Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
Everyone's quick to blame the alien. - Aeschylus
Les Woodland's book Tour of Flanders: The Inside Story - The rocky roads of the Ronde van Vlaanderen is available in print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- January 17 - 26: Tour Down Under
Upcoming racing:
- January 25 - February 2: Challenge Vuelta a Mallorca
- January 25: Ruta de la Cerámica - Gran Premio Castellón
- January 26: Classica Comunitat a Valenciana 1969
- February 2: GP La Marseillaise
Latest completed racing:
- January 3: X20 Trofee Koksijde-Vlaamse Druivenveldrit Cross
- January 1: GP Sven Nys Cross
- December 30: Diegem Cyclocross
- December 26: Gavere Cyclocross
- December 27: Exact Cross Loenhout-Azencross
- December 15: Namur Cyclocross-Citadelcross
- November 17: Flandriencross
- November 3: European Cyclocross Championships
- November 1: X20 Trofee Oudenaarde-Koppenbergcross
We posted the report from stage winner and first GC leader Sam Welsford's Team Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe with the results.
Here's the race organizer's report:
Sam Welsford has delivered what his team promised to claim: the opening stage of the Santos Tour Down Under as it celebrates 25 years of racing in South Australia.
The Australian powered away from his Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe teammates with perfect timing to win the Ziptrak Stage 1 bunch sprint at the Gumeracha finish ahead of Great Britain’s Matthew Brennan (Team Visma-Lease A Bike) and Groupama-FDJ’s Matthew Walls.
Sam Welsford will start stage two in orange. Sirotti photo
Welsford mirrored his start to the Santos Tour Down Under in 2024 to take the opening stage after the race left from Prospect.
He is also the race leader in the general classification, with a deserved four stage wins to his name since snaring his first in South Australia last year.
“We had our backs up against the wall from the start,’’ Welsford said. “No-one wanted to help us out there today – we kind of expected it. We just kept the break in check and eventually some teams started to put one on in the last 60km and then the gaps started coming down as well.
“The pressure was on and I’m really relieved.”
ARA Australia’s Zac Marriage and Fergus Browning put themselves in the spotlight, with the pair staying away from the main peloton as soon as the start gun was fired at Prospect until about 40km from the Gumeracha finish line.
The 21-year-olds traded Ziptrak sprint and efex King of the Mountain bonuses before they were caught by a relentless peloton.
The pair jointly claimed the prestigious Yamaha Most Competitive rider jersey after a brilliant day on hot saddles.
Browning will wear the efex King of the Mountain jersey during Health Partners Stage 2 Tanunda to Tanunda on Wednesday.
“It was a hard day and a big day out in front, and we really need to take every opportunity we can,’’ Marriage said. “There’s no better way to start than from kilometre zero. It was rewarding… it’s my home race and I train here every day.”
All the jerseys:
Santos Ochre Leader’s jersey: Sam Welsford (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Ziptrak Sprint Classification jersey: Sam Welsford (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
efex King of the Mountain: Fergus Browning (ARA Australian Cycling Team)
Zwift Young Rider jersey: Matthew Brennan (Team Visma-Lease A Bike)
Yamaha Most Competitive Rider: Fergus Browning (ARA Australia), Zac Marriage (ARA Australia)
Wilson Parking Winning Team: Alpecin-Deceuninck
Content continues below the ads
Here's the Tour Down Under report from second-place Matthew Brennan's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Matthew Brennan secured an impressive second place in the opening stage of the Santos Tour Down Under. The 19-year-old rider, one of four riders from Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s Development Team, was narrowly beaten in the sprint by the experienced Sam Welsford. Unfortunately, the team lost Dylan van Baarle due to a crash.
The Visma | Lease a Bike team after the stage. Sirotti photo
The Tour Down Under has long been the traditional start of the cycling season. Team Visma | Lease a Bike is competing in Australia with a predominantly young and talented team. With Brennan, the team is aiming for sprint success, while Tom Gloag has been given the freedom to target a strong overall classification. Dutch riders Dylan van Baarle, Tijmen Graat, Menno Huising, and Loe van Belle, along with Belgian Julien Vermote, provide a balanced mix of experience and youth.
During the race, as is usually the case in the season opener, things were quite hectic. In the final kilometres, a crash occurred, which also involved Van Baarle. The experienced Dutchman managed to finish the stage, but after examinations at the finish line, it was revealed that the former Paris-Roubaix winner had broken his collarbone. Van Baarle will not start in the second stage.
