INEOS Grenadiers see Sam Welsford blossom and celebrate second win Down Under

After stage wins from Sam Watson (also of INEOS), Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA-CGM) and Vine, day three presented a 50-50 stage. Sprinters had a chance — but only if they could survive 2,400 metres of climbing en route to Nairne. That challenge suggested it could also be a day for breakaway specialists or punchier riders.

Early attackers such as Martin Urianstad (Uno-X), Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ) and Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto-Intermarché, whose team leader Lennert Van Eetvelt did not start) gave it a go, and worked well together to force the peloton to chase hard. Paleni was the last caught, but only in the final kilometre.

The hard pace proved too much for several fast men. Riders including Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) dropped off and were unable to contest the result, while Welsford managed to hang on over the rugged climbs.

At the finish, Welsford still had plenty left in the legs. Although Decathlon CMA-CGM seemed to have timed their sprint well — just like they had in stage one — Ben Swift delivered a powerful lead-out for Welsford on behalf of INEOS. From there, it was straightforward for the Australian to convert it into victory.

Tobias Lund Andresen finished second, with Lewis Bower (Groupama-FDJ) in third. Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike) crossed the line in twelfth.

In the closing kilometres a crash occurred, delaying riders such as Casper van Uden (Picnic PostNL), Andreas Kron (Uno-X) and Adam Yates (UAE). Thanks to the three-kilometre rule, they were credited with the same time as the lead group.