Alberto Bettiol wins treacherous Tour Down Under Prologue in the Rain

EF Education-EasyPost's Alberto Bettiol stayed upright and in the hotseat to take the first WorldTour Stage win in 2023 on the slippery streetys of Adelaide 

The opening stage of the 2023 Tour Down Under kicked off with a technical, tight and tricky 5.5km circuit around the street of Adelaide.

Italian Bettiol set one of the early fastest times that no one could match as conditions deteriorated.

At least a dozen riders went down on one particular corner, a lot of them dropping chains and losing time.

Bettiol set a staggering 52 kph average on the technical course, behind America Magnus Sheffield was just 5 seconds behind, and Swiss pro Julius Johansen was third.

As the conditions worsened, so did riders times.

favorites including Ethan Hayter, Rohan Dennis and Luke Plapp were well outside the Top 10.

Tomorrow's stage should suit the sprinters and will see Bettiol in the leaders jersey of the race. Small differences made in the opening day will be important for the overall classification.

Just us tomorrow for Stage 1 for a 149km fairly flat course around Tanunda.

VIDEO: 2023 Tour Down Under Prologue Highlights

2023 Tour Down Under Prologue Top 10

1 ITA Alberto Bettiol EF Education-EasyPost 06:19
2 USA Magnus Sheffield INEOS Grenadiers + 08
3 DEN Julius Johansen Intermarché-Circus-Wanty + 10
4 AUS Kaden Groves Alpecin-Deceuninck + 11
5 NZL Samuel Gaze Alpecin-Deceuninck + 11
6 FRA Hugo Page Intermarché-Circus-Wanty + 12
7 GER Marius Mayrhofer Team DSM + 13
8 GER Jannik Steimle Soudal Quick-Step + 13
9 AUS Jay Vine UAE Team Emirates + 14
10 AUS Michael Matthews Team Jayco-AlUla + 14