His meter is open. Australian sprinter Sam Welsford won the first stage of the Tour Down Under, the first World Tour race (1st division) of the season, on Tuesday in Gumeracha, in the Adelaide region of Australia. The Red Bull-Bora rider is used to shining on home soil during the opening race after winning three stages there last year.
Welsford, gold medalist on the track with the Australian chasers at the 2024 Paris Olympics, placed his acceleration 250 meters from the finish to stay a step ahead of the British Matthew Brennan (Visma) and the Australian Zac Marriage. The young Frenchman Bastien Tronchon finished fifth. Welsford takes the leader's jersey ahead of the second of six stages on Wednesday at Tanuda.
1. Sam Welsford (AUS/RBH) the 150.7 km in 3 h 26:28. (average: 43.9 km/h)
2. Matthew Brennan (GBR/TVL)
3. Zac Marriage (AUS/AUS)
4. Matt Walls (GBR/GFC)
5. Bastien Tronchon (FRA/DAT)
