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United States | Midwest | Ohio >> Samuel Watson takes victory at the 2026 Santos Tour Down Under Prologue

Samuel Watson (INEOS Grenadiers) takes victory at the 2026 Santos Tour Down Under Prologue

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.

Samuel Watson (INEOS Grenadiers) takes victory at the 2026 Santos Tour Down Under Prologue

The 2026 Santos Tour Down Under opened with a sharp, high-intensity 3.6 km individual time trial in Adelaide — only the second prologue in the race’s history. The course was short, explosive, and designed to reward riders with punch, precision, and aerodynamic efficiency
 
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).
 
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.
 
Watson’s ride averaged over 50 km/h, securing him the first ochre jersey of the race.

2026 Tour Down Under Prologue Video

2026 Tour Down Under Prologue Results

1 Samuel Watson INEOS Grenadiers 04:16.9 0
2 Ethan Vernon NSN Cycling Team 04:17.5 1
3 Laurence Pithie Red Bullâ “BORA hansgrohe 04:19.6 3
4 Jay Vine UAE Team Emirates XRG 04:20.9 4
5 Pierre Gautherat Decathlonâ CMA CGM 04:21.3 5
6 Mauro Schmid Team Jayco AlUla 04:21.3 5
7 Maikel Zijlaard Tudor Pro Cycling 04:21.3 5
8 Tim Torn Teutenberg Lidl Trek 04:21.3 5
9 Oliver Bleddyn ARA Australian Cycling Team 04:21.3 5
10 Jensen Plowright Alpecin Deceuninck 04:23.0 7
 
 
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