Tour Down Under 2024: Bora newcomer Welsford sprints to victory ahead of Bauhaus
Sebastian Lindner
· 16.01.2024
And let someone say that Bora is no longer a sprinter's team. However, it was hardly to be expected that the German World Tour team would strike in the very first race of the season. However, the victory was not a product of chance, but rather something the team strived for. Bora controlled the pace on the first 144-kilometre section through the Adelaide Hills and ultimately went into the final 1000 metres with a train of three riders, which the new eye-catching jersey presented directly at the top.
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"A dream has come true with the first win of the season in the new jersey," said a delighted Welsford in a statement from his team. "The boys gave me 100 per cent support - winning today is something very special. The team here is the strongest on paper and our lead-out worked really well," said the 27-year-old, who had switched from Team dsm-firmenich to the Raubling team. Danny van Poppel in particular did a great job in the final preparations.
Phil Bauhaus chooses the wrong rear wheel
Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) was also ultimately satisfied. "It's a good result to start the season," his team quoted him as saying. "I'm happy with my legs, they're definitely good enough for a win. But that's professional sport, you can't always win." In fact, the German definitely had Welsford's top speed, but may have orientated himself to the wrong rear wheel in his preparation. The 29-year-old had lined up behind Caleb Ewan (Team Jayco-AlUla). However, the Australian did not have the punch that Bauhaus would have needed in the slipstream for the very front. He ultimately finished fourth, one place behind Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty).
With his second victory at World Tour level, Welsford has also taken the lead in the overall standings and will wear the ochre-coloured jersey tomorrow.
Tour Down Under 2024 - Results: The top 10 of stage 1
- Sam Welsford (Bora-Hansgrohe) 3:25:56
- Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) +0:00
- Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty) +0:00
- Caleb Ewan (Team Jayco-AlUla) +0:00
- Jhonatan Narvaez (Ineos Grenadiers) +0:00
- Max Kanter (Astana Qazaqstan Team) +0:00
- Danny van Poppel (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:00
- Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) +0:00
- Madis Mihkels (Intermarche-Wanty) +0:00
- Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) +0:00
The current overall standings
- Sam Welsford (Bora-Hansgrohe) 3:25:56
- Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) +0:04
- Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty) +0:06
- Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) +0:07
- Georg Zimmermann (Intermarche-Wanty) +0:07
- Finn Fisher-Black (UAE Team Emirtates) +0:07
- Louis Barre (Arkea-B&B Hotels) +0:08
- Jhonatan Narvaez (Ineos Grenadiers) +0:09
- Caleb Ewan (Team Jayco-AlUla) +0:10
- Max Kanter (Astana Qazaqstan Team) +0:10
How the 1st stage of the Tour Down Under 2024 went
Three laps around Tanunda in South Australia were on the agenda for stage 1, each of which led over Menglers Hill, which ultimately did not prove difficult enough to split the peloton. Despite some early attacks, the peloton rode together to the foot of the first crossing. Finn Fisher-Black (UAE Team Emirates) secured three bonus seconds in the intermediate sprint.
Immediately afterwards, Lois Barre (Arkea-B&B Hotels) and Georg Zimmermann (Intermarche-Wanty) set off. They built up a lead of more than three minutes, which meant that they had to settle the remaining intermediate sprint and two mountain classifications between them. Zimmermann secured three bonus seconds, Barre the two mountain classifications and is thus the holder of the mountain jersey.
At 100 km/h down Menglers Hill to the finish line
However, the duo were caught up again before the final ascent of Menglers Hill. On the climb, Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), one of the favourites, ran into problems and finished a minute and a half behind. He has now lost his role. Those who were still fighting for victory entered the long bends of the fast descent at speeds of up to 100 km/h around ten kilometres before the finish. A few crashes were minor. However, Torstein Traeen had less luck beforehand. The Bahrain newcomer collided with the central reservation before the first sprint classification and lost more than four minutes. The Norwegian was also a potential contender for overall victory.
But that was no longer the issue in the final kilometres of stage 1. Bahrain-Victorious, Intermarche-Wanty, Jayco-AlUla and Soudal - Quick Step sent their helpers to the front to prepare for the sprint. However, it was the clever Bora team that ultimately secured the victory.
