Surprising the favorites, Samuel Watson (Ineos Grenadiers) won the 3.6-kilometer prologue that kicked off the 26th edition of the Tour Down Under, held on the streets of the coastal city of Adelaide, Australia.
The British cyclist secured the victory with a time of 4 minutes and 16 seconds, beating his compatriot Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling Team). The difference between the two riders was one second. New Zealander Laurence Pithie (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) completed the podium.
At the start of the Australian race, in which five South American cyclists took part, the most notable was Ecuadorian Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) in 23rd place, 8 seconds behind the winner, while the best Colombian was Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain – Victorious) in 68th place, 16 seconds back.
The Tour Down Under continues this Wednesday with the first road stage, a challenging 120.6-kilometer route around Tanunda, which includes three category 3 climbs.
Santos Tour Down Under (2.UWT)
Resultados Prólogo | Adelaide – Adelaide (3,6 km)
| 1 | Samuel Watson | INEOS Grenadiers | 04:16 |
| 2 | Ethan Vernon | NSN Cycling Team | 0:01 |
| 3 | Laurence Pithie | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 0:03 |
| 4 | Jay Vine | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 0:04 |
| 5 | Pierre Gautherat | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 0:05 |
| 6 | Mauro Schmid | Team Jayco-AlUla | 0:05 |
| 7 | Maikel Zijlaard | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 0:05 |
| 8 | Tim Torn Teutenberg | Lidl-Trek | 0:05 |
| 9 | Oliver Bleddyn | Australia | 0:05 |
| 10 | Jensen Plowright | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 0:07 |
Source: Revista Mundo Ciclístico