The much-anticipated opening races of the 2025 UCI WorldTour gave an early indication of how the new faces and colours of the peloton could shape the year ahead. The scene was set in Australia over the last few weeks at the Santos Tour Down Under (21-26 January) and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (2 February).
Australian roads have given rise to some of the greatest sprinters ever and it only felt natural to see Sam Welsford spearhead Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe’s ambitions Down Under. But the Australian fastman looks like he’s improved again, at least according to the comments from the rivals he’s beaten.
The same goes for Jhonatan Narvaez, powering to triumph for his first appearances with his new UAE Team Emirates-XRG outfit, while Javier Romo (Movistar Team) took his maiden professional victory. As for Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) and Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco AlUla), they look ready to show their best versions after making it through many ups and downs in 2024.
Welsford lost for words
As the UCI WorldTour explores roads all around the globe, some riders are famed for the special relationship they’ve established with certain areas… It’s fair to say Sam Welsford is a different beast when racing in Australia, where he’s claimed six of his twelve professional victories, including all of his UCI WorldTour successes.
Hailing from Subiaco in the Perth Metropolitan Area, now living in Monaco, Welsford is not a neighbour when it comes to the Santos Tour Down Under, set around Adelaide, some 2,500 kilometres east of his hometown. But he’s turned these roads into his own turf, claiming three sprint victories this year again, in Gumeracha, Tanunda and Adelaide, after already claiming three in 2024.
“I’m pretty speechless right now”, Welsford said after completing his hat-trick. But he still found words to celebrate not only his own accomplishment, but also that of his teammate Finn Fisher-Black’s: “I also want to mention that Finn did so well, he was outstanding on Willunga Hill yesterday. As a squad, we came into this race with big goals, and to see them all come to life is just amazing.”
Career-best for Narvaez
A newcomer to Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe, Fisher-Black proved to be among the strongest when the road rose, securing a top-3 up Willunga Hill and in the overall standings. But the young New Zealander couldn’t compete with the punch of Narvaez, who also changed squad in the off-season and joined Fisher-Black’s former outfit, UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
“I think this is the biggest win of my career,” the 27-year-old Ecuadorian said. “This race is one of the most important in the calendar because it is the first event of the year and it’s a UCI WorldTour race - this is really big for me. Looking ahead now, my big goals now are to be in top shape for the Flemish and Ardennes Classics before preparing to race the Tour de France.”
On his road, he should meet again with the other two stage winners of the 2025 Santos Tour Down Under: France’s Bryan Coquard, returning to winning ways more than six months after his last victory, a stage of the Tour de Suisse 2024; and Javier Romo, who recently signed a four-year deal with Movistar Team and repaid them with his first professional victory in the punchy finale of stage 3.
Schmid’s first one-day UCI WorldTour race victory
Second to Narvaez in the overall standings of the Santos Tour Down Under, Romo was again in the limelight in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, where he came third in a very small group sprint, behind two New Zealanders, Aaron Gate (XDS Astana Team) and Laurence Pithie (Red Bull -Bora - Hansgrohe). But one man had already crossed the line, just three seconds ahead: Switzerland’s Mauro Schmid, scoring his first win of the season as early as February, after being sidelined with injuries for most of the first half of 2024.
“This is my first one-day UCI WorldTour race victory, so it is very special for me, and it is an important race for the team, so I am super happ,y” the Swiss National Champion celebrated after a thrilling and successful attack launched with seven kilometres remaining. “I did a similar attack in this race before and got caught with 300 metres to go, so I knew that I had to just go super deep and that helped me today.”