Tobias Lund Andresen wasted no time making his mark in new colours, powering to victory on stage one of the Tour Down Under. The Decathlon CMA CGM rider proved fastest at the line in Tanunda, holding off Matthew Brennan and Sam Welsford to also move into the overall lead.
Road racing begins Down Under
Following Samuel Watson’s success in the opening prologue, the race shifted into sprint mode on Wednesday with a 120-kilometre loop starting and finishing in Tanunda. Although the route included three ascents of Mengler Hill (2.1km at 3.5 per cent), the climbs were never expected to trouble the fast men.
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An early move saw Enzo Paleni, Guillaume Martin and Martin Urianstad escape the peloton. The trio animated the stage and swept up the available mountain and intermediate sprint points, but the bunch kept them firmly on a short leash. Paleni was the last to be caught, finally reabsorbed with six kilometres remaining.
With the break neutralized, sprint teams moved to the front. Ineos Grenadiers lined up for Welsford, Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe backed Danny van Poppel, Visma | Lease a Bike supported Brennan, while Decathlon CMA CGM committed fully to Lund Andresen.
The Danish sprinter delivered perfectly in the final kilometres and finished the job with authority, throwing his bike across the line to secure the stage win. Brennan and Welsford closed fast but were left to contest second and third.
Although Oakville, Ont.’s Michael Leonard, riding for EF Education First, finished safely in the bunch, he would have to pass his white young rider’s jersey to Brennan. Leonard had a great ride in the opening prologue, finishing 13th, and the top young rider. It was his first outing with the American team. Previously the national TT champ rode for Ineos – Grenadiers. The chrono specialist also debuted his new maple leaf kit–a solid red jersey with white maple leaf.
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