports school at age 14 and trained in cycling and track and field.