As it happened: Sprinters dominate Tour Down Under opener in Tanunda

Welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of the 2024 Tour Down Under, the first event of the WorldTour. 

The organisers have claimed that this year’s race will test the cyclists like never before as they race in South Australia. The six-stage race, from Tanunda and to Mount Lofty will cover 824.6km and end with double ascents on Willunga Hill and Mount Lofty on the tough final weekend.

One thing is certain - there will be a new champion at the Tour Down Under, as 2023 winner Jay Vine won't be at the start, and all of the previous winners have retired. Cyclingnews dug into the start list and came up with nine riders to watch - some obvious, some not so much - at the Tour Down Under.

Cyclingnews Australia editor Simone Giuliani reports that it's another hot start at the Tour Down Under in Tanunda, no need to ride a bike to get up a sweat. Essential piece of team kit today is the sunscreen with forecast top of 33 degrees celsius.

Racing is just about to set off for stage 1 of the Tour Down Under. Returning to the beautiful Barossa for another blistering sprint stage, riders will tackle three laps of the region, travelling through Seppeltsfield, Greenock, Nuriootpa, Angaston and Tanunda for 144km.

Following a 4km neutral zone, race director Stuart O'Grady drops the flag for stage 1 of the Tour Down Under. Today’s course is predicted to favour the sprinters with a fast finish in Tanunda.

And we have our first attack coming from the American champion Quinn Simmons.

Simmons is joined by two riders with a quick reaction from the field, and they are reeled back in.

Another attempt by Simmons, joined by George Bennett and Louis Barré. Group of 4 coming across.

Peloton shut it down but Barré goes on solo. 

Two riders join Barré off the front but it was short-lived. And it's all back together.

Shade was at a premium as riders rolled up to the start line, with many preferring to hang back under a tree a few metres back rather than make their way to the line up at the start line. Caleb Ewan, for one, rolled out at the back of the peloton, not spending a minute longer in the sun than required.

Ewan skipped the Tour Down Under criterium after feeling ‘under the weather’ following a training session in the scorching Adelaide heat. 

134km to go

Israel-Premier Tech are taking control at the front of the peloton, all lined at the front setting the pace.

Two EF Education-EasyPost riders go over Israel-Premier Tech to launch Jardi Van Der Lee. The Dutch rider has tries before to escape today.

Van Der Lee is solo with 33 seconds on the field, strung out by Israel-Premier Tech.

And it’s all back together with 7km to the first intermediate sprint, with an uphill pinch to the line. Still Israel-Premier Tech dictating the pace.

Crash on right-hand turn. Torstein Træen (Bahrain Victorious) gets up quickly and is getting checked out by the medical team. And he gets back on his bike to try and rejoin the peloton.

Ineos Grenadiers, Jayco-AlUla are swarming at the front as we head to the first sprint in Angaston with points and time bonuses on the line. 

BORA-hansgrohe took over for Phil Bauhaus but Finn Fisher-Black (UAE Team Emirates) put in a big acceleration to cross the line first. 

And immediately the counterattack. Louis Barré (Arkea-B&B Hotels) goes again, this time with Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty)

Results of first intermediate sprint:

1- Finn Fisher-Black (UAE Team Emirates), 3 points

2- Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech), 2 points

3- Jhonnatan Narvaez (Ineos Grenadiers), 1 point

Peloton is spread across the road, happy with the composition of the two-rider break with 115km to go. Less than 3kms to go to the first KOM of the day, the cat 4 Menglers Hill. 

Zimmermann taking on a lot of bottles onboard on this hot day on the climb of the first KOM. Barré, in his first WorldTour race, crosses the line first.

Peloton is taking it easy on the ascent of Menglers Hill, Sunday ride pace .... for now.

Results of first KOM:

1 - Louis Barré (Arkea-B&B Hotels)

2- Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty)

Peloton is spread across the road, happy to the two riders suffer off the front on a very hot day.

100km to go

Barré and Zimmermann have a 3:08 lead on the field. Chase is being led by the teams with an Australian sprinter, Jayco-AlUla for Caleb Ewan and BORA-hansgrohe for Sam Welsford.

BORA-hansgrohe, at the front, is stretching the field.

Peloton sees the finish line for the first time, at the end of the first of three 49.3km laps. The two escapees's gap is now 2:41. 

Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty) and Louis Barré (Arkea-B&B Hotels) broke away with 25km into stage 1.

BORA-hansgrohe and Jayco-AlUla are working together in the pacemaking, keeping the speed steady and holding the gap at around 2:06.

Riders are picking up fresh bottles and ice-filled socks as they go through the feed zone. Sales of panty hosiery must be going up this week.

Barré and Zimmermann are beginning to feel the heat. Their gap is down to 1:25 with 77km to go.

