Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2025 Tour de France | 2025 Giro d'Italia

Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is. - Francis Bacon

---

David L. Stanley's masterful telling of his bout with skin cancer Melanoma: It Started with a Freckle is available in print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• January 17 - 25: Tour Down Under

Upcoming racing:

• January 25: Classica Comunitat Valenciana 1969-GP Valencia
• January 28 - February 1: Challenge Ciclista Mallorca
• January 29: Surf Coast Classic
• February 1: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

Latest completed racing:

• January 1: GP Sven Nys
• December 30: Superprestige Diegem
• December 29: Trofee Loenhout-Azencross
• December 26: World Cup Gavere
• December 23: Superprestige Heusden-Zolder
• December 14: World Cup Namur
• November 16: Trofee Hamme-Flandriencross
• November 1: Trofee Oudenaarde-Koppenbergcross
• October 26: Superprestige Overijse-Vlaamse Druivencross
• October 14 - 19: Tour of Guangxi
• October 14 - 19: Tour of Holland

---

Tour Down Under prologue team reports

We posted the organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from prologue winner Sam Watson's Team INEOS Grenadiers:

Sam Watson stormed to the opening prologue win at the Tour Down Under to take the overall lead on the first race day of the season.

Set over the 3.6km course around Victoria Park in Adelaide, Watson was one of the first riders off the starting ramp, and clocked a blistering time of 4:16.90 to take the hot seat.

While his British compatriot Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling Team) was just 0.01 seconds back in second, Watson also beat hot competition from the likes of Australian time trial champion Jay Vine (UAE  Emirates - XRG).

Stage winner Sam Watson with 2006 & 2011 Tour Down Under winner and now race director Stuart O'Grady. Sirotti photo

Speaking after the win, Watson said:

“I’m so happy to start the season with a win! Of course, I’m leading the race now and it’s amazing for myself and the team to start the season like this.

“There were quite a lot of guys [who made me nervous]. Just as I climbed off the bike Ethan Vernon crossed the line and he was about 0.5 seconds behind me. I knew he’d be a contender and I maybe didn’t even make it to the hot seat! Obviously then it was a big sigh of relief for me [to hold on].

“Tomorrow we’ll go 100% for Sam Welsford. He’s won here six times in the last two years so we’ll go all out for him.”

Tomorrow, Watson will sport the Ochre jersey as race leader as the riders look to tackle a lumpy 120km loop starting and finishing in Tanunda.

Here's the Tour Down Under report from second-place Ethan Vernon's Team NSN:

Half a second. That’s all that came between Ethan Vernon and time trialing to the win and first leader’s ochre jersey on the opening day of the Tour Down Under.

Vernon well and truly dusted off the offseason cobwebs in his first race of 2026, smashing the prologue to clock 4:17 at the finish line to secure second place, just half a second off the winning time set by Sam Watson (Ineos Grenadiers).

Ethan Vernon riding to second place. Sirotti photo

While the 3.6-kilometer course was relatively straightforward, strong winds favored the early starters, and from there, it was all about putting the head down and powering through the streets of Adelaide.

Although disappointed to come so close to the win, Vernon takes confidence from his performance ahead of the first sprint stage of the race tomorrow.

“It was nice to get the 2026 season underway,” said the British rider. “I was hoping to win but, yeah, it’s nice to be up there anyway.

“My power numbers were really good once again so it’s a bit of a shame why it didn’t turn into a win today, but it gives me confidence for the next stage. And hopefully we can win a stage as well.”

For Sports Director Sam Bewley, today’s result reflects the team’s ambition and objectives for the rest of the week.

“It was a great result for Ethan today – we knew he could do a good ride over that distance and the way the course was designed,” says Bewley. “He was really motivated for today, and this result shows that he’s been working hard over the winter and has come to Australia with some real intent.

“Obviously, it hurts to miss out on a win by half a second, but this gives us confidence for the rest of the week. It’s also great to start this new WorldTour cycle with a good a result.”

Here's the Tour Down Under report from Andrea Raccagni's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

The wait is finally over! Tuesday came with the first race day of the season for our team, a 3.6km prologue that established an initial pecking order at the 26th Tour Down Under. The first World Tour event of the year, and one where Soudal Quick-Step has won numerous times in the past two decades, the Tour Down Under started for just the second time in its history with a stage against the clock, and as expected, the gaps weren’t big.

Andrea Raccagni, who kicked off in Australia his second season with the Wolfpack, concluded the day as the squad’s best placed rider on the general classification, thanks to a solid ride that saw him average 48.9km/h and stop the clock in 4:24. The 22-year-old Italian finished not far from Samuel Watson (Ineos Grenadiers), who took the race’s first ochre jersey, and sits second in the white jersey standings.

Andrea Raccagni riding to thirteenth place. Sirotti photo

On Wednesday, the peloton will tackle the first road stage of this edition. Held around Tanunda, it puts on the table a hilly course which could favor a breakaway or a late attack, but a reduced bunch sprint is also possible.

And here's the Tour Down Under report from Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike traditionally started the cycling season in Australia. A short prologue marked the start of the Tour Down Under. The yellow-and-black team was unable to challenge for a top result in the opening time trial.

It was only the second time in the history of the Tour Down Under that the stage race began with a race against the clock. In Adelaide, the riders faced a 3.6-kilometre course. On the flat Australian roads, the Dutch team did not feature in the fight for the top positions, despite posting strong intermediate times in the first part of the prologue.

Matthew Brennan and Filippo Fiorelli were the fastest riders at the first intermediate point, but were unable to build on their strong starts. They finished nine and fifteen seconds behind winner Samuel Watson, respectively. Brennan was Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s best-placed rider, finishing in 29th position.
“All things considered, we got off to a solid start”, sports director Jesper Mørkøv says. “The plan was to go full gas from the start. We managed to do that, but it was clear that it was a bit too fast for Matthew and Filippo. They lost time in the second part of the prologue, which is unfortunate. The other guys also did what was expected of them.”

Map of the short prologue time trial.

In addition to Brennan and Fiorelli, Team Visma | Lease a Bike traveled to Oceania with Anton Schiffer, Menno Huising, Per Strand Hagenes, Pietro Mattio, and Tim Rex. “We have been here for about two weeks now, and the atmosphere within the group is good. Over the coming days, we’ll be targeting a stage win. Matthew is the perfect candidate for that”, Mørkøv concludes.

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary