Close enough, welcome back Chris Boardman.
After taking victory in the Tour de Romandie at only a day’s notice last year, British National Champion Sam Watson seems to be establishing himself as the new “Mr Prologue” after winning today’s opening effort of the Tour Down Under.
Starting in the Adelaide evening, allowing us Europeans to watch it over our sultana bran, Watson was the 11th rider off the start ramp and (I’ll admit) had finished the 3.6km course before I woke up. All that remained was for Watson to wait and see who could knock him off the hot seat. In the end, his compatriot and fellow punchy sprinter Ethan Vernon came within six tenths of victory, whilst last man off the start ramp and home favourite Jay Vine could only finish fourth, four seconds behind.
To be honest, there’s not much to write about any time trial, let alone a prologue as short as this. Instead, the evening/morning’s highlights was the delightful mongrel of TT and road bike equipment.
As is increasingly the style, road organisers are prone to banning time trial bikes for their shorter stage races when the logistics of smaller teams bringing another set of bikes becomes too impractical. What you get though is all manner of handlebar and wheelset combinations…
A 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 to our cycling season in Adelaide. ☀️ pic.twitter.com/rl9hnQBphO
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) January 20, 2026
Even Visma couldn’t decide on a uniform approach to their equipment…
Pushing till the very end. ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/eHtNFeIfU7
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) January 20, 2026
Watson for his part rode his TT in rogue black shorts rather than the manufacturer-approved white…
Today’s Mismatch Miss or Match Moment🍻
📺Stream the race now on 7plus: https://t.co/k2Exq3GblT
South Australia Prologue | @mismatchbrewing @SantosLtd #TourDownUnder pic.twitter.com/hyUhkCiMSr
— Santos Tour Down Under 🚴🚴♀️ (@tourdownunder) January 20, 2026
Requiring him to change his bib shorts ahead of the jersey presentation (swipe to compare and contrast).
Ah cycling, never change…