‘Nervous and chaotic’ – Josie Nelson powers through hectic sprint finale for podium finish in opening Tour Down Under stage

Neither a ‘super-hectic’ finish nor racing with new teammates could stop Josie Nelson from claiming a notable second place in the opening stage of the Santos Tour Down Under.

Despite some crashes in the closing kilometres, the team were able to move into position on the righthand side of the road, from where Nelson claimed the runner’s-up spot behind Ally Wollaston (FDJ United-Suez).

With her best previous result in the Australian summer of cycling a fourth place in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in 2023, the 23-year-old Briton is the designated leader for Picnic-PostNL in what is her second participation in the Santos Tour Down Under.

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As Nelson said afterwards, while disappointed not to get the win, the top result certainly augurs well for the rest of the race, and also shows good cohesion within a partly new team line-up right from their first event of the season.

“We were excited to get started racing here in Australia and today’s finish suited me well with it being an uphill sprint,” Nelson said in a team press release.

“There’s some new girls here in the team so it’s our first race together but we worked well and everyone did their jobs well.”

The long finishing straight meant that they had to be patient, only hitting the front with about six kilometres to go, at which point the team gave Nelson a solid lead out and she then began ‘surfing wheels’ with one kilometre to go.

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“It was super hectic in the final and we only caught the solo rider about 300m left. I got a bit boxed in there, so opened up my sprint a bit late but was picking riders off in the last 150 metres so it’s a shame the sprint wasn’t slightly longer.”

“Regardless, it was a super strong start to the race for the team and I’m looking forward to the following stages.”

Picnic-PostNL coach Matt Wilson told Cyclingnews before the start that Nelson was the rider they wanted to work for during the sprint and in the race as a whole.

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“Obviously it’s the first race of the season and we want to hit the ground running. Josie is a young rider who’s been developing really well over the last couple of years, making some nice steps and we want to give her the opportunity.”

“I think today [Saturday] is a nice opportunity for her, with that slight uphill sprint, she’s got a little bit of a punch.”

Looking ahead, Wilson said that after stage 2’s more straightforward run from Magill to Paracombe, the final stage to Campbelltown, with a double ascent of Corkscrew Road in the closing kilometres, will be the crunch moment.

“It will all be on legs. I think it’s a really nice stage and to be honest, it’s a great stage and the organisation has done a fantastic job there to make a final like that, it is super exciting.”

“So we’ll focus on bringing her into the best position we can at the bottom of the climb, and we’ll see how she goes.”

Cyclingnews is on the ground for the season-opening 2026 Tour Down Under, and a subscription gives you unlimited access to our unrivalled coverage. From breaking news and analysis to exclusive interviews and tech, we’ve got you covered as the new season gets underway in Australia. Find out more.