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Five things we learned from Tour Down Under

The Tour Down Under is a welcome sign that the new UCI World Tour season has begun and the 2025 edition did not disappoint.

Here are five things we learnt from the Tour Down Under.

Welsford appears ready to fire

One of the biggest winners at the Tour Down Under was Australian sprinter Sam Welsford, who picked up three stage wins.

Now riding with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Welsford showed what a powerhouse he is when taking stages one, two and six.

Welsford had to get the job done, but once again a lot of credit has to go to the Bora lead-out team for getting him in the position to strike.

That lead-out train includes one of the best lead-out men in the business, Danny Van Poppel, who was again on top form.

Bora will head to the Tour De France with Primoz Roglic as their main hope for the general classification.

He can be backed at 26.00 to win it and all their focus is likely to be on the Slovenian, which means Welsford is likely to miss out on the race.

Fisher-Black catches the eye

More good news for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe was the performance of Finn Fisher-Black over the six stages.

The youngster from New Zealand particularly caught the eye on Stage 5, which included the infamous climb up Willunga Hill.

Fisher-Black finished third on that stage and went on to finish third overall on the general classification.

It bodes well for 2025 and Fisher-Black could be set for a big season.

UAE Team Emirates XRG stronger than ever

Just when it looked as though UAE Team Emirates XRG could not get any stronger, their performance in Adelaide shows they have.

They already have an embarrassment of riches, including Tadej Pogacar, who is 1.50 to win the 2025 Tour De France.

However, the second and third strings, so to speak, are not looking too shabby either.

This was proven with the performance of new boy Jhonatan Narvaez, who won the general classification at the Tour Down Under.

Now on board with UAE, Narvaez looks sure to have a big season and will get the chance to pick up some more wins along the way.

Philipsen one to watch

Often at the Tour Down Under a youngster catches the eye and is tipped for a very bright future.

In 2025 it is the turn of Danish rider Albert Withen Philipsen of Lidl-Trek, who took out the Young Rider Classification.

The 18-year-old, who is a former world junior champion, came fourth on Stage 3 and Lidl-Trek clearly have high hopes for him.

The future of the TDU is bright

The Tour Down Under continues to grow in stature and is now one of the big races on the UCI World Tour.

In the early days it was often deemed as something of a ‘pre-season friendly’, but that is definitely no longer the case.

The top teams take it seriously, as do the riders, while the Australian cycling fans flock to Adelaide in their numbers.

The future of the Tour Down Under continues to look like a bright one.

Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.

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