"It's great for myself and for the team" - Sam Watson gives INEOS Grenadiers perfect season start, can Welsford match?

The 2026 Tour Down Under has begun and the racing season is officially on the road for the men's peloton. On the streets of Adelaide, a late-afternoon prologue lit up the city, and it was INEOS Grenadiers' Samuel Watson who powered through the 3.6-kilometer route the fastest, obtaining the first ochre jersey in the race.

Watson was an early starter, and a lucky one too, as the rider who came closest to him almost directly followed him to the finish line. "There were quite a lot of guys, but just as I came off the bike Ethan Vernon came across the line and he was like 0.5 behind me. I knew he'd be a contender, but maybe didn't even make it to the hotseat," Watson said in a post-race interview. With the gap to second closed to a mere fractions of a second, Watson's confidence to take the win might've taken a hit, however no-one else would then be able to race at the same speed.

Other contenders such as Maikel Zijlaard and Ivo Oliveira didn't have the same speed, whilst the main GC contenders such as Luke Plapp and Jay Vine also failed to reach Watson's time. With Australian national champion Vine being the last off the line, there was never a relaxing moment for the Briton, all the way until Vine crossed the finish line. "Obviously it was a big sigh of relief from myself, I'm so happy to start my season with a win".

He will now start stage 1 with the ochre jersey, replacing the British. "Yeah I'm not complaining, I'm leading the race now and it's just amazing, it's great for myself and for the team to start like this". He will be on leadout duties for the team's new signing Sam Welsford, who has in recent years been extremely successful in this race.

"We go 100% for him, he's won here six times in the last two years, so full for him," he argues. He and Ben Swift will be taking care of him in the arrival to Tanunda. "Last or second last leadout guy, I guess it depends on how we are on the day and also we've got Swifty who's got a lot of experience. Whatever Sam prefers but yeah I'll be up there towards the end," he concluded.