The first WorldTour clash of the new road season was won by Samuel Watson. The 24-year-old Brit from INEOS Grenadiers proved to be the fastest in the prologue of the Santos Tour Down Under. Watson edged out his compatriots Ethan Vernon and Laurence Pithie for the top places. Prologue specialist Maikel Zijlaard finished seventh.
Here we go! It's not the first time in the history of the Santos Tour Down Under, but starting off with a prologue is highly unusual. The very first time this happened was just three years ago, in the 2023 Tour Down Under. Back then, riders faced an opening time trial of 5.5 kilometers, but this time it was a prologue of only 3.6 kilometers.
The destination was – just like three years ago – Adelaide. In the capital of the Australian state of South Australia, a route was mapped out that largely followed the Torrens River. The course wasn’t overly challenging, although in the final section there were a few corners where riders could gain or lose time. The riders rode this prologue on their regular road bikes.
Watson sets the first benchmark
Michael Gogl from Alpecin-Premier Tech was the first rider off the start podium, but the Austrian would not play a significant role in the fight for the stage win. The first real benchmark time came from Samuel Watson. The INEOS Grenadiers rider, who surprisingly was the fastest in last year’s prologue at the Tour de Romandie, posted a time of 4 minutes 17 seconds and took the hot seat.
Matthew Brennan clearly had to accept his inferiority - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
After Watson, many more time trial specialists followed, so the Brit could not count himself a winner just yet. Ethan Vernon came very close to his compatriot’s top time, but the NSN Cycling sprinter fell short by a few hundredths of a second. Plenty was also expected from another Brit, Matthew Brennan. The Visma | Lease a Bike prodigy, however, failed to get close and lost nearly ten seconds to Watson.
Watson’s time proves unbeatable
Brennan was in good company, as one strong rider after another bit the dust against Watson’s very sharp time. The provisional leader left recognized specialists like Finn Fisher-Black and Michal Kwiatkowski in the dust, setting the stage for the countdown to a (possible) second WorldTour victory. Yet, the second wave still brought some prologue specialists who could spoil Watson’s party.
For most riders, however, Watson’s time proved unreachable. Of the later starters, Pierre Gautherat made an impression by posting a provisional fourth-best time, but still lost over four seconds. Not long after, it was the turn of perhaps Watson’s biggest rival, Maikel Zijlaard, but even the Dutchman had to concede defeat in his favored discipline to early starter Watson.
Maikel Zijlaard could not match Watson’s time - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
After Zijlaard finished, the Brit had few riders left to fear, although Tim Torn Teutenberg and Jay Vine (as last starter) could still trigger a turnaround. Teutenberg certainly didn’t disappoint, but Watson’s time was also out of reach for the young German (+4 seconds). And Vine? The Australian rode a solid prologue and did well with an eye on a possible overall victory, but the stage win was out of reach.
So Watson finally got to celebrate after a long stay in the hot seat. For the Brit—who is of course also the first leader of the Tour Down Under—this marks the fifth victory of his professional career.
Santos Tour Down Under| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 04:16 | |
| 2 | + 01 | |
| 3 | + 03 | |
| 4 | + 04 | |
| 5 | + 05 | |
| 6 | " | |
| 7 | " | |
| 8 | " | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | + 07 |
