Tour Down Under: Samuel Watson edges out Ethan Vernon for prologue victory

On a lovely sunny evening in Adelaide, a stellar performance by British rider Samuel Watson (Ineos Grenadiers) saw him take the prologue win at the Tour Down Under with a time of 4:17 on the 3.6km circuit.

The stage was dominated by British riders with Watson and Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling Team) right up at the top of the standings for much of the day. The pair were among the early riders off the ramp in the business district in Adelaide en route to the finish in Victoria Park.

Laurence Pithie (Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe) finished in third at 2.7 seconds down, while Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was the best Australian rider and by far the best rider out of the GC favourites. He finished four seconds off Watson.

“There were a lot of guys [that made me nervous] with Vernon like 0.5 behind me, I knew he'd be a contender, but I hadn't got to the hotseat yet," Watson said after the stage.

"Obviously, a big sigh of relief when [Vine] crossed the line. Amazing to start the season like this in ochre.

"We will go 100% for [Sam Welsford] tomorrow. I’ll be the last or second last leadout guy, depending on the day, we’ve got Swifty as well, depending on what Sam wants on the day.”

Wednesday's stage 1 is a lumpy day, but it is expected to be a sprint finish with several big names all going for the stage win. Sam Welsford (Ineos Grenadiers) will be the big favourite alongside the likes of Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike), Tim Torn Teutenberg (Lidl-Trek), Jenson Plowright (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Vernon and many more on the 120.6km stage in Tanunda.

Watson will wear the ochre leaders jersey, with Vernon wearing the points jersey for his fellow countryman. Michael Leonard (EF Education-EasyPost) will wear the white jersey for best young rider.

How it unfolded

Racing began with the Austrian rider, Michael Gogl (Alpecin-Premier Tech), tackling the 3.6km course in 25°C heat with a blustery wind. Gogl stopped the clock at 3:30 and became the first rider to cross the finish line in the men's 2026 WorldTour. It was a technical route through Victoria Park's criterium circuit, but the corners had a nice line to them, allowing riders to carry power through the bends.

The early riders rolling off saw Canadian national time trial champion Leonard take the early lead with a time of 4:24 on his debut for his new squad. GC hopeful Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché) had a disappointing ride, seeing him lose over 13 seconds to Leonard.

Pithie soon took over the lead from Leonard with a strong time of 4:19. However, British national road race champion Watson quickly took over the lead from the New Zealander with a time of 4:17. The top 10 was shaping up largely as expected.

Vernon missed out on Watson's time by just over half a second, with the Britons dominating the earlier stages of the race. Vernon came into the race as a big favourite, but Watson managed to hold him off. It wasn't a podium lockout for the British racers, though, as Brennan only managed to slot into seventh place at nine seconds down on Watson.

The riders were coming thick and fast, with each man setting off at minute intervals, and the riders all taking between four and five minutes to finish. The top 10 stayed largely the same for some time, though, with Watson's time looking very strong.

A lot of riders were clearly finding the Australian summer heat rather difficult, coming from the depths of the northern hemisphere's winter. Several riders were wearing ice vests and finding as much shelter as possible in Adelaide.

New Zealand time trial champion Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) was the first rider to really disturb the higher echelons of the standings with a time that was good enough for provisional fourth at seven seconds down on Watson. He'll be hoping to keep that jersey with the New Zealand National Championships coming up in a week or so.

Major home hope and multiple Tour Down Under stage winner Sam Welsford made his debut at his new team, Ineos Grenadiers. Interestingly, he went for the black shorts. It seemed to be a personal choice for the riders of the British-registered squad between the light grey/white shorts and the black. He finished almost 10 seconds down.

Ben O'Connor (Jayco-AlUla) finished almost 14 seconds down. At first glance, it's not an ideal result for the GC favourite. However, compared to other riders expected to be involved in the overall fight, it was a solid ride. Another potential GC rider was Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who finished 18 seconds back from his fellow Briton, Watson.

The wind continued to whip around the course in Adelaide, but it didn't really seem to be causing any concern for the riders.

Kelland O'Brien (Jayco-AlUla) slotted into seventh and was the first rider to break into the top 10 in a long time, as the earlier riders had put in extremely strong rides. O'Brien was nine seconds down. Antoine l'Hote (Decathlon CMA CGM) also went into the top 10. The Frenchman pushed O'Brien down almost immediately to go sixth at nine seconds down.

It wasn't long until another rider slotted into the top four, though, A surprising ride from big Norwegian rider Erik Resell (Uno-X Mobility). He went in just six seconds down on Watson after a very strong display by the rider from Oslo. American Luke Lamperti (EF Education-Easypost) also impressed, eight seconds down on Watson.

As the list of riders ticked down towards the last man, more riders were starting to take on the top times again. Swiss time trial and road race champion Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) came close to the podium at just four seconds down.

The defending champion Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) came into the day playing his prologue chances down, saying he isn't traditionally good against the clock. However, he put in one of the very best times set by the GC favourites in 11th place, just nine seconds down on Watson.

Oliver Bleddyn (Australia) took his exceptional form from the Aussie Nationals, where he took second in the time trial just 31 seconds behind Vine and then a strong 14th in the road race. He finished ninth, just under five seconds behind Watson.

Another strong performance came from French star Pierre Gautherat (Decathlon CMA CGM), finishing four seconds off Watson. The Frenchman could possibly be involved in the GC by the end of the race, but will the treble test of Willunga Hill be too much for him? Time will tell over the week.

As the race continued, more riders who really could test Watson rolled off the ramp. Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor) both set off with good chances of a strong performance. Oliveira disappointed, however, finishing eight seconds down, which was good enough for a top 10. Zijlaard went much closer but still sixth, missing out by just under five seconds.

A good shout for the final GC, Chris Harper (Australia) didn't manage to set a great time, finishing over 20 seconds down. Harrison Sweeny (EF Education-EasyPost) did a strong ride, though. The Australian finished 12th at eight seconds.

Another big Aussie hope for the overall, Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla), started the prologue as a big favourite. He ended up eight seconds down, putting him really in the mix for the GC.

Meanwhile, German sprinter Teutenberg flew round the course and finished just under five seconds down. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) and Javier Romo (XDS-Astana) both had solid runs too, finishing inside 20 seconds off Watson.

The last man off the ramp was the Australian time trial champion Jay Vine. He was seen as one of the few riders who could topple Watson. It wasn't meant to be for the home nation star, though, with Watson holding on to take the win. Vine finished down in fourth place, just four seconds down on the British rider.

Results