Powerhouse Australian sprinter Sam Welsford yesterday stormed home from well back for his seventh stage win in the Tour Down Under as Jay Vine remained the overall race leader.
Welsford looked out of contention back in the peloton as the dash to the finish line developed in Nairne at the end of the 140.8km third stage, but Welsford was shepherded to the front by Ineos Grenadiers teammate Sam Watson before surging clear in the final 100m.
“It was so hard, we were in so much trouble at the back, we got swamped, and on that last climb I was on my absolute limit, but to have my teammates with me and believe in me so much after such a hard year to win here on a stage that really suited me, I am over the moon,” Welsford said.
Photo: AFP
Stage one winner Denmark’s Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM) was second, with New Zealand’s Lewis Bower (Groupama-FDJ United) third.
Australia’s Vine, who had blown away his rivals in Thursday’s second stage, continued his grip on the general classification. Vine leads by six seconds from UAE Team Emirates XRG teammate and defending champion Jhonatan Narvaez, with Switzerland’s Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco AlUla) a further 59 seconds behind.
It was a fillip for Welsford after a torrid last year with Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe before switching teams to Ineos Grenadiers this season.
Vine, the 2023 Tour Down Under winner, consolidated his overall lead before today’s fourth stage which sees two climbs of Willunga Hill.
“The last 50km was probably more stressful than it needed to be, but I stayed out of trouble, kept it upright and avoided the crash at the finish, which was nice,” said Vine, who was hampered by a pileup near the finish.
The crash happened within 3km of the end of the stage which meant Vine did not lose any time and kept his leader’s ochre jersey.
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