BA is thrilled to be trackside for every stage of this year’s Tour Down Under and will provide rolling coverage here, as well as regular social updates on Facebook and Instagram. Stage 1: Welsford opens his account
The first of six stages of this year’s Tour Down Under men’s race started at a cracking pace in the picturesque Adelaide Hills on Tuesday. Raced over 150.7km from Prospect to Gumeracha, an impressive breakaway of two riders from the ARA Australia team got caught with 40km to go to end the stage in a bunch sprint. ARA Australia’s Zac Marriage and Fergus Browning jointly won the most combative prize for their efforts.
From Prospect, the peloton headed uphill on Gorge Road at Paracombe and journeyed to Williamstown on the southern fringe of the Barossa Valley. It passed through Gumeracha twice and then Loberthal, Charleston, Mount Torrens, and Birdwood—towns frequently featured in the TDU.
On the finish line, Welsford proved his strength and powered away from his Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe teammates with perfect timing to win the sprint at the Gumeracha finish ahead of Great Britain’s Matthew Brennan (Team Visma-Lease A Bike) and Groupama-FDJ’s Matthew Walls.
Welsford 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.
“We just kept the break in check and eventually some teams started to put one on in the last 60km and […]
Continue reading the original article at: bicyclingaustralia.com.au