Welsford easily the fastest in Tour Down Under Criterium, heavy crash disrupts finale

After the women had spent two days at the Tour Down Under, the men hit the road in Australia. The Villawood Men's Classic is a good preparation for the real deal. Sam Welsford proved himself the fastest in this final rehearsal for the Tour Down Under. Matthew Brennan of Visma | Lease a Bike rode a strong race and finished nicely in third place.

The race started with many explosive attacks, making the first laps of the criterium race at a high pace. Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl-Trek) set the example with an early breakaway, followed by his teammate Patrick Konrad, who won the first intermediate sprint. Ultimately, three riders managed to break away from the peloton: Jay Vine, Oscar Onley, and Jordan Labrosse.

Heavy crash disrupts final, but Welsford wins convincingly 

Halfway through the race, the peloton stepped up the pace, primarily thanks to the efforts of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. The German team did so ahead of Australian criterium champion Sam Welsford. The three leaders, led by Vine, tried to maintain their 20-second lead, but it was a losing battle.

With six laps to go, the advantage of the leading group over the peloton had been reduced to just sixteen seconds. Despite the battle for positions in the peloton, Welsford and his team continued to control the pace and close the gap even more. Three laps before the end, several teams, including Bahrain Victorious, Lidl-Trek, and INEOS Grenadiers, stepped up to work together in the chase.

With one lap to go, the lead of the three attackers had completely disappeared. Natnael Tesfatsion's acceleration finally ended the breakaway. The Movistar rider snapped up the final breakaway riders. In the hectic final stage, a serious crash disrupted the race.

However, everything kept going at the front. Welsford proved the fastest of the bunch and proved his strength by taking the victory, fully capitalizing on his team's excellent work. Matthew Brennan, the young sprint talent of Visma l Lease a Bike, finished nicely third. The German Henri Uhlig of Alpecin-Deceunick came second.

Results Villawood Men's Classic 2025

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