Sam Welsford latched onto a perfectly timed lead-out to claim a rousing sprint victory on stage three of the Tour Down Under.
The Australian picked up a hard-fought seventh career stage win at his home race, battling back from deep in the pack before unleashing a powerful final kick into Nairne.
Out of position following the final climb, Welsford was guided back to the front by Michal Kwiatkowski, before Ben Swift launched a perfect lead-out in the closing metres. Welsford’s first win for the team saw him hold off Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Lewis Bower (Groupama-FDJ United) at the line.
The foundations for victory were laid with a committed team effort throughout the 140.8km stage.
Lucas Hamilton got through a huge amount of work on the front as the team set about helping to control the stage, monitoring the three-man break out front.
With 40km to go the race kicked into life with a flurry of counter attacks – covered by Embret Svestad-Bardseng to ensure things came back together. The upping and subsequent slowing of the pace didn’t help the overall chase efforts, with the peloton having to re-resume their charge.
With the pace high, Welsford was shepherded over the final climb by Kwiatkowski before arriving at the front at the perfect moment to strike.
🗣️ "The team really believed in me. They really see what I can do. I’m over the moon!"
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) January 23, 2026
An emotional @sam_welsford describes everything that went into victory today at @tourdownunder 📽️ pic.twitter.com/x4q8GWfSBQ
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Sam Welsford:
“I’m so lost for words. That was so hard. We were in so much trouble in the back, we got swamped, and then on that last climb I was on my absolute limit. I had Kwiato with me the whole time. He was just like, ‘be patient, we’ll get there.’ To have those guys believe in me so much after such a hard year last year – to win here on a day that doesn’t really suit me – I’m over the moon.
“I really wanted to set up the year well with a new team and like I said the team really believed in me. They really see what I can do. For me to get that belief back after I probably lost it myself is really nice. I think it just shows what we can do together as a team.
“The next two days are probably some of the hardest stages of the Tour. For me I’m just doing whatever I can, getting bottles, bringing them to the front, leading them into the climbs and paying them back for the work they did today. I can’t thank my team enough, the INEOS boys. Hats off. They were so good today, riding the front the whole day. They just never stopped believing in me. This win’s for them!”