Cycling: Sam Welsford won the third stage of the Tour Down Under after the first. The Australian was able to prevail in the mass sprint in Campbelltown ahead of Elia Viviani and Daniel McLay.
Welsford sprints confidently to their next day's victory
Victory on the third stage of the Tour Down Under is on Sam Welsford (Bora – hansgrohe). The Australian, who had already won the start, left all his competitors behind in the mass sprint in Campbelltown. After another perfect preparatory work by his teammate Danny van Poppel (Bora – hansgrohe) Welsford just had to complete it. Next to him on the podium is the Italian Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers) and the Briton Daniel McLay (Arkea – B&B Hotels), while Max Kanter (Astana) came fifth as the fastest German. He is still in the overall leader's jersey Isaac del Toro (UAE) on the way. The Mexican crossed the finish line with the peloton. The third stage of the Tour Down Under went less well for the co-favorite Luke Plop (Jayco-AlUla). The Australian fell and suffered a huge scratch on his back. He lost almost ten minutes. France rudy molard (Groupama – FDJ) even had to give up the race.
Luke Burns extends his lead in the mountains classification
A bunch sprint seemed almost certain even before the start on the 145,3 kilometer section from Tea Tree Gully to Campbelltown. Nevertheless, we ventured along Luke Burns and Tristan Saunders two riders from the Australian national team went on the offensive. By the Frenchman Axel Mariault (Cofidis) and the South African Stefan de Bod (EF Education – EasyPost) the duo eventually became a quartet. Nobody disputed the mountain points for Luke Burns, so the Australian was able to further extend his lead in the mountains classification on the Tea Tree Gully Hill and on the Whispering Wall. The mountain jersey will be hard to take away from him by the end of the Tour Down Under on Sunday.
@sam_welsford (Team @BORAhansgrohe ) takes the win for the Men's Health Partners Stage 3 @SantosLtd #TourDownUnder
Stream the race now on 7plus: https://t.co/k2Exq3FDwl pic.twitter.com/jFTaZOCszy
— Santos Tour Down Under ♀️ (@tourdownunder) January 18, 2024