Tobias Lund Andresen upsets Welsford to claim ochre jersey and Stage 1 win at Tour down Under

Tobias Lund Andresen upsets Welsford to claim ochre jersey and Stage 1 win at Tour down Under

Danish sprinter executes on a perfect lead-out for Decathlon CMA CGM as two-time Tanunda winner is boxed in during chaotic finale to Tour Down Under's opening road stage.

By Peter Stuart · · 3 min read

Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) won Stage 1 of the Santos Tour Down Under in Tanunda, taking the ochre jersey from prologue winner Sam Watson with a sprint that left favourite Sam Welsford boxed in.

The 23-year-old Dane, racing his first WorldTour event for his new team, beat Matthew Brennan (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Welsford (Ineos Grenadiers) on a finish line where the Australian had won both previous editions.

Results

Tanunda • Jan 21 • 120.6km

Velora
PosRiderTeamTime
🥇
Tobias Lund Andresen
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM2:42:41
🥈
Matthew Brennan
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+00
🥉
Samuel Welsford
INEOS GRENADIERS+00
4
Danny van Poppel
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+00
5
Ethan Kane Vernon
NSN CYCLING TEAM+00
6
Liam Walsh
Unknown+00
7
Lionel Taminiaux
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+00
8
Casper Cornelis van Uden
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+00
9
Tim Torn Teutenberg
LIDL-TREK+00
10
Luke Lamperti
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+00
11
Juan Sebastian Molano Benavides
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+00
12
Žak Eržen
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+00
13
Tord Gudmestad
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+00
14
Finn Lachlan Fox Fisher-Black
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+00
15
Maikel Zijlaard
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+00
16
Aaron Murray Gate
XDS ASTANA TEAM+00
17
Lewis Bower
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+00
18
Stian Edvardsen-Fredheim
UNO-X MOBILITY+00
19
Haimar Etxeberria Ansalas
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+00
20
Tom Donnenwirth
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+00
21
Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez
MOVISTAR TEAM+00
22
Darren van Bekkum
XDS ASTANA TEAM+00
23
Jensen Plowright
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+00
24
Alberto Dainese
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+00
25
Robert Stannard
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+00
26
Jhonatan Narvaez Prado
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+00
27
Mikkel Norsgaard Bjerg
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+00
28
Natnael Tesfatsion
MOVISTAR TEAM+00
29
Jay Vine
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+00
30
Rémi Cavagna
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+00
31
Rudy Porter
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+00
32
Oliver Bleddyn
Unknown+00
33
Ben Swift
INEOS GRENADIERS+00
34
Matteo Sobrero
LIDL-TREK+00
35
Jefferson Cepeda Ortiz
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+00
36
Matthew Dinham
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+00
37
Albert Torres Barcelo
MOVISTAR TEAM+00
38
Marco Schrettl
XDS ASTANA TEAM+00
39
Gal Glivar
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+00
40
Florian Stork
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+00
41
Anthon Charmig
UNO-X MOBILITY+00
42
Samuel Watson
INEOS GRENADIERS+00
43
Embret Svestad-Bårdseng
INEOS GRENADIERS+00
44
Mauro Schmid
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+00
45
Andrea Bagioli
LIDL-TREK+00
46
Kelland O’Brien
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+00
47
George Bennett
NSN CYCLING TEAM+00
48
Fabio van den Bossche
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+00
49
Filippo Zana
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+00
50
Titouan Fontaine
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+00
51
Georg Zimmermann
Unknown+00
52
Andreas Lorentz Kron
UNO-X MOBILITY+00
53
Laurence Pithie
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+00
54
Thomas Jake Stewart
NSN CYCLING TEAM+00
55
Matthew Fox
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+00
56
Edoardo Zambanini
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+00
57
Sam Oomen
LIDL-TREK+00
58
Santiago Buitrago Sanchez
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+00
59
Fran Miholjević
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+00
60
Corbin John Strong
NSN CYCLING TEAM+00
61
Oliver Peace
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+00
62
Marco Brenner
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+00
63
Lucas Plapp
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+00
64
Ivo Emanuel Alves Oliveira
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+00
65
Hamish Mckenzie
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+00
66
Ben O'Connor
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+00
67
Simone Velasco
XDS ASTANA TEAM+00
68
Damien Craig Howson
Unknown+00
69
Francesco Busatto
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+00
70
Adam Richard Yates
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+00
71
Anton Schiffer
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+00
72
Brady Gilmore
NSN CYCLING TEAM+00
73
Niklas Märkl
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+00
74
Erik Nordsaeter Resell
UNO-X MOBILITY+00
75
Davide Toneatti
XDS ASTANA TEAM+00
76
Casper Pedersen
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+00
77
Jonas Rutsch
Unknown+00
78
Luke Tuckwell
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+00
79
Kévin Geniets
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+00
80
Alastair Mackellar
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+00
81
Jacopo Mosca
LIDL-TREK+00
82
Nicolas Prodhomme
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+00
83
James Knox
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+00
84
Christopher Harper
Unknown+00
85
Guillaume Martin Guyonnet
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+00
86
Patrick Eddy
Unknown+00
87
Jardi Christiaan van der Lee
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+00
88
Florian Samuel Kajamini
XDS ASTANA TEAM+00
89
Christopher Hamilton
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+00
90
Nicholas Schultz
NSN CYCLING TEAM+00
91
Jarrad Eriks Drizners
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+00
92
Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda Hernandez
MOVISTAR TEAM+00
93
Filippo Fiorelli
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+00
94
Oscar Chamberlain
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+00
95
Michael Shea Leonard
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+00
96
Jack Haig
INEOS GRENADIERS+00
97
Javier Romo Oliver
MOVISTAR TEAM+00
98
Callum Scotson
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+00
99
Alessandro Romele
XDS ASTANA TEAM+00
100
Michal Kwiatkowski
INEOS GRENADIERS+00
101
Henri François Renard Haquin
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+00
102
Vegard Stake Laengen
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+00
103
Harrison Sweeny
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+00
104
Pierre Gautherat
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+00
105
Enzo Paleni
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+00
106
Baptiste Veistroffer
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+00
107
Lennert van Eetvelt
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+00
108
Manlio Moro
MOVISTAR TEAM+00
109
Antoine L'Hote
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+00
110
Pavel Novák
MOVISTAR TEAM+00
111
Storm Ingebrigtsen
UNO-X MOBILITY+00
112
Lucas Stevenson
Unknown+00
113
Andrea Raccagni Noviero
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+00
114
Oliver Stockwell
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+00
115
Reuben Thompson
Unknown+00
116
Matthew Greenwood
Unknown+00
117
Patrick Konrad
LIDL-TREK+00
118
Pascal Eenkhoorn
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+00
119
Simon James Clarke
NSN CYCLING TEAM+00
120
Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier
LIDL-TREK+00
121
Sente Sentjens
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+00
122
Pietro Mattio
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+00
123
Menno Huising
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+00
124
Michael Gogl
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+00
125
Luke Durbridge
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+00
126
Anders Skaarseth
UNO-X MOBILITY+00
127
Per Strand Hagenes
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+00
128
Petr Kelemen
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+00
129
Luc Wirtgen
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+00
130
Pepijn Reinderink
Unknown+00
131
Martin Bugge
UNO-X MOBILITY+00
132
Lucas Hamilton
INEOS GRENADIERS+00
133
Tim Rex
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+00
134
Joel Suter
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+00
135
Max Walker
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+32
136
Maurice Ballerstedt
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+37
137
Callum Thornley
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+44
138
Tim Marsman
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+56

