Tour Down Under leader Sam Welsford crashes at start of stage two days after Down Under Classic mayhem

Tour Down Under leader Sam Welsford is nursing cuts and abrasions after the Australian cycling star crashed early in stage two.

The Paris Olympics track gold medallist was able to return to the peloton after he was among a number of riders caught in the crash within 2km of the start.

While his bike shorts were partially shredded, Welsford (Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe) soon returned to the front of the peloton in the 128.8km stage that started at the Barossa Valley town of Tanunda.

The crash came days after a spectator was hospitalised because of a crash at the Down Under Classic in Adelaide’s East End on Saturday.

And on Tuesday Dutch star Dylan van Baarle (Visma Lease A Bike) was forced out of the Santos Tour with a collarbone fracture after he was among the riders who crashed near the finish of the first stage.

Welsford won stage one on Tuesday in the Adelaide Hills and also the corresponding stage at Tanunda a year ago.

But this year the circuit race features three laps of Menglers Hill climb in the other direction, which is a tougher climb.

Conditions are also windy, meaning it might be tougher for Red Bull and the other sprinters’ teams to control the race.

“On paper, when I opened the race book, I (thought) ‘bunch sprint’,” said Jayco AlUla team director Mat Hayman.

“But then looking at Menglers Hill, it’s a decent climb. It’s been a while since we’ve been up on this side.

“I still think it will be a group sprint, of sorts, but there’s some potential for it to be harder than I think people expected.

“The riders make the race, at the end of the day. If a combination of teams decide to ride differently, we could have a different outcome.”

Visma team director Addy Engels said van Baarle’s latest injury was a big blow for the rider and the team.

The 2022 Paris Roubaix winner has endured a rotten run with inury, also crashing out of last year’s Vuelta a Espana.

“Of course, it’s a big disappointment for him and for us as well as a team,” Engels said.

“Next to that, he was going well ... he was up there. We will miss him, for sure.

“The setbacks he has to deal with, it’s hard to believe actually.”

A brighter note for the team is the strong form of British sprinter Matthew Brennan, who nearly caught Welsford on the line at stage one.

Veteran commentator Phil Liggett said he and compatriot Mark Cavendish, the retired sprinting great who is a special guest at the Tour, know little about their compatriot.

“He will explain himself. They will get to know him shortly,” Engels said.