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.
Stage 1 Results
Tanunda • Jan 21 • 120.6km
| Pos | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Tobias LUND ANDRESEN | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | 2:42:41 |
| 🥈 | Matthew BRENNAN | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +00 |
| 🥉 | Samuel WELSFORD | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +00 |
| 4 | Danny VAN POPPEL | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +00 |
| 5 | Ethan Kane VERNON | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 6 | Liam WALSH | UNKUnknown | +00 |
| 7 | Lionel TAMINIAUX | LOILOTTO INTERMARCHÉ | +00 |
| 8 | Casper Cornelis VAN UDEN | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +00 |
| 9 | Tim Torn TEUTENBERG | LTKLIDL-TREK | +00 |
| 10 | Luke LAMPERTI | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +00 |
| 11 | Juan Sebastian MOLANO BENAVIDES | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +00 |
| 12 | Žak ERŽEN | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +00 |
| 13 | Tord GUDMESTAD | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +00 |
| 14 | Finn Lachlan Fox FISHER-BLACK | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +00 |
| 15 | Maikel ZIJLAARD | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 16 | Aaron Murray GATE | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +00 |
| 17 | Lewis BOWER | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +00 |
| 18 | Stian EDVARDSEN-FREDHEIM | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +00 |
| 19 | Haimar ETXEBERRIA ANSALAS | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +00 |
| 20 | Tom DONNENWIRTH | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +00 |
| 21 | Gonzalo SERRANO RODRIGUEZ | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +00 |
| 22 | Darren VAN BEKKUM | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +00 |
| 23 | Jensen PLOWRIGHT | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +00 |
| 24 | Alberto DAINESE | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +00 |
| 25 | Robert STANNARD | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +00 |
| 26 | Jhonatan NARVAEZ PRADO | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +00 |
| 27 | Mikkel Norsgaard BJERG | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +00 |
| 28 | Natnael TESFATSION | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +00 |
| 29 | Jay VINE | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +00 |
| 30 | Rémi CAVAGNA | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +00 |
| 31 | Rudy PORTER | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +00 |
| 32 | Oliver BLEDDYN | UNKUnknown | +00 |
| 33 | Ben SWIFT | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +00 |
| 34 | Matteo SOBRERO | LTKLIDL-TREK | +00 |
| 35 | Jefferson CEPEDA ORTIZ | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +00 |
| 36 | Matthew DINHAM | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +00 |
| 37 | Albert TORRES BARCELO | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +00 |
| 38 | Marco SCHRETTL | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +00 |
| 39 | Gal GLIVAR | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +00 |
| 40 | Florian STORK | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 41 | Anthon CHARMIG | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +00 |
| 42 | Samuel WATSON | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +00 |
| 43 | Embret SVESTAD-BÅRDSENG | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +00 |
| 44 | Mauro SCHMID | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +00 |
| 45 | Andrea BAGIOLI | LTKLIDL-TREK | +00 |
| 46 | Kelland O’BRIEN | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +00 |
| 47 | George BENNETT | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 48 | Fabio VAN DEN BOSSCHE | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +00 |
| 49 | Filippo ZANA | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +00 |
| 50 | Titouan FONTAINE | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +00 |
| 51 | Georg ZIMMERMANN | UNKUnknown | +00 |
| 52 | Andreas Lorentz KRON | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +00 |
| 53 | Laurence PITHIE | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +00 |
| 54 | Thomas Jake STEWART | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 55 | Matthew FOX | LOILOTTO INTERMARCHÉ | +00 |
| 56 | Edoardo ZAMBANINI | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +00 |
| 57 | Sam OOMEN | LTKLIDL-TREK | +00 |
| 58 | Santiago BUITRAGO SANCHEZ | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +00 |
| 59 | Fran MIHOLJEVIĆ | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +00 |
| 60 | Corbin John STRONG | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 61 | Oliver PEACE | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +00 |
| 62 | Marco BRENNER | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 63 | Lucas PLAPP | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +00 |
| 64 | Ivo Emanuel ALVES OLIVEIRA | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +00 |
| 65 | Hamish MCKENZIE | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +00 |
| 66 | Ben O'CONNOR | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +00 |
| 67 | Simone VELASCO | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +00 |
| 68 | Damien Craig HOWSON | UNKUnknown | +00 |
