"We grew up racing each other in the junior ranks, so it’s special" - Sam Welsford reveals he asked Jai Hindley for advice prior to joining BORA - hansgrohe
Cycling
Sam Welsford has made a blistering start to his career with BORA - hansgrohe at the 2024 Tour Down Under, sprinting to a pair of victories in his first three outings.
Although he was successful with Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL, a move was needed to take the next step in his career. There were a number of suitors too so what made BORA - hansgrohe the perfect fit for the 27-year-old Australian?
“I spoke to Jai Hindley, he said he really likes it here and enjoys the vibe and the culture. He said the team were super performance-driven, but also quite relaxed," Welsford recently explained in conversation with SBS Sport. “That’s something that’s super important to me. It’s cool to be on the same team as Jai, we grew up racing each other in the junior ranks, so it’s special.”
Having made such a positive start, confidence is understandably high for the remainder of the campaign. “I’m set on the Giro this year,” Welsford says of his targets. “It’s a really good opportunity for sprinters this year, and you look at the startlist, there are eight or nine sprinters going. The Tour leans towards the climbing-side, with non-linear sprints compared to the Giro, so it’s going to be pretty stacked there. For me to pick up a stage win there would be really nice for my development.”
After a disappointing Grand Tour debut at the 2023 Tour de France, Welsford is confident he make more of an impact at this year's Giro d'Italia. “That was tough,” he recalls of the Tour. “The start in the Basque country was tough, it was just full gas from the start for the first five stages. Day one was super tough, everyone wants the jersey and it was really hot."
“I was quite salty and I did cramp out of the grupetto and I was like ‘Oh no, how am I going to finish this bloody thing’. Every day your body is pushing its limit, so it was pretty common to get these sort of cramps, also if you don’t quite get your fuelling right, you pay for it.”
“It’s a whole other world, the Grand Tours, something I’ve really enjoyed. It’s all about maximising recovery, saving energy where you can, and really nailing those moments when you’ve got a sprint day or an opportunity for a result,” Welsford concludes.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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