PREVIEW | Tour Down Under 2025 stage 1 - Welsford, Bauhaus and Lund Andresen headline first World Tour sprint of the year
Cycling
From the 21st to the 26th of January we have got the first men's World Tour event of the year. In Australia, the Tour Down Under is every single season the first big race of the year and we preview stage 1.
The race starts off with a slightly hilly day from Prospect to Gumeracha, but it should be the sprinters to fight for the ochre jersey in the first finale of the race which will be rather technical. It's not a pan-flat day, with 1600 meters of climbing, but the climbing won't be too difficult either.
Stage 1: Prospect - Gumeracha, 150 kilometers
There will be a two-lap circuit into the the finish, it will include a climb that is 1.5 kilometers long at 6.7% which could do damage, but it comes with 30 kilometers to the finish and it's unlikely that there will be teams wanting to go all-out from that far out. Likely a fight for positioning, a relatively calm climb, and then the approach to the finish.
This one won't be easy, it's not a finale with sharp bends or road furniture but instead the final kilometers will zigzag through a valley, with small uphill and downhill gradients which mean that the teams will want to position themselves very well from early on. From 1.2 kilometers to go to 400 meters to go it rises slightly, and then the final 400 meters slowly tilt to the left and have a slightly downhill gradient to it.
The Weather
Map Tour Down Under 2025 stage 1
Amost 30 degrees on the thermometer, a proper hot day in Australia, with a slight southern breeze. The effect that this will have on the stage is that, you can forget the possibility of a few sprinters getting dropped on the climbs. Headwind on the small final hill, it will further discourage any idea of attacking the race.
The Favourites
Sam Welsford - In my opinion the man who will win the opening stage. In 2024 he brutalized the other sprinters and taking into consideration he already won two races in the past few weeks, it's safe to say he enters the race with form and confidence. The technical and very fast finale means starting a sprint from the front will be vital, and I can't see anyone doing better than Danny van Poppel as a leadout here.
Phil Bauhaus - The Germans can certainly put up a good fight I recon, it is a good finale for Phil Bauhaus, and with Nikias Arndt alongside him, he can be in good position to start his sprint. Out of the pure sprinters, he's the one who should be able to match Welsford the best, and he has to seize these days without serious climbing.
Tobias Lund Andresen - On the other end, Picnic PostNL would want some more climbing, but they will have to do with this for the first day. Lund has won several races last year and is a very talented sprinter. I wouldn't say the team has a particularly strong leadout though, so he will have to do a lot of work for himself which may prove costly.
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In such a day we will likely have a pure bunch sprint without many surprises. I look at Alpecin-Deceuninck well, a team with plenty experience in the sprints and with several fast men here. Who will they go with? I believe Henri Uhlig after he finished second at the Down Under Classic, with the support of Simon Dehairs and Lars Boven the team can certainly contest with BORA in the final kilometer.
Matthew Brennan also showed himself well a few days ago in that fast finale. He, Arne Marit and Tim Torn Teutenberg will be some interesting youngsters who will be motivated to perform at a World Tour race. Bryan Coquard, Corbin Strong, Laurence Pithie, Andrea Vendrame, Casper Pedersen and Rui Oliveira are all certain to give it a shot, but they will likely have their eyes more on some of the other stages where the climbing can eliminate some of their rivals.
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Prediction 2025 Tour Down Under stage 1:
*** Sam Welsford, Phil Bauhaus
** Tobias Lund Andresen, Henri Uhlig
* Simon Dehairs, Arne Marit, Tim Torn Teutenberg, Matthew Brennan, Bryan Coquard, Laurence Pithie, Rui Oliveira
** Tobias Lund Andresen, Henri Uhlig
* Simon Dehairs, Arne Marit, Tim Torn Teutenberg, Matthew Brennan, Bryan Coquard, Laurence Pithie, Rui Oliveira
Pick: Sam Welsford
Original: Rúben Silva
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Don't just watch the action, be part of it! 🚲 From children to adults, there's a ride for every level of cyclist 🙌 Join the ride: https://t.co/S7UhhJpJmR#TourDownUnder @SantosLtd pic.twitter.com/gsq8T7ADmf
— Santos Tour Down Under 🚴🚴♀️ (@tourdownunder) January 8, 2025
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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