| 69 | Francesco BUSATTO | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +00 |
| 70 | Adam Richard YATES | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +00 |
| 71 | Anton SCHIFFER | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +00 |
| 72 | Brady GILMORE | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 73 | Niklas MÄRKL | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +00 |
| 74 | Erik Nordsaeter RESELL | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +00 |
| 75 | Davide TONEATTI | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +00 |
| 76 | Casper PEDERSEN | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +00 |
| 77 | Jonas RUTSCH | UNKUnknown | +00 |
| 78 | Luke TUCKWELL | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +00 |
| 79 | Kévin GENIETS | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +00 |
| 80 | Alastair MACKELLAR | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +00 |
| 81 | Jacopo MOSCA | LTKLIDL-TREK | +00 |
| 82 | Nicolas PRODHOMME | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +00 |
| 83 | James KNOX | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +00 |
| 84 | Christopher HARPER | UNKUnknown | +00 |
| 85 | Guillaume MARTIN GUYONNET | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +00 |
| 86 | Patrick EDDY | UNKUnknown | +00 |
| 87 | Jardi Christiaan VAN DER LEE | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +00 |
| 88 | Florian Samuel KAJAMINI | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +00 |
| 89 | Christopher HAMILTON | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +00 |
| 90 | Nicholas SCHULTZ | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 91 | Jarrad Eriks DRIZNERS | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +00 |
| 92 | Jefferson Alveiro CEPEDA HERNANDEZ | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +00 |
| 93 | Filippo FIORELLI | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +00 |
| 94 | Oscar CHAMBERLAIN | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +00 |
| 95 | Michael Shea LEONARD | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +00 |
| 96 | Jack HAIG | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +00 |
| 97 | Javier ROMO OLIVER | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +00 |
| 98 | Callum SCOTSON | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +00 |
| 99 | Alessandro ROMELE | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +00 |
| 100 | Michal KWIATKOWSKI | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +00 |
| 101 | Henri François RENARD HAQUIN | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +00 |
| 102 | Vegard Stake LAENGEN | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +00 |
| 103 | Harrison SWEENY | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +00 |
| 104 | Pierre GAUTHERAT | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +00 |
| 105 | Enzo PALENI | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +00 |
| 106 | Baptiste VEISTROFFER | LOILOTTO INTERMARCHÉ | +00 |
| 107 | Lennert VAN EETVELT | LOILOTTO INTERMARCHÉ | +00 |
| 108 | Manlio MORO | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +00 |
| 109 | Antoine L'HOTE | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +00 |
| 110 | Pavel NOVÁK | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +00 |
| 111 | Storm INGEBRIGTSEN | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +00 |
| 112 | Lucas STEVENSON | UNKUnknown | +00 |
| 113 | Andrea RACCAGNI NOVIERO | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +00 |
| 114 | Oliver STOCKWELL | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +00 |
| 115 | Reuben THOMPSON | UNKUnknown | +00 |
| 116 | Matthew GREENWOOD | UNKUnknown | +00 |
| 117 | Patrick KONRAD | LTKLIDL-TREK | +00 |
| 118 | Pascal EENKHOORN | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +00 |
| 119 | Simon James CLARKE | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 120 | Amanuel GHEBREIGZABHIER | LTKLIDL-TREK | +00 |
| 121 | Sente SENTJENS | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +00 |
| 122 | Pietro MATTIO | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +00 |
| 123 | Menno HUISING | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +00 |
| 124 | Michael GOGL | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +00 |
| 125 | Luke DURBRIDGE | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +00 |
| 126 | Anders SKAARSETH | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +00 |
| 127 | Per Strand HAGENES | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +00 |
| 128 | Petr KELEMEN | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 129 | Luc WIRTGEN | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 130 | Pepijn REINDERINK | UNKUnknown | +00 |
| 131 | Martin BUGGE | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +00 |
| 132 | Lucas HAMILTON | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +00 |
| 133 | Tim REX | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +00 |
| 134 | Joel SUTER | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +00 |
| 135 | Max WALKER | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +32 |
| 136 | Maurice BALLERSTEDT | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +37 |
| 137 | Callum THORNLEY | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +44 |
| 138 | Tim MARSMAN | APTALPECIN-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.
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