Despite the crash and the absence of Van Baarle, Team Visma | Lease a Bike succeeded in positioning Brennan well in the final kilometer. The young Brit seized the opportunity, finding a gap on the left side of the road and delivering a powerful sprint. Wearing the white jersey as the best young rider after the stage, Brennan came tantalizingly close to overtaking Welsford.
“This is a fantastic result, and I’m really happy with it”, Brennan said afterward. “I have to thank the team—they worked hard for me all day. In the final kilometers, we wanted to take our chance and see how close we could get. I spotted a gap on the left side of the road and decided to go for it. I think I had a strong sprint, but in the end, I came up just short. At this level, there’s no shame in that.”
The teenager made an impressive WorldTour debut. “Before the race, I would have gladly signed up for a podium finish in my very first WorldTour event. Of course, it stings a little to miss out on the win by such a small margin. But it’s amazing to be starting tomorrow in the white jersey. This was a hectic season opener, but one I’ll remember for a long time. This second place gives me a lot of confidence. I think we’ve started this Tour Down Under on the right foot as a team”, Brennan concluded.
Here's the report from third-place Matthew Walls' Team Groupama-FDJ:
The twenty-ninth season of the Groupama-FDJ cycling team has started. As usual, the first pedal strokes in official competition took place on the other side of the World, on the Tour Down Under. Right from the opening stage, on Tuesday, the French squad stood out thanks to its British sprinter Matt Walls, who took an excellent third place and therefore achieved his best result since joining the organization. The 2025 season is off to a good start.
Matthew Walls (Blue kit, between Welsford and Brennan) is third. Sirotti photo
Summer temperatures, yet not excessive, and a bumpy terrain, yet not too demanding. Everything was set for the year’s first official race day on Tuesday, between Prospect and Gumeracha, to launch the Tour Down Under. “It was hot last weekend, around 34-36 degrees, but we knew that the temperature would drop a bit at the start of the week,” explained Jussi Veikkanen, the group’s sports director in Australia. “It was a typical start to get back on track.” A trio including Fergus Browning, Zac Marriage and Bastien Tronchon easily got away from the peloton from the start, rode together until the first bonus sprint, after which the Frenchman waited for the bunch.
“Most part of the day was controlled by the Red Bull-Bora hansgrohe,” Jussi also specified. Three days after the traditional criterium, where he took tenth place, Matt Walls was the Groupama-FDJ’s main man for the day since a bunch sprint was anticipated after one hundred and fifty kilometres. “At the briefing, we said that we were going 100% for Matt, that was clear to everyone,” added Jussi. “The second goal was to find our place in the peloton with Sven-Erik as road captain. That was done. We were in front, together, as a team.”
At the front, the Australian duo managed to get a five-minute lead at best, but the growing tension in the last hour of racing made the bunch closer really fast. Twenty-four kilometers from the finish, everything came back together, and a very nervous peloton was then heading towards Gumeracha. “The plan was for Clément, Sven and Eddy to work in the first part of the approach to the sprint, and that’s what happened,” said Jussi. “The boys did a great job of looking after me all day and keeping me in a good position until the last few kilometres,” added Matt Walls. “Lewis then did a perfect job of delivering me to Sam Welsford’s wheel coming into the final 500 metres. We didn’t panic and waited for the right time. It was a really good job from the team.” That’s how the Briton was able to come into the final straight fighting for victory. “I tried to come around Sam in the sprint, but he held on and pulled away in the last hundred metres,” said Matt, who eventually came third on the line. “As a team, I think we can take some confidence out of it going into the next days. Teamwork was good, the feeling was good, it was a good first stage!”
“We had already seen some great work on Saturday night, but it was ‘just’ a criterium,” added Jussi. “Hopefully we will keep this mindset until the end of the Australian stay. Apart from that, the goal for Rémy and Quentin was to avoid any split. There was a big crash two kilometres from the finish, but they got the winner’s time and above all, we were not caught up in it.” Sam Welsford therefore won the first stage and took on the leader’s jersey, which could change shoulders in Tanunda on Wednesday. “We did the same circuit last year but in the other direction,” concluded Jussi. “As a sports director, I have never done the circuit hill in this direction, but as a rider I did. From what I remember, it made quite a selection at the time. It can cause damage, but it all depends on the peloton’s attitude. We have to be ready for different scenarios.”