Sprint execution

Ineos Grenadiers and Visma | Lease a Bike controlled the closing kilometres, but the final 200 metres were highly disorganised. Welsford, positioned for the win, found himself squeezed toward the barriers as Andresen launched from behind teammate Tord Gudmestad.

"I think you need to be a little bit stupid to be a sprinter and enjoy this kind of finish," Andresen said. "Our plan was so good. It's not often you can do what you plan but we managed to pull it off."

Welsford and Brennan had to come from a long way back and were closing quickly. But the line came a little too soon and Brennan missed out by half a wheel.

Picture by Zac Williams/SWpix.com - 21/01/2026 - Cycling - 2026 Tour Down Under - Stage 1 - Tanunda to Tanunda - Patrick Eddy, Australian National Team.
Image 1 of 4
Picture by Zac Williams/SWpix.com - 21/01/2026 - Cycling - 2026 Tour Down Under - Stage 1 - Tanunda to Tanunda - Tobias Lund Andressen, Decathlon CMA CGM.
Image 2 of 4
Picture by Zac Williams/SWpix.com - 21/01/2026 - Cycling - 2026 Tour Down Under - Stage 1 - Tanunda to Tanunda - The peloton
Image 3 of 4
Picture by Zac Williams/SWpix.com - 21/01/2026 - Cycling - 2026 Tour Down Under - Stage 1 - Tanunda to Tanunda - The peloton.
Image 4 of 4

Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com

GC positioning begins early

While sprinters fought for the stage, GC teams were already banking seconds. UAE Team Emirates-XRG drove the peloton to the first intermediate sprint at Lyndoch, delivering defending champion Jhonatan Narváez to three bonus seconds. He sits 13th overall, seven seconds off ochre.

A three-man break featuring Guillaume Marti, Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ United) and Martin Urianstad (Uno-X Mobility) controlled the two remaining sprints and KOM points. Urianstad won all three Menglers Hill ascents, taking the climber's jersey.

Descents off Menglers Hill saw speeds exceeding 100km/h. Max van der Meulen (Bahrain Victorious) crashed and was hospitalised, while Marius Mayrhofer (Tudor Pro Cycling) abandoned with 35km remaining.

The GC challenge ahead

Andresen holds ochre by one second over Watson, with key GC names clustered within nine seconds. That margin will be tested on Stage 2, which is one of the toughest stages in a route race organisers have described as the hardest in Tour Down Under history.

The 148.1km route from Norwood to Uraidla includes Norton Summit and two ascents of Corkscrew Road, a 2.4km climb averaging 9.7%. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), currently seventh at five seconds, and Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla), 19th at nine seconds, start Stage 2 within nine seconds of the lead.

Read our guide on how to watch Stage 2 of the Tour Down Under.

Cover image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com

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Peter

Peter Stuart

Editor

Peter is the editor of Velora and oversees Velora’s editorial strategy and content standards, bringing nearly 20 years of cycling journalism to the site. He was editor of Cyclingnews from 2022, introducing its digital membership strategy and expanding its content pillars. Before that he was digital editor at Cyclist, and then Rouleur. Before joining Cyclist in 2012, he completed freelance work for titles including The Times and The Telegraph. He has reported from Grand Tours and WorldTour races, and previously represented Great Britain as a rower.