Under the impetus of BORA-hansgrohe and Jayco-AlUla, the gap is now under the one-minute mark with 73km to go.

Will the break hold until the second intermediate sprint in 1km? The pair has a 58-second lead.

Cooperation has ended in the break. Barré countered Zimmermann to go for the sprint but the German crossed the line first in the second intermediate sprint.

Strong jumped from the peloton to get the remaining points.

Results of second intermediate sprint:

1- Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty), 3 points, 3 seconds

2- Louis Barré (Arkea-B&B Hotels), 2 points, 2 seconds

3- Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech), 1 point, 1 second

65km to go

Barré and Zimmermann are still dangling off the front, suffering in the heat, with a gap of 26 seconds. The breeze is picking up and temperatures holding at 34 degrees celcius.

Brothers, temporarily, in the hot Australian sun - Barré and Zimmermann are sharing water bottles. Less than 2km to go to the second KOM, the cat. 4 Menglers Hill once again

Barré is not challenged and takes top KOM points on Menglers Hill ahead of Zimmermann. The Frenchman should lead the KOM classification at the end of the day in his first WorldTour race.

And the pair of escapees pull over for a nature break, and they get absorbed by the peloton.

Peloton racing down Menglers Hill at 80km/hr, coming up to a star right-hand turn at the bottom.

Chatting at the front between BORA-hansgrohe and Jayco-AlUla riders. Other teams such as Visma-Lease a Bike and Ineos Grenadiers are moving up. 

Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) went to the front and seemed to be checking his front tire. He then raised his hand to get assistance from his team car.

And Alaphilippe got a front wheel change and he gets straight onto the neutral service vehicle to catch back on.

50km to go

Field all together as they end to the finish line to start the third and final lap.

Speeds are ramping up with Movistar and Astana Qazaqstan taking up the front with 45km to go.

Eight teams organizing at the front - Visma-Lease a Bike, Lidl-Trek, Jayco-AlUla, BORA-hansgrohe, Ineos Grenadiers, Movistar and EF Education-EasyPost are starting to fight with position with 40km to go.

Peloton all together with 36km to go.

UAE Team Emirates moved up on the right of the peloton to block other teams from coming up. Peloton is taking the full width of the road with 32km to go.

25km to go

Peloton is speeding towards the expected bunch sprint in Tanunda. Teams fighting for position at the front include BORA-hansgrohe, Jayco-AlUla, Movistar, Visma-Lease a Bike, UAE Team Emirates. Meanwhile, the top Australian sprinters Ewan and Welsford are close together in the field.  

We are coming up to the third KOM of the day. Menglers Hill is the last chance for the non-sprinters teams to crack the sprinters, or go for a late-race attack.

Peloton is still spread across the road with 17km to go. Bahrain Victorious for Phil Bauhaus has put a rider in the front. Last year, Bauhaus won the sprint in Tanunda ahead of Ewan.

2.5km to go to the top of Menglers Hill, and the peloton is feeling the bite of the slope. Teams are lined up at the front.

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) is off the back, he seems to be done for the day.

Luke Burns (Australia) jumped from the peloton to get the KOM points.

Peloton is intact over the top of the climb. Luke Plapp coming to the front for 

Crash - Jackson Medway (Australia) went down. And he's back on the bike.

10km to go

Battle for control at the front continues to intensify on the descent.

Another crash. Nicolo Buratti (Bahrain Victorious) goes down, and gets back on his bike.

6km to go - Ineos has control on the right, Jayco-AlUla on the left.

Jayco-AlUla taking control on the right side of the road, protecting Ewan with Bauhaus on his left with 5km to go.

Wind is coming in slightly from the left side of the road, still Jayco’s Plapp at the front. Ineos Grenadiers moving up on the left.

Plapp is done at the front and Movistar takes over the front.

It's getting down to crunch time as the sprinters start to jostle.

The peloton is swirling around as they reach the flamme rouge. 

And it's a win for Sam Welsford (BORA-hansgrohe)! 

Sam Welsford (BORA-Hansgrohe) celebrates at the finish line of stage 1

Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) was second and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) placed third. Caleb Ewan (Jayco-AlUla) finished fourth.

"First race with the guys and they backed me one hundred percent. That's super special, first one of the year to get a win. I'm stoked." - said stage 1 winner Sam Welsford who just joined BORA-Hansgrohe.

Welsford now also leads the general classification with four seconds on Bauhaus and six on Girmay. Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) is in fourth place, seven seconds down after taking time bonus seconds in the two intermediate sprints.

Welsford also leads the points classification.

By taking top points in the first two KOMS, Barré leads the mountain classification. He was also awarded the most combative rider.

Madis Mihkels (Intermarché-Wanty) finished 9th on the stage and leads the best young rider classification.