Sam Watson stormed to the opening prologue win at the Tour Down Under to take the overall lead on the first race day of the season.
Set over the 3.6km course around Victoria Park in Adelaide, Watson was one of the first riders off the starting ramp, and clocked a blistering time of 4:16.90 to take the hot seat.
While his British compatriot Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling Team) was just 0.01 seconds back in second, Watson also beat hot competition from the likes of Australian time trial champion Jay Vine (UAE Emirates - XRG).
Speaking after the win, Watson said:
“I’m so happy to start the season with a win! Of course, I’m leading the race now and it’s amazing for myself and the team to start the season like this.
“There were quite a lot of guys [who made me nervous]. Just as I climbed off the bike Ethan Vernon crossed the line and he was about 0.5 seconds behind me. I knew he’d be a contender and I maybe didn’t even make it to the hot seat! Obviously then it was a big sigh of relief for me [to hold on].
“Tomorrow we’ll go 100% for Sam Welsford. He’s won here six times in the last two years so we’ll go all out for him.”
Tomorrow, Watson will sport the Ochre jersey as race leader as the riders look to tackle a lumpy 120km loop starting and finishing in Tanunda.
