Bora-Hansgrohe's Sam Welsford took the top spot on stage 1 of the Tour Down Under after receiving the perfect lead out in the very first race with his new team. The Australian held off a late charge from Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) to claim the hotly contested victory in Tanunda.
Confident in their sprinter, Bora-Hansgrohe monitored the front of the peloton and kept Welsford out of danger before lining up for the final dash to the line. Welsford jumped from the wheel of his last teammate Danny Van Poppel, crossing the line with time to raise his hands in celebration.
Bauhaus, last year’s winner in Tanunda, could not match the speed and had to settle for second place. Caleb Ewan (Jayco-AlUla) tried to take Welsford's wheel but was ultimately passed by a fast-charging Girmay.
Welsford now also leads the general classification with four seconds on Bauhaus and six on Girmay. Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) is in fourth place, seven seconds down after taking time bonus seconds in the two intermediate sprints.
“That was crazy, I’m at a loss for words. It was very hairy down the hill, lots of crashes and near misses, but the boys just kept calm, be patient and wow they did an amazing for me today,” said Welsford who just joined the Bora-Hansgrohe team after spending two years with dsm-firmenich PostNL.
"First race with the guys and they backed me one hundred percent. That's super special, first one of the year to get a win. I'm stoked.”
Teams jostled for position as the peloton sped down the descent of Menglers Hill, with 13 kilometres to go to the finish line. A few crashes and near misses delivered a somewhat chaotic dash to the line.
“It was pretty fast on the downhill, we were going around those long bends, upwards of 100km an hour," said Welsford. "Everyone’s trying to be at the front as well, so then it comes pretty messy but hope everyone's alright cos there’s still more, you know, five more days left.”
How it unfolded
There was no easing into the heat on the first stage of the men’s Tour Down Under, with shade at a premium as temperatures headed to a maximum of 33 °C – feeling much warmer on the road as heat radiated off the dark surface. Sunscreen was an essential piece of team equipment as riders lined up in Tanunda to start the race and WorldTour season with a 144km stage. The South Australian race was playing out over three laps of a circuit that included the category 4 Menglers Hill, but was always expected to be a day for the sprinters given the summit was 13km before the finish line.
All eyes were peeled just to be sure that Caleb Ewan (Jayco-AlUla) was on the start line, with the rider having skipped the criterium, but he was back for his all-important first WorldTour race with his new team, rolling out at the back of the peloton to make sure he didn’t have to spend a minute more than necessary in the sun.
It may have been a sprint stage, but that didn’t mean the GC contenders could sit back and take it easy, with time bonuses from the intermediate sprints all important in an overall battle that can often come down to such tight margins. That means GC prospects were ready to take advantage of any easy opportunities to grab time bonuses, or at least send their teammates up the road to soak up the points and keep them away from their rivals.
In the first intermediate sprint, Finn Fisher-Black (UAE Team Emirates) took the three seconds, with Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) next, followed by pre-race criterium winner Jhonatan Narvaez (Ineos Grenadiers). Taking advantage of the lull after the sprint, two riders broke away, Georg Zimmerman (Intermarché-Wanty) and Louis Barré (Arkéa-B&B Hotels).
The peloton seemed happy to let it go so by the time they swept through Tanunda, in the heart of the Barossa wine region, to complete the first of three laps the gap wasn’t far off three minutes. It was a gap, however the field wasn’t prepared to let stretch for long, with the pace picking up in the bunch.
Still the duo held out front for the second intermediate sprint at 70.2km to go, and that’s where the pause button was hit on the cooperation at the front, with a charged battle for the extra second between first and second place. Zimmerman won the skirmish, taking the three seconds, Barré two and back in the field, Strong grabbed the final second still up for grabs. The pair held out for the second round of King of the Mountain points as well, with Barré claiming the top points, also having taken the first just a little after the pair first leapt out of the field.
It was all back together by the time the peloton wound back through Tanunda again to start the final lap, though Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-QuickStep) was working his way back through the cars after a bike change.
As the riders worked their way through the final lap, it was all about keeping it together to get ready for the sprint to come on the long straight run down to the finish line on Murray Street.
Teams battled for position at the front of the speeding peloton in the final 10 kilometres with a few riders hitting the tarmac, including Nicolo Buratti (Bahrain Victorious) and Jackson Medway (Australian National Team).
Welsford received a perfect leadout from his teammates Ryan Mullen and Danny Van Poppel before launching his sprint. Ewan tried to get on his wheel but could not hold the pace and was ultimately passed by Girmay.
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling
