Sam Welsford is smashing the @tourdownunder 💪 Now that's what we call a proper debut! Welcome again to the team, mate. 📸 Stephanie Constand / Matthis Watzel #BORAhansgrohe #BandOfBrothers #TourDownUnder #Season2024
"Even if I f*ck up, he doesn’t" - Ryan Mullen believes trust is key for BORA - hansgrohe's leadout success at the Tour Down Under
CyclingThursday, 18 January 2024 at 16:00
It may be early in the 2024 season, but BORA - hansgrohe's sprint train already looks extremely well oiled, with Sam Welsford taking two victories from three stages at the Tour Down Under.
According to the Australian's leadout men, Ryan Mullen and Danny Van Poppel, everything immediately clicked between the trio. “We just have that trust, and we’ve just drilled it into Sam that he needs to follow Danny. Because even if I fuck up, he doesn’t,” penultimate lead-out man, Mullen explained to GCN following the conclusion of stage 3.
Whilst Welsford was a new addition to the team this year, Mullen and Van Poppel have experience working closely together, having done so in the leadout for Sam Bennett in the past. “Danny from the last two years just knows to stick to me, because even if it’s not perfect we have the horsepower to fix our mistakes," Mullen explains.
“We kind of all just bounce off each other, like Sam obviously has the watts and the power from the track to handle our lead-out. It’s a pretty hard lead-out and nine times out of ten we take it on from the front. We use brawn as opposed to brains, and that clearly suits Sam. He's got the watts to handle it, and not a lot of sprinters do. A lot of guys like to come off the wheels, but Sam’s got the horsepower to actually take the wind on and just lay down the watts.”
As mentioned, it is early in the season, but does Mullen believe he can continue firing Welsford towards victory for the coming year, notably at the Giro d'Italia? “Obviously it will be a bit different, a different calibre, that will be another level up again,” Mullen says of the Giro. “We’re not getting complacent because it’s still January, I’m not even in my top shape, but if we keep building, we should be able to compete.”
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