Tobias Lund Andresen won the first stage of the Tour Down Under, 120km from Tanunda to Hockenheim.

A perfect leadout from Tord Gudmestad propelled the Decathlon rider to victory after Ineos Grenadiers botched the sprint preparation for Sam Welsford. Matthew Brennan and Welsford attempted to overtake Andresen, but it was no use: the Danish sprinter held firm and held everyone behind. Brennan finished second ahead of Welsford, who finished third. Also in the top 10 of the day were Danny Van Poppel, Ethan Vernon, Liam Walsh, Lionel Taminiaux, Casper Van Uden, Tim Torn Teutenberg, and Luke Lamperti.

"It's an incredible feeling, I can't remember the last time I felt this way. The new team, the bike is incredibly fast, and my teammates did a fantastic job," said a beaming Lund Andresen.

There was a lot of activity in the peloton right from the start, with several breakaway attempts, but the big favorites for the general classification wanted the bonus seconds at the first intermediate sprint of the day.

Once that sprint was over—with last year's winner Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) earning the customary three-second bonus—a new breakaway formed. It proved decisive for the next 100 km, with the three attackers (Martin, Paleni, and Urianstad) skipping either the categorized climbs or the intermediate sprints. Eventually, however, they were caught, and everything settled in the long-awaited sprint in Tanunda.

Lund Andresen now leads the overall standings by a second over prologue winner Sam Watson (Ineos Grenadiers). Ethan Vernon (NSN) is third, a further second behind.

The third day, the second stage, will be extremely tough: 148.1 km from Norwood to Uraidla, with plenty of climbing, a passage over Ashton, and two ascents of the brutal Corkscrew. The finish is just after the summit of the Corkscrew, on roads that are still undulating after the categorized points.

A crash involving several riders was reported, with Max van der Meulen (Bahrain Victorious) forced to retire. Michael Leonard, wearing the white jersey, and Pietro Mattio (Visma-Lease a Bike), along with other riders, also fell.

Sprint Cycling Photos