The great Australian sprinter Sam Welsford (Bora-Hansgrohe) scored an impeccable victory in the third stage of the Tour Down Under 2024, which covered 145.3 kilometers from his departure in Tea Tree Gully, to his arrival in Campbelltown.
The Australian, who won his second victory in the Australian round, was the fastest in the sprint, just beating the Italian Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers) and the British Daniel McLay (Arkéa – B&B Hotels), 2nd and 3rd. respectively. The Colombian Álvaro Hodeg (UAE Team Emirates) entered in 7th place.
The escape of the day was carried out by the Frenchman Axel Mariault (Cofidis), the South African Stefan de Bod (EF Education EsyPost) and the locals Luke Burn and Tristan Saunders, both from the Australian team.
The four escapees worked together in the first part of the race, but as the kilometers passed, little by little they lost chips until only the Australian Saunders remained, however with 30 kilometers to go he was neutralized by the peloton.
In the last kilometers, the great work of Bora-Hansgrohe paid off and allowed them to leave Welsford in the best position, which in an extensive final sprint surpassed all of its rivals, just as it did on the first day of the competition.
The first test of the WorldTour calendar will continue with a flat section that starts from Murray Bridge and ends in Port Elliot to cover 136.2 kilometers. The fourth stage of the Australian round will have only one port categorized as third category.
Source: Revista Mundo Ciclístico