Rain-soaked Tour Down Under prologue reveals overall contenders - Analysis

Unusual Australian summer rain wrecked the hopes of many of the Tour Down Under prologue contenders but added an extra twist to the battle for overall victory, with riders having to take massive risks on the wet roads to stay in contention of the first WorldTour race of 2023.

Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-Easypost) was one of just a handful of riders to race on dry roads and took advantage of the conditions to set a blazing time of 6:19 for the 5.5km course around the banks of River Torrens in the centre of Adelaide.

Everyone else had to race in varying degrees of rain, some getting soaked as the skies opened up, others racing when the roads were drying out but still slippery, especially at over 50 kph. Riders tried to use every marginal gain as they raced the time trial on their road bikes. Some aerodynamic tricks perhaps limited some rider’s losses but the overall contenders remain within 15 seconds.

The USA’s Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) was the best of the rest behind Bettiol, setting a time of 6:27 as the road dried, and took the young riders classification lead. The expected overall contenders were between 14 and 27 seconds behind Bettiol, and are still tightly packed and in contention, despite the rain.

Rohan Dennis (Jumbo-Visma) opted for a modest aero tuck set-up for his bike. He took risks and was fast but finished three seconds slower than Jay Vine and Michael Matthews, who were ninth and 10th, respectively.

Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) admitted to Cyclingnews that he recently crashed while training in Mallorca and it dented his confidence. He finished five seconds down on Vine and Matthews.

Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) pushed the limits of the UCI bike position rules for road bikes in time trials. His brake levers were massively rotated inwards and he used them to create a ‘puppy paws’-style aero tuck position. He lost six seconds to Vine and Matthews but is still an overall threat.

Everyone who raced in the rain was happy to finish in one piece. Around half a dozen riders slid out on a nasty turn before passing under the King William Road bridge, but fortunately all got up and finished the time trial.

Cyclingnews waited for the riders beyond the finish line and gathered a number of reactions, some unsuitable to print, as riders vented their frustration about the rain disrupting the time trial and tilting it massively in Bettiol’s favour.

Chris Froome (Israel-Premier Tech) revealed he almost crashed on the first left turn. He slid towards the barriers on his rear disc wheel but stayed upright.

Others had similar stories, shaking their heads about racing at speed in the rain while tucked in an semi-aero position as they tried to power over the short course. A few riders had some choice words about their team's equipment, others regretted riding with tyre pressures too high or the lines they took on the many corners.      

Froome, Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) and Giro d’Italia winner Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) confirmed they will not be overall threats, finishing, respectively, 57, 45 and 44 seconds down on Bettiol.

Rivals look ahead

Matthews wanted both the stage victory and precious seconds on his overall rivals. He was initially disappointed to miss out on the win but should be happy to be just 14 seconds behind Bettiol, and a few seconds ahead of overall rivals. Matthews can surely collect bonus seconds on the stages and perhaps survive the attack on the hillier stage and the finish atop Mount lofty on Sunday.    

"I think I used my bike skills that I've learnt over my lifetime to save myself a couple of times. But in the end, if you want to try and take time out of the real climbers, this was the time to do it,” Matthew said, naming Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) as a key rival and suggesting that teammate Simon Yates was still in contention despite finishing 26 seconds down on Bettiol.  

Bettiol has a significant lead in the overall classification but was quick to play down his chances.

“I don’t consider myself a favourite for overall victory,” Bettiol said. I’m here to lay the groundwork for March and April which are my big months. This is a great way to start the season but I’m not the favourite to win the Tour Down Under.”

However, EF Education-EasyPost will defend the jersey during stage 1 on Wednesday and beyond.

The 149.9km stage covers a rolling circuit in the Barossa valley, passing through the vineyards. There are four climbs of Menglers Hill but the sprinters are expected to survive the climb and fight for the stage victory.

“We’ve got a super team to defend the jersey. Stage 1 is the most straightforward day and then it’s going to get more complicated. We will take it as deep as we can and get the most we can out of this race,” directeur Tom Southam said with pride.