Watch all the best , with the Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes and much more.
Sam Welsford went from being well-known and respected within the Australian cycling community and in the international track scene to now being considered a successful road sprinter in two full seasons on the road.
He has wins over all the top names of the sprinting scene in his time with DSM-firmenich. Now switching to BORA-hansgrohe, it’s already a winning start for the Western Australian rider at the Tour Down Under, and his leadout looks more impressive as he targets bigger, more prestigious races.
Welsford claims he had a number of things that attracted him to the team, but put a lot of stock in the team’s culture as told to him by friend and fellow Perth local, Jai Hindley.
“I spoke to Jai, he said he really likes it here and enjoys the vibe and the culture,” said Weslford. “He said the team were super performance-driven, but also quite relaxed.
“That’s something that’s super important to me. It’s cool to be on the same team as Jai, we grew up racing each other in the junior ranks, so it’s special.”
The Grand Tour on Welsford’s calendar is the Giro d’Italia, with a number of stages that should come down to bunch sprint finishes.
“I’m set on the Giro this year,” said Welsford. “It’s a really good opportunity for sprinters this year, and you look at the startlist, there are eight or nine sprinters going. The Tour leans towards the climbing-side, with non-linear sprints compared to the Giro, so it’s going to be pretty stacked there.
“For me to pick up a stage win there would be really nice for my development.”
The quality of the current crop of sprinters is impressive, with a depth of talent of elite speedsters of which Welsford is an acknowledged part. Speaking from the Tour Down Under ahead of his opening stage win, he pointed towards his move to BORA-hansgrohe being a key ingredient in Welsford’s recipe for sprinting improvement to the top-tier of the fast men.
“I think the leadout is super important for a sprinter, and BORA have such a good leadout,” said Welsford. “Danny van Poppel, Ryan Mullen, Patrick Gamper, we have a really strong team and I’m looking forward to building that leadout.
“We’ve come to Down Under with a strong leadout and the faster we nail that in, the easier it’ll be for the season. A leadout is so important in sprints now, if you don’t have a leadout, it’s almost impossible, you have to navigate the bunch by yourself. For me, having Danny van Poppel, one of the best leadout men in the world is something that I’m really looking forward to working with and building on, establishing that camaraderie as a team so we can win more races.”
Establishing that relationship and the attention to detail is where the 27-year-old sees the difference being made in the battle with the other top speedsters.
“I think sprinting is super open now, you see the sprint days being really close in the finishes,” said Welsford. “Shoutout to Philipsen, he was on another level at the Tour, he was quite dominant, but in most races in the season, people are only winning by this much (indicating a few inches), and there’s three of four guys lunging together.
“It comes down to the one percenters, in the leadout, in the preparation. I see myself being up there, especially here, there are some good fast boys going about. It’s good to race against Caleb, he’s won a lot of races, he’s one of Australia’s best sprinters. To be able to compare myself to him out there in the race, and where I want to be as a sprinter this season is to be one of the best in the world. I’m looking forward to rising to that occasion.”
The world of Grand Tour racing was one to which Welsford was introduced rudely, but he enjoyed the baptism of fire at the Tour de France in 2023. He was dropped during the opening stage from the grupetto, one of the last riders on the road after suffering from cramps.
“That was tough,” said Welsford. “The start in the Basque country was tough, it was just full gas from the start for the first five stages. Day one was super tough, everyone wants the jersey and it was really hot.
“I was quite salty and I did cramp out of the grupetto and I was like ‘Oh no, how am I going to finish this bloody thing’. Every day your body is pushing its limit, so it was pretty common to get these sort of cramps, also if you don’t quite get your fuelling right, you pay for it.”
Things picked up from there, but Welsford didn’t find himself at the pointy end of the sprint often, though he did learn a lot about racing Grand Tours.
“The Tour is a race you never forget and it was such a privilege to race it,” said Welsford. “I really enjoyed getting stuck in for 21 days. I went in not knowing if I would finish, it being my first one and not knowing how my legs would respond. I think my legs started to adapt to it quite well and your body learns how much food you need to get in.
“It’s a whole other world, the Grand Tours, something I’ve really enjoyed. It’s all about maximising recovery, saving energy where you can, and really nailing those moments when you’ve got a sprint day or an opportunity for a result.”
Also on the agenda for 2024 is the Paris Olympics, with Welsford navigating his way to pursue a path between the track and the road in the lead-up to the Games.
“I’ve got ambitions to go back to Paris, probably for the last time on the track,” said Welsford. “It’ll be my third Olympic cycle, that’s quite a lot, but if the opportunity opens up on the road as well (for the Olympics Road Race), we’ll have to see how that works with the track program.
“I’ve got a silver and a bronze, the hardest one to get is the gold. All going well, I’d like to go to the Olympics this year, I’ve done a lot track work early to get a jump start, because its really hard to fit between a road season and track meets.
“The road course might be a bit tricky, a bit hilly, but the main focus will be to try and win that team pursuit and hopefully a bunch race in the Madison or omnium.”
Welsford has a contract to the end of 2025, but it will be an important season for the Aussie to establish himself among the names that immediately come to mind when you consider the top sprinters in the world.
SBS will broadcast the Giro d'Italia LIVE and FREE on SBS and SBS On Demand in 2024.
