Strong leadout "a big advantage" for Sam Welsford, Australian admits after second Tour Down Under win

BORA - hansgrohe dominated headlines throughout the winter, and they continue to do so after the start of the season. Two wins out of three days at the Tour Down Under thus far, as the team led Sam Welsford out into another strong sprint win.

"It's another victory, this is super crazy. It feels very special, especially after all the support I have had from the team. They were completely committed to letting me sprint, that belief in you is great," Welsford said in a post-race interview. "It was quite hectic indeed, but the thing is: the further you sit, the safer you are. Those corners were quite tight on this stage, but there was camaraderie in the peloton: no one wants to see a colleague fall. Even in that downhill phase, at high speeds, I was kept well in front. Partly because of that I was finally able to complete it."

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The 27-year old has beaten Elia Viviani and Dan McLay to the finish this time around, cementing his spot as the race's leading sprint. "It was a long sprint. Maybe I even went a little too early, but I had an incredible acceleration. So it was up to me to just keep it up, and I succeeded."

The first day of racing already saw the German team take to the front of the race and deliver Welsford to the front perfectly, and today was the very same scenario. "...Many teams have done a good lead-out, but I think it's also about patience. You can come very well from the front, but you have to be able to maintain that," he explains. "This can be difficult at speeds of up to 75 kilometers per hour, but they have that patience with us. That's a big advantage."

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