‘The big shakedown’ – New climb set to transform GC on stage 3 of Tour Down Under – Preview

While back-to-back victories at the Santos Tour Down Under have put Sam Welsford’s beefed-up resilience and sprinting speed on display, the Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe rider knows his time in the leader’s Ochre-colured jersey is almost over, with the GC contenders expected  to take charge on Thursday’s third stage. 

So far the race hasn’t been flat, but with the climbs not as steep and further from the finish line, the sprint teams have controlled the race. That meant back-to-back winner Welsford. He is sitting on top of the overall leader board but another 118 riders are all within 20 seconds.