"The weather of Australia helped me. It's a surprise, and I'm really happy" - Alberto Bettiol on his victory in prologue and influence of rain on the result

EF Education-EasyPost rider Alberto Bettiol began the season with a strong performance, winning the Tour Down Under prologue by completing the 5.5-kilometre course in 6 minutes and 19 seconds.

The first day of the race saw some rain, which turned out to be a fortunate event for the Italian rider as he had already finished the course before the rain began. "I'm really happy, and I feel really lucky at the same time. I knew I could do well but not win. The weather of Australia helped me. I really appreciate the help of all my team today. I just had to pedal full gas for six-and-a-half minutes,” said Bettiol in the post-race interview.

With confidence in his abilities, he made the decision to take the early slot, which later turned out to be a great choice. "The strategy was a bit different. I asked the sporting director to start first because I think I had enough experience. In the end I won. It's a surprise, and I'm really happy. There are not a lot of strategies. You have to learn the corners, but sometimes you have to be lucky.”

He realises that the real stages will pose many challenges and that he may not be able to hold on to the overall title for long, but for now, it is time to celebrate. “I like this race, and I'll be really proud to wear the jersey of the Tour Down Under tomorrow morning. It's a prologue, and the real race starts tomorrow," concluded Bettiol.