Sam Welsford wins Tour Down Under Villawood Men's Classic after avoiding brutal crash

A massive crash on the final corner of the Villawood Criterium, the traditional pre-race warm-up for the Tour Down Under in Adelaide, overshadowed Sam Welsford's victory. Wearing the green and gold jersey he won at last week's national track championships in Perth, Welsford led into the final high-speed bend and surged out of the carnage to take a stunning victory, reaching a top speed of 68.1 km/h.

However, behind him, a very different scene unfolded. Italian rider Andrea Raccani of Quick-Step appeared to clip the inside barrier, sliding into the middle of the road and causing multiple riders to fall, some hitting the barriers hard. Tour organizers confirmed on Sunday that one spectator had been taken to hospital, and they had offered support to the victim's family.

"I was close to the barriers," Welsford said in an interview with Channel Seven. "I saw the group strung out, I saw a meter gap and I just went for it. I didn't hear anything, I came out behind [lead-out rider] Danny [van Poppel]... it was a high-speed corner. I hope everyone is okay." Movistar's Manlio Moro and Australian ARA's Damien Howson were listed as non-finishers, but Moro was seen crossing the finish line with several abrasions on his arm.

In the high-speed, hour-long race, which averaged 51.7 km/h, a breakaway trio of Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) and Jordan Labrosse (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) went clear, building a 23-second gap on the 30-lap Adelaide street circuit. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe led the peloton in pursuit, but that cohesion broke down when the gap was reduced to around 12 seconds with five laps remaining. Nevertheless, the peloton regrouped by the time the bell sounded for the final 1.8km lap, with Red Bull's persistence in controlling the break paying off.

Welsford will hope this is a sign of further success at the Tour Down Under, with the 28-year-old winning three stages at last year's event. He also capped off a stellar year by winning gold in the team pursuit at the Paris Olympics. German rider Henri Uhlig representing Alpecin-Deceuninck finished second, while British rider Matthew Brennan of Visma-Lease a Bike took third. The Tour Down Under officially begins on Tuesday with a 150.7km ride from Prospect to Gumeracha.

In the women's Tour Down Under, Swiss champion Noemi Rüegg conquered the famed Willunga Hill to take a 15-second lead in the race for the leader's ochre jersey. The 23-year-old attacked in the final kilometer of the race to finish 10 seconds ahead of Dutch rider Silke Smulders (Liv Jayco AlUla) in the 115km stage that started in McLaren Vale. Norway's Mie Bjørndal Ottestad (Uno-X Mobility) led a group of five chasers to finish third, followed by Australian Neve Bradbury, who is now sixth overall, 37 seconds behind.

The women's race tackled Willunga Hill twice for the first time – and in 35-degree heat – with the first ascent enough to filter out the true contenders, as stage one winner Daniek Hengeveld was dropped with a quarter of the race remaining. Lidl-Trek's Niamh Fisher-Black and Amanda Spratt set the pace on the first climb for the reduced peloton, catching two breakaway riders, Ally Wollaston and Ally Anderson, before an 11-strong group went clear on the descent. Two-time US world time trial champion Chloe Dygert (Canyon-Sram zondacrypto) launched a stunning solo attack with 5km to go, but was caught at the bottom of the climb. This allowed Rüegg and Smulders to go clear on the steep incline to take first and second on the stage respectively.

The riders will face another tough climbing test in Sunday’s final stage, a grueling 105.9km trek on a 25km circuit in the Adelaide Hills, starting and finishing in Stirling.