Content continues below the ads
Eighth-place Rui Oliveira's UAE Team Emirates posted this Tour Down Under report:
Placing eighth in the bunch sprint with Rui Oliveira and taking one intermediate bonus second through Jhonatan Narváez, UAE Team Emirates-XRG made a strong start to the Santos Tour Down Under on stage 1.
Oliveira managed to manoeuvre himself into a handy position within the closing kilometres but found his movement disrupted as the bunch sprint approached.
“I knew I could be on the wheels and just go at the last metres to pass the guys because it was super fast,” said Oliveira, who takes the team’s first WorldTour top-10 of the season, “but in the last 500m, some of the sprinters sat up which made it awkward.
“I just had to jump to the front group and sadly it was not enough. In the end, I came too late.”
Stage one gets rolling.
As Sam Welsford of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe claimed the stage honours in Gumeracha, Oliveira could be pleased with his efforts to help teammate Narváez land the final intermediate bonus second on offer.
Coming after 100.5km, the final intermediate sprint in Birdwood was first passed by the breakaway duo Zac Marriage and Fergus Browning, before Narváez came across the line in third. The Ecuadorian national champion, making his WorldTour debut for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, enjoyed a fine lead-out from teammate Oliveira, before making his own acceleration to move himself inside the top 10 on general classification.
“I was with him, we knew we had one [bonus] second left and Jhony wanted to go for it. My job before sprinting is to help the guys and I think I did a perfect job leading him out for the one second,” recalled Oliveira, whose attention will now turn to tomorrow’s rolling stage to and from Tanunda.
With that bonus second in his pocket, Narváez ended Tuesday’s opening stage in seventh place on general classification, just nine seconds down on the day’s victor Welsford (with bonuses accounted for). His teammates, meanwhile, all finished the stage in fine health, including leader Jay Vine, after a finale marred by a late crash.
Under the guidance of the experienced Marc Soler, UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s youngest team member Pablo Torres was able to enjoy his first taste of WorldTour action. His moment to shine will come later in the race but for now he sits third in the young rider’s classification. Soler, for his efforts, came third in the second King of the Mountains sprint on Berry Hill and earned himself three points towards the classification.
Tomorrow the peloton will be tasked by a 128.8km-long stage in the Barossa Valley, beginning and ending in Tanunda. It will be a much tougher day for the riders, with 1,598m of climbing on the agenda, offering an opportunity to the sprinters who can perform well in the hills.
Content continues below the ads
Here's the report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:
The 25th edition of the Tour Down Under – Australia’s oldest World Tour race – got underway Tuesday with a rather short stage, 150.7 kilometers between Prospect and Gumaracha. Despite the presence of some winding roads and a couple of small classified climbs, the sprinters’ teams easily controlled the three-man breakaway which formed soon after the start, managing to put almost six minutes into the peloton.
On the second ascent of the Berry Hill climb (1.5km, 6.7%), the chasers erased a significant chunk of the deficit, which continued to tumble down on the descent to the point the escapees got reeled in with more than 20 kilometers left until the finish.
Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe riders leading the peloton. Sirotti photo
Inside the last ten kilometers, the lead-out trains moved into position, bringing their leaders to the front while keeping the speed high. In the end, it was Sam Welsford (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) the one who prevailed on the small rise up to the line, a success that brought the Australian the leader’s ochre jersey. Neo-pro Andrea Raccagni, who made his official debut for the team, was Soudal Quick-Step’s top finisher on the inaugural stage of the race, rolling over the line inside the top 20.
And here's the Tour Down Under report from Team Picnic-PostNL:
The opening day of the Tour Down Under saw the peloton tackle a 150 kilometre long route and despite some rolling hills, it was a stage destined to end in a bunch sprint finish. Team Picnic PostNL had a dual goal in the day, to keep GC finisher Oscar Onley safe and go for it in the finish with Tobias Lund Andresen. With the break caught the team moved up well, avoiding a late crash and bringing Lund Andresen towards the front. However, on the fast and hectic run-in Lund Andresen had to hit the brakes at one point as the gap squeezed in front of him, and from there he lost his momentum and position near the front. Fighting back, he showed some speed to come around some competitors, ultimately finishing in 11th place on the day.
Lund Andresen said: “It was good to get the season started again with the boys. We rode very well as a team and pretty much to how we planned until around two kilometres to go. There, I lost the wheel of Pat and had to gamble to get back in it, and unfortunately I got squeezed out. My feeling on the bike was good though, so I’m optimistic to improve on things tomorrow.”
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary