Sam Welsford wins the first stage of the 144km Tour Down Under in a sprint, starting and finishing in Tanuda.

The short climb of Menglers Hill (cat 4), tackled three times, does not select the group which appears compact in the last kilometres, with Team Jayco Alula taking over the operations, thanks to a great work by Plapp .

In the last kilometre, however, the BORA Hansgrohe train organizes itself very well and pilots Welsford perfectly in the sprint. The Australian manages to beat Bauhaus and Girmay with the latter coming close to a good comeback.

Tomorrow Welsford will wear the jersey of leader of the general classification with 4" on Bauhaus and 6" on Girmay.

ARRIVAL ORDER:

1 WELSFORD Sam BORA - hansgrohe 3:25:56

2 BAUHAUS Phil Bahrain - Victorious,,

3 GIRMAY Biniam Intermarché - Wanty ,,

4 EWAN Caleb Team Jayco AlUla ,,

5 NARVÁEZ Jhonatan INEOS Grenadiers,,

6 KANTER Max Astana Qazaqstan Team ,,

7 VAN POPPEL Danny BORA - hansgrohe ,,

8 STRONG Corbin Israel - Premier Tech,,

9 MIHKELS Madis Intermarché - Wanty ,,

10 VACEK Mathias Lidl - Trek ,,

Photo: Sprint Cycling